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Chapter Six: Measurement of Constructs, measured with, measured with -…
Chapter Six:
Measurement of Constructs
some constructs are easy to measure (weight, height, etc.) while others are more difficult (creativity, prejudice, etc.)
Index:
composite score derived from aggregating measures of multiple constructs using a set of rules and formulas
ex: socio-economic status, aka the Duncan socio-economic index (SEI)
Typology:
set of categories or types summarizing measures of two or more constructs
multidimensional but only include nominal variables
Conceptualization:
mental process by which fuzzy/imprecise constructs are defined in precise terms
reification:
regarding mental constructs as real;
ex:prejudice
Unidimensional Constructs:
expected to have a single underlying dimension; can be measured using a single measure or test;
ex: weight, wind speed
Multidimensional Constructs:
consist of two or more underlying dimensions; dimensions are measured separately;
ex: academic aptitude, which may include multiple dimensions such as math and verbal skills
Operationalization:
process of developing indicators for measuring constructs
indicator:
item for measuring constructs;
operate at an empirical level
variable:
combination of indicators at the empirical level
may be independent, dependent, mediating, or moderating
may have several
attributes
or levels
each attribute represents a different
value
ex: gender variable may have two attributes: male and female
quantitative:
numeric
qualitative:
non-numeