Lecture 6 - 4104 (2023-24) PDF

CONCEPTUALISATION, OPERATIONALISATION AND LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT GIA 4104 2023-24 1 Research Design and Research Questions To research a problem a i.e Youth and Political Participation the research design must be created. GIA 4104 2023-24 2 ...

CONCEPTUALISATION, OPERATIONALISATION AND LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT GIA 4104 2023-24 1 Research Design and Research Questions To research a problem a i.e Youth and Political Participation the research design must be created. GIA 4104 2023-24 2  The research design must start with a research question/objective. “What is the level of political participation among young people employed in the public sector”. “To determine the level of political participation among young people employed in the public sector”. GIA 4104 2023-24 3  Research Questions and Concepts Research Questions are composed of concepts. “What is the level of political participation among young people who are employed in the public sector”. GIA 4104 2023-24 4  Concepts Concept: A label we put on a phenomenon, a matter, a “term” that enables us communicate and inherit ideas. Concepts can be concrete, abstract, tangible or intangible. – Concrete: Height, Programme of study – Abstract: Happiness, Love GIA 4104 2023-24 5  CONCEPTUALISATION CONCEPTUALISATION is the process of specifying what we mean by a concept or variable or term………a clear, verbal specification of your concept/variable/term so that others know what it is and can place borders around it. GIA 4104 2023-24 6 Why we need to Conceptualise? – We want to research abstract things i.e “intelligence”; “ability to cope with stress”; and “happiness”. – We cannot research these things until we know exactly what they are. – Our research will not make sense unless we explain exactly what we mean by “intelligence”; “ability to cope with stress”; GIA 4104 2023-24 7 and “happiness”.  Everyday language often has vague and unspecified meanings. CONCEPTUALISATION is to specify exactly what you mean and don’t mean by the terms you use in your research. GIA 4104 2023-24 8  So, to “conceptualise” a concept/variable/term is to be clear about what you mean by it…. For example, for the concept/variable/term “political participation” you need to be clear about whether you mean (1) membership of a political organisation or (2) activism in local government activities or whatever you deem to be appropriate GIA 4104 2023-24 9  CONCEPTUALISATION, OPERATIONALISATION and MEASUREMENT GIA 4104 2023-24 10  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation If in a given study, “political participation” is conceptualized to mean: (1) membership of a political organization Then we need to decide how to operationalize the concept GIA 4104 2023-24 11  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation For the purposes of that study, “political participation” which was conceptualized ized to mean: membership of a political organization It can be operationalised in terms of  duration of membership or positions held GIA 4104 2023-24 12  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation In another study, “political participation” can be conceptualised to mean: activism in local government activities and operationlised in terms of  the degree of activism GIA 4104 2023-24 13  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation Similarly the concept of “Social Status” might be conceptualized and operationalized in terms of: wealth, or power. GIA 4104 2023-24 14  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation The concept “Religiosity” might be conceptualised and operationalised in terms of: belief in religious teachings, performance of religious rituals/festivals, attendance at church\mosque\temple GIA 4104 2023-24 15  The Operationalisation Process Begin with your concept/variable. Decide whether you will collect quantitative or qualitative data. Choose between experimental, survey, interview, fieldwork and content analysis to collect your data. (to be done) Decide what level of detail you need to answer your research questions. (Simple questions, in-depth questions, observations) GIA 4104 2023-24 16  Select a data recording format or locate a preexisting scale or index that measures your concept. (to be done) Check the validity of your measure. (to be done) Repeat this process for each concept you want to measure GIA 4104 2023-24 17  CONCEPTUALISATION, OPERATIONALISATION and MEASUREMENT GIA 4104 2023-24 18  Measurement If in a given study, “political participation” is conceptualized as: membership of a political organization and operationalized as: duration of membership How do we measure? duration of membership GIA 4104 2023-24 19  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation In another study, “political participation” can be conceptualised and operationalised to mean: activism in local government activities and operationalized in terms of: degree of activism How do we measure? degree of activism GIA 4104 2023-24 20  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation The concept of “Social Status” might be conceptualised and operationalised in terms of: a wealth dimension, a prestige dimension, a power dimension. How do we measure these? GIA 4104 2023-24 21  Conceptualisation and Operationalisation The concept “Religiosity” was conceptualised and operationalised in terms of: belief in religious teachings, performance of religious rituals , Attendance at temple/mosque/ church How do we measure these? GIA 4104 2023-24 22  Measurement Careful, deliberate observations of the real world for the purpose of describing objects and events in terms of the attributes composing a variable. GIA 4104 2023-24 23 Levels of Measurement Ratio Interva l Ordinal Nominal GIA 4104 2023-24 24  The Level of Measurement is the Qualitative/Quantitative precision with which the values of a variable can be expressed. The Nominal level of measurement, which is qualitative, has no mathematical interpretation; The Quantitative levels of measurement — Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio—are mathematical and progressively more GIA 4104 2023-24 25 precise.  Nominal Measures The Nominal level of measurement identifies variables whose values have no mathematical interpretation; they vary in kind or quality but not in amount. In terms of the variable “Dog Breed”, you can say that the German Shepherd is not equal to the Terrier, but you cannot say that the “German Shepherd” is “more dog breedier” or “less dog breedy ” than the Terrier. GIA 4104 2023-24 26 Nominal Examples Gender Race Religious identification Architectural style GIA 4104 2023-24 27  Ordinal Measures At this level, you specify only the order of the cases, in “greater than” and “less than” distinctions. At the pet shop, for example, you might choose between a small, medium, or large breed of dog— that’s ordinal measurement. GIA 4104 2023-24 28  Ordinal examples Level of crime—high, low Income level---upper, middle, low GIA 4104 2023-24 29  Interval Measures At the interval level of measurement, numbers represent fixed measurement units but have no absolute zero point. Interval Examples IQ Age GIA 4104 2023-24 30  Ratio Measures  A ratio level of measurement represents fixed measuring units with an absolute zero point.  Zero, in this situation, means absolutely no amount of whatever the variable indicates. Ratio Examples  # children in the households  Distance travelled to work GIA 4104 2023-24 31 GIA 4104 2023-24 32  Measurement Quality: Criteria for Measurement Quality Reliability – Does it yield the same result every time? Stability over time. – If I measure you now and then in half- an-hour, do I get the same reading?. Suppose you want to measure familiarity with University regulations GIA 4104 2023-24 33  Reliability Operationalising “Familiarity with University regulations” You can ask: “Have you read the student guidelines” or “Do you know about the student guidelines” Which is the more reliable measure??? GIA 4104 2023-24 34  Ensuring Reliability Reliability suffers when respondents have to interpret. Using a fixed-response format helps – e.g. multiple choice – the researcher does not have to interpret what the respondent meant GIA 4104 2023-24 35  Validity The extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the meaning of the concept under investigation. “University Education”…should it be measured by: Number of Years @ University? or Qualifications received? GIA 4104 2023-24 36  Validity is divided into many types: – Content validity - How much a measure covers the range of meanings included in the concept i.e DEVELOPMENT – Face validity - How a measure confirms to our common agreements GIA 4104 2023-24 37  End GIA 4104 2023-24 38