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Slide 1

LIS 570

How can I measure that? Selecting Variables. Developing indicators for concepts

Slide 2

Summary

• Define concepts

• Identify dimensions

• Identify variables

• Identify indicators

• Evaluate the indicators

• Moving from the abstract and theoretical to the empirical and measurable

Slide 3

Descending the Ladder of Abstraction

Problem statement

Statement of Concepts

• Abstractions

• Not empirical

Process of making empirical

• Operationalization (Bouma)

• Clarifying concepts (De Vaus)

Slide 4             

Descending the Ladder of Abstraction

• Process

• Develop a conceptual definition for the concept(s)

• locate a range of definitions

• select one for the study

Find variables for the concept

Assess validity of variables

Slide 5 

Develop a Conceptual Definition

• Conceptual definition

• “Dictionary type definition”

• Consists of more concepts

• Leisure Activities of Interest
  “activities-apart from obligation to work, family & society to which a person turns at will”

• “interests = those activities which people actively seek out”

Slide 6

Locate and select a definition

• Locate a range of definitions

• everyday definitions

• scholarly definitions

Select one definition

• Useful

• Appropriate

• Relevant

• Necessary to measure validity

Slide 7

Delineate the dimensions of the concept

• Many concepts have a number of different aspects or dimensions

• should be distinguished

• we may use one of these dimensions in the study

• we may develop indicators for each dimension

E.g. What are the dimensions of leisure activity?

Slide 8

Conceptual definitions

• Importance of definition

• Determines type(s) of data

Clarifies meaning for researchers, participants and readers

• “interests” = “likes and dislikes”

• leisure = “non-utilitarian activities

Slide 9

Concepts and variables

• Operationalization

• finding measurable variables for concepts

Operational definition

• defines a concept in empirical terms

Slide 10

Find Variables for the concept

• Definition

• Concept which varies in type or amount

Gender varies  in type

• Male or female

Time spent engaging in leisure activities varies in amount

Concept which is measurable

Concept to which values have been assigned.

• Values must be - exhaustive; exclusive

Slide 11

Variables

• For most concepts there will be many variables

• Leisure Activities of interest

• Different types of Activities:

• Engages in boxing

• Engages in cooking

Amount of time engaging in leisure

Location of activity

Level of organization

Slide 12

Indicators

• Indicators become the focus of questions asked and evidence gathered

• An empirical observation that can be taken as evidence of particular attributes of a variable

• eg male or female is an indicator of gender

• Marital status?

• Educational level?

Slide 13

Indicators

• To study the compassion of LIS570 students
   “a feeling of deep sorrow for living things stricken by misfortune”
    “a strong desire to alleviate the pain of living things”

• indicators

• cry when people die in movies

• vomit at motor accidents

• feel sad when the local possum stops coming for food

Slide 14

Indicators

• How many indicators should we use?

• How do we develop indicators?

• Measures developed in previous studies

• observation, unstructured interviews

• informants

Slide 15

Evaluating indicators

• Validity

• the indicators measure the concept that we think they are measuring

• appropriateness and relevance of the indicators

• eg is educational level a valid indicator of social status?

reliability

• we can rely on the answers that people give to the questions that we ask

Slide 16

Levels of measurement

• Any variable is composed of 2 or more categories or attributes

• eg sex (male/ female); country of birth (Australia, USA, NZ etc)

Level of measurement refers to how the categories of the variable relate to one another

Slide 17

Levels of measurement

• Nominal - measuring a variable at this level involves naming the calibration units

(1)   = Male  ¬  Value Label

(2)   = Female  ¬ Value Label

·        Sample data:  2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1

Slide 18

Levels of measurement

• Ordinal - involves arranging the calibration units into a logical order of rank

• Age (number of years)

• (1)  18-24

• (2)  25-31

• (3)  32-38

• (4)  39-45

There is an order in the calibrations without any assumption that the distances between each calibrating unit are equal

Slide 19

Levels of measurement

• Interval

• e.g.Number of hours; Values designate quantity; 2 more than 1 less than 3; Person 2 has more of the characteristic number of hours exercising  (5 hours) than person 1 (2 hours); Difference between them is 3 hours

Has order but also involves specifying an equal distance between each successive unit

Slide 20

Levels of measurement

• Ratio

• specifies a distance between each successive calibration

• assumes there is a point at which the variable literally does not exist eg height and weight

Slide 21

Which level to aim for (De Vaus)

• Interval or ratio levels

• precise averages can be calculated

• ie what is the average sex of students at UW?

More powerful and sophisticated techniques of analysis are available

higher levels of measurement provide more information

interval level measures can be converted to ordinal or nominal level but not vice versa

Slide 22

Summary - descending the ladder of abstraction