1. Conceptualization, Operationalization and Measurement
Concepts, Levels of Measurement, and Measurement Validity.
From Text:
Every time you begin to review or design a research study, you will have to answer two questions: (1) What do the main concepts mean in this research? (2) How are the main concepts measured?
This presentation focuses on how concepts are measured. Specifically, we will examine how variables differ in levels of measurement.

2. Aspects of Measurement Validity in Social Research
Are we measuring what we intend to measure ?
OR , Are we measuring the correct Concept ?
What is a Concept in sociological research ?
Concept :
1. Mental Constructs, or images, developed to symbolize ideas, persons, things, or events (symbolic interaction)
2. An Organized principle used to differentiate those classes of phenomena with common characteristics from other classes of phenomena.

3. Conceptualization
Conceptualization is the process of specifying what we mean by a term. ( A clear, verbal specification of your variable (concept) so that others know what it is and can place cognitive borders around it.
In Deductive research, conceptualization helps to translate portions of an abstract theory into specific variables that can be used in testable hypotheses.
In Inductive research, conceptualization is an important part of the process used to make sense of related observations.

4. Conceptualization Continued…
If we hypothesized that lower social status in college students directly correlates to an increase in deviant behavior, then what exactly is Deviant Behavior ? (The conceptual DV we are measuring)
-Deviant Behavior as: Causing physical harm, Talking out loud in class, Underage Drinking, etc, etc.
Concepts like “social health,” “prejudice,” and even “binge drinking” require an explicit
definition before they are used in research because we cannot be certain that all readers will
share a particular definition or that the current meaning of the concept is the same as it was
when previous research was published. It is especially important to define clearly concepts
that are abstract or unfamiliar.
If we are to do an adequate job of conceptualizing, we must do more than just think up some
definition, any definition, for our concepts. We have to turn to social theory and prior research
to review appropriate definitions. We may need to distinguish subconcepts, or dimensions, of
the concept. We should understand how the definition we choose fits within the theoretical
framework guiding the research and what assumptions underlie this framework.

5. The Multi-Dimensions of Conceptual Definitions
What is a Table ?
What is a Car ?
What is Religiosity ?
1. Ideological Dimension Ritualistic Dimension
2. Experiential Dimension Consequential Dimension
5. Intellectual Dimension
TALL
* What about VS
BIG

6. Concepts in Research Social Status Conflicts in Measurement Validity
Lets do a study to see if there is a Direct relationship between Social Status of parents and Deviant Behavior in college students.
Conflicts in Measurement Validity
1. All concepts are Multi-Dimensional
What do we mean by social status?
Social Status
Power
Privilege
Prestige
Indicators
O E I G R E A B R
Income
Possessions, Fashion, Teeth, Self-Report, Jewelry, etc.
Process of
Conceptualization
And Operation-alization

7. Operationalization In Social Research, there are
Operations of Measurement.
Operation: A procedure for identifying or indicating the value of cases on a variable. (Instructions)
Operationalization: The process of specifying the operations that will indicate the value of cases on a variable

8. Operationalization Scoring/ Coding/ Scaling
The Measure (Or observation scheme)
The Application
Self administered questionnaire
Male
Interview
Face-to-face
Phone
Scoring/ Coding/ Scaling

9. Lets say we were to Operationalize the effects of “Sending Flowers and Get well cards” to a Patient, as a method of “Increasing Health.”
How will we measure “Increasing
Health”of Patients ?
Shorter hospital stays – Operationalized
as “Days spent in the hospital”
Normal heart rates and blood pressures – Operationalized in “Beats per minute” and “Diastolic and systolic pressures”.
Increased morale – Operationalized by asking patients a series of questions about their attitude, current outlook, emotions.
Concepts vary in their level of abstraction, and this in turn affects how readily we can
specify the indicators pertaining to the concept.

10. Ratio
Interval
Levels of Measurement
Ordinal
Nominal
The Level of Measurement is the mathematical precision with which the values of a variable can be expressed.
The Nominal (name) level of measurement, which is qualitative, has no mathematical interpretation;
The Quantitative levels of measurement—Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio—are progressively more precise mathematically.
When we know a variable’s level of measurement, we can better understand how cases vary on that variable and so understand more fully what we have measured.
From Text:
{T}here are many ways of collecting information, or different operations for gathering data: asking questions, using previously gathered data, analyzing texts, and so on. Some of this data contains mathematically detailed information; it represents a higher level of measurement.

11. (Conceptualization and Operationalization)
*CAUTION *
LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT CANT BE DETERMINED WITHOUT CONSIDERING BOTH THE CONCEPT AND THE MEASURE
(Conceptualization and Operationalization)

12. 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.
From Text:
The nominal level of measurement identifies variables whose values have no mathematical interpretation; they vary in kind or quality but not in amount. “State” (referring to the United States) is one example. The variable has 50 attributes (or categories or qualities), but none of them is more “state” than another.
Here’s another example: dogs. German Shepherds, Terriers, Great Danes, etc., are different types of dogs. Although they vary in size (size is a separate variable), they do not vary in “dogginess”. Terriers are not more doggy than the German Shepherds. They are different in quality, but not quantity.
Although the attributes of nominal variables do not have a mathematical meaning, they must be assigned to cases with great care. The attributes we use to measure, or categorize, cases must be mutually exclusive and exhaustive:
n A variable’s attributes or values are mutually exclusive if every case can have only one attribute.
n A variable’s attributes or values are exhaustive when every case can be classified into one of the categories.
When a variable’s attributes are mutually exclusive and exhaustive, every case corresponds to one, and only one, attribute.
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 “dog breedier” or “less dog breedy ” than the Terrier.
© Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2004

