Chapter 10- The Concept of Measurement

Question 1

Measurement

Answer 1

the process of assigning numbers or labels to persons, objects, or events in accordance with specific rules for representing quantities or qualities of attributes

Question 2

Rule

Answer 2

a guide, a method, or a command that tells a researcher what to do

Question 3

Measurement Process

Answer 3

1. Identify Concept of interest
2. Develop a construct
3. Create a constitutive definition
4. Develop an operational definition
5. Create a measurement scale
6. Evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale
7. Utilize the scale
8. Collect research findings

Question 4

Construct

Answer 4

specific types of concepts that exist at higher levels of abstraction than do everyday concepts

Question 5

Constitutive definition

Answer 5

a statement of meaning of the central idea or concept under the study, establishing its boundaries; also known as theoretical, or conceptual, definiton

Question 6

Operational definition

Answer 6

specifies which observable characteristics will be measured and the process for assigning a value to the concept

Question 7

Construct Equivalence

Answer 7

how people see, understand, and develop measurements of a particular phenomenon

Question 8

Scale

Answer 8

set of symbols or numbers so constructed that the symbols or numbers can be assigned by a rule to the individuals (or their behaviors/attitudes) to whom the scale is applied

Question 9

Nominal scales

Answer 9

partitions data into categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, implying that every bit of data will fit into one and only one category and that all data will fit somewhere on the scale;

uses numerals to identify objects, individuals, events or groups

Question 10

Ordinal scales

Answer 10

scales that maintain the labeling characteristics of nominal scales and have the ability to order data

in addition to identification, provides information about the relative amount of some characteristic possessed by an event, object, etc, (order)

Question 11

Interval scales

Answer 11

contain all the features of ordinal scales with the added dimension that the intervals between the points are equal

Question 12

Ratio scales

Answer 12

have all the characteristics of other scales as well as a meaningful absolute zero or origin so that magnitudes can be compared arithmetically

Question 13

What are 8 errors in validity of measurements

Answer 13

1. A true difference in the characteristic being measured
2. Differences due to stable characteristics of individual respondents such as personality, values, and intelligence
3. Differences due to short-term personal factors such as mood swings, health problems etc.
4. Differences caused by situational factors such as distractions or others present in the interview situation
5. Differences resulting from variations in administering the survey
6. Differences due to the sampling of items included in the questionnaire
7. Differences due to the sampling of items included in the questionnaire
   Differences due to a lack of clarity in the measurement instrument
8. Differences due to mechanical or instrument factors

Question 14

Reliability

Answer 14

the degree to which measures are free from random error and, therefore, provide consistent data

Question 15

what are 3 ways to assess reliability?

Answer 15

test-retest reliability, the use of equivalent forms, and internal consistency

Question 16

test-retest reliability

Answer 16

ability of the same instrument to produce consistent results when used a second time under conditions as similar as possible to the original conditions

Question 17

equivalent form reliability

Answer 17

ability of two very similar forms of an instrument to produce closely correlated results

Question 18

internal consistency reliability

Answer 18

assesses the ability to produce similar results when different samples are used to measure a phenomenon during the same time period

Question 19

split-half technique

Answer 19

method of assessing the reliability of a scale by dividing the total set of measurement items in half and correlating the results

Question 20

validity

Answer 20

the degree to which the researcher was trying to measure what was actually measured

Question 21

face validity

Answer 21

the weakest form of validity- degree to which a measurement seems to measure what is supposed to measure

Question 22

content validity

Answer 22

representativeness, or sampling adequacy, of the content of the measurement instrument

Question 23

criterion-related validity

Answer 23

degree to which a measurement instrument can predict a variable that is designated a criterion

Question 24

predictive validity

Answer 24

degree to which a future level of criterion variable can be forecast by a current measurement scale
NOT IN SG

Question 25

concurrent validity

Answer 25

degree to which another variable, measured at the same point in time as the variable of interest, can be predicted by the measurement instrument
NOT IN SG

Question 26

construct validity

Answer 26

degree to which as measurement instrument represents and logically connects, via the underlying theory, the observed phenomenon to the construct

Question 27

convergent validity

Answer 27

the degree of correlation among different measurement instruments that purport to measure the same construct

Question 28

discriminant validity

Answer 28

measure of the lack of association among constructs that are supposed to be different

Question 29

cronbach’s alpha technique

Answer 29

involves computing mean reliability coefficient estimates for all possible ways of splitting a set of items in half