Research Methodology Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement

• This chapter covers the process of quantitative and qualitative measurement.

The Preliminary Steps of Measurement

• Measurement involves four preliminary steps:
  • Articulating the research topic
  • Determining the research problem
  • Identifying a purpose statement
  • Developing research questions

Reasoning in the Scientific Process

• Deductive logic: Example: Skogan's (2009) study of the relationship between crime concerns and police confidence.
• Inductive logic: Example: Dunham and Alpert's (2009) study of police-citizen interactions.

The Research Question Drives the Method

• Qualitative purpose statements: Describe, develop, understand, and discover.
• Quantitative purpose statements: Identify a theory and potentially state the directional relationship between concepts.

The Measurement Process

• Conceptualization: Process of specifying meaning.
• Conceptual definition: Working definition of a concept.
• Operationalization: Description of how a concept is measured.
• Operational definition: Includes indicators and dimensions.

Defining Crime

• Crime varies across time and locations.
• There are multiple precise ways to define crime.
• Crime has real-world effects.

Measurement Challenges

• Crime is socially constructed.
• Crime varies over time and place.
• Historical, cultural, and social factors influence crime.
• Power, class, gender, and race affect crime measurement.
• Precise and careful processes are needed for accurate measurement.

Measurement Process

• Abstract concept: Empirically detecting.
• Technique or process: Defining a concept.
• Imprecision or conciseness: Measuring abstract concepts.
• Specifying meaning.

Conceptual Definition

• Explicit and working definition of a concept.
• Specific and clear.
• Precise and thorough depiction of the concept.
• Includes certain aspects while excluding others.
• Example: Homelessness as persons living on the streets or without a shelter, or without a usual place of residence.

Operationalization

• Translating a concept into something measurable.
• Determining what and how to measure.
• Ensuring common understanding among researchers.

Operational Definitions

• Homelessness (1): Persons without night-time shelter last night or expecting to be without housing tonight.
• Chronic homelessness (2): Six or more months of homelessness.
• Episodic homelessness (2): Three or more episodes lasting less than six months.
• Unsheltered homelessness (1): Sleeping in places unfit for humans (streets, alleys, parks, transit stations, etc.).
• Sheltered homelessness: Emergency shelters, extreme weather shelters, violence against women (VAW) shelters, and transitional shelters.

Operational Definitions and Homelessness

• Empirical indicator: Use of shelters nightly.
• Surveys: Determining who to include/exclude.
• Research design: Choosing suitable methodologies.
• Homelessness (II): Individuals or families without a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence.

Setting Priorities

• Police investigation priorities: Harm concept, negative consequences from crime, organized crime groups, and usefulness to police.

Conceptualizing Harm

• Defining "harm".
• Specifying meaning.
• Recognizing multiple dimensions of harm.
• Exploring alternative conceptual definitions.

Operationalizing Harm

• Defining harm and understanding its negative consequences.
• Deciding on factors for measurement.
• Making specific choices for measurement.
• Example: Harm as the monetary cost of damage from crime and related responses.

Concept to Variable

• Abstract to empirically observable concepts.
• Determining empirical indicators.
• Example: Survey of business owners on crime losses.
• Ensuring appropriate research choices.
• Different levels of measurement.

Variables

• Variables: Measurable characteristics of a concept or numerical value.
• Dependent variable.
• Independent variable.
• Control variable.

Hypotheses

• Hypotheses are untested statements that show relationships between concepts.
• Alternative hypothesis (H1).
• Null hypothesis (H0).

Criteria for a Causal Explanation

• Causal explanation criteria: Empirical association, temporal order, non-spuriousness.
• Confounding variable.
• Intervening variable (Z).

Causality in Qualitative Research

• Understanding outcomes in context.
• Focus on situations, events, and behavior within beliefs of individuals observed.

Reliability & Validity

• Focus on assessing the reliability and validity of measurements.
• Assessing accuracy.

Quality

• Qualitative/quantitative criteria for soundness (truth value/credibility, internal validity, applicability/transferability, external validity, consistency/reliability, neutrality/bias, objectivity/confirmability).

Reliability in Quantitative Research

• Reliability: Extent to which repeated testing produces similar results.
  • Test-retest method
  • Cross-test method
  • Split-half method
  • Inter-rater testing

Validity

• Truthfulness
• Measures align with concepts
• What is measured matches definitions.
  • Example: Homelessness (II): Individual or family lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence.

Validity in Quantitative Research

• Validity (general): Measurement accuracy and construct alignment.
• Eight validity forms:
  • Face validity
  • Content validity
  • Criterion validity
  • Concurrent validity
  • Predictive validity
  • Construct validity
  • Convergent validity
  • Discriminant validity

Operationalizing Fear

• Multifaceted ways to interpret "fear".
• No universal consensus on definition.
• Operational definition based on survey questions.
• Fear threshold factor.

Operationalizing Gangs

• Delinquent activity as a prerequisite?
• Gang organizational structures.
• Self-nomination as a factor.
• Involved illegal activities (?).
• Level of organization (?).

Qualitative Research

• Qualitative research rigor assessments.
• Dependability
• Trustworthiness

Level of Measurement

• Different levels of measurement (Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio).

Quantitative Variables

• Two types of quantitative variables:
  • Categorical (discrete):
    • Nominal
    • Ordinal
  • Continuous:
    • Interval
    • Ratio

Summary

• Categorical variables classify into categories.
• Continuous numerical measurements are made.
• Higher-level variables can be turned into lower-level ones.
• Lower-level variables cannot be turned into higher-level ones.

Choosing Level of Measurement

• Criteria for appropriate level of measurement:
  • Mutually exclusive
  • Exhaustive
  • Uni-dimensional

Composite Measures

• Composite measures combine variables to measure complex concepts.

• Index

• Scales

• Example scales: Likert, semantic differential, Guttman, Bogardus social distance, Thurstone.

This quiz focuses on Chapter 3, which explores quantitative and qualitative measurement processes. It covers the preliminary steps of measurement, reasoning in scientific processes, and how research questions influence methodologies. Understanding these concepts is crucial for effective research design.