13. Wienir’s Nominal Examples
UCR categories?
Sex
Race-ethnicity
Religious identification
Architectural style

14. 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. We haven’t specified anything in the way of inches or weight.
From Text:
The first of the three quantitative levels is the ordinal level of measurement. At this level, you specify only the order of the cases, in “greater than” and “less than” distinctions. At the coffee shop, for example, you might choose between a small, medium, or large cup of decaf—that’s ordinal measurement.
The small might be an 8 oz. Cup. The medium might have 12 oz., and the large might have 20 oz. The intervals separating the sizes of cups of coffee are not equal, but they can be ordered.
© Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2004

15. Wienir’s Ordinal examples
Sex
Race
Religious identification
Level of seriousness of crime
Class standing
Likert scales?

16. Interval Measures
At the interval level of measurement, numbers represent fixed measurement units but have no absolute zero point.
Sunrise: 8:05 am    UV Index: 1, Minimal   Sunset: 5:12 pm Moonrise: 7:56 pm     Phase: Waning Gibbous    Moonset: 9:53 am Averages and Records for Jan 20
         
Monday: Mainly sunny. High 4F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Monday night: Clear to partly cloudy skies. Low -12F. Winds Wat 5 to 10 mph.
   
4 °F
-12 °F
-16°C
-25°C
This level of measurement is represented by the difference between two Fahrenheit temperatures. Note, for example, that 60 degrees is 30 degrees higher than 30 degrees; but 60 is not “twice as hot” as 30. Why not? Because heat does not “begin” at 0 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale.
Your text uses the example of temperatures measured with the Fahrenheit scale. The temperature can definitely go below zero, as indicated in this weather forecast for Fargo, ND.
© Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2004

17. Wienir’s Interval Examples
Income as a measure of wealth
Likert scales ?

18. 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. On a ratio scale, 10 is two points higher than 8 and is also two times greater than 5. Ratio numbers can be added and subtracted, and because the numbers begin at an absolute zero point, they can also be multiplied and divided (so ratios can be formed between the numbers).
From Text:
For example, people’s ages can be represented by values ranging from 0 years (or some fraction of a year) to 120 or more. A person who is 30 years old is 15 years older than someone who is 15 years old (30 – 15 = 15) and is also twice as old as that person (30/15 = 2). Of course, the numbers also are mutually exclusive and exhaustive, so that every case can be assigned one and only one value. Age (in years) is clearly a ratio-level measure.

19. Ratio Measures The variable is “Number of pets on the couch”
In this example, the variable, “number of pets on the couch” represents a ratio measure. In photo #1 there are 3 pets. In photo #2, there are two pets (the cat is missing). We can say that there are 1/3 fewer pets in photo #2 or that there are 2/3 of the number of pets on the couch in photo #1. Because there is an absolute zero (if there were no pets on the couch), we can multiply and divide the number of pets on the couch.
Photo #2
There are 1/3 fewer pets in photo #2.
Photo #1

20. Wienir’s Ratio Examples
# Kids
#Behaviors
Rates
Comparison of how many times as intense
#s depending on the conceptual definition e.g. pillars

21. More Ratio Examples
City Size
S.S. Stephens Rating Scale

22. Differentiation between LOM
Ratio: Is there an absolute zero point?
Interval : Is there a standard measure between rankings ?
Ordinal : Are there rankings between categories ?
Nominal : Are there categories

23. The Types of Comparisons That Can Be Made With Different Levels of Measurement
Relevant level of measurement
Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio
√ √ √ √
√ √ √
√ √ √
Examples of Appropriate
comparison statements math operations
A is equal to (not equal to) B = (≠)
A is greater than (less than) B > (<)
A is three more than (less than) B + (–)
A is twice (half) as large as B ´ (/)
From Text:
This exhibit summarizes the types of comparisons that can be made with different levels of measurement, as well as the mathematical operations that are legitimate with each. All four levels of measurement allow researchers to assign different values to different cases. All three quantitative measures allow researchers to rank cases in order.
Researchers choose levels of measurement in the process of operationalizing variables; the level of measurement is not inherent in the variable itself. Many variables can be measured at different levels, with different procedures. ….Usually, though, it is a good idea to measure variables at the highest level of measurement possible. The more information available, the more ways we have to compare cases. We also have more possibilities for statistical analysis with quantitative than with qualitative variables. Even if your primary concern is only to compare teenagers to young adults, measure age in years rather than in categories; you can always combine the ages later into categories corresponding to “teenager” and “young adult.”
Be aware, however, that other considerations may preclude measurement at a high level. For example, many people are very reluctant to report their exact incomes, even in anonymous questionnaires. So asking respondents to report their income in categories (such as under $10,000, $10,000–19,999, $20,000–29,999, and so on) will elicit more responses, and thus more valid data, than asking respondents for their income in dollars.
© Pine Forge Press, an imprint of Sage Publications, 2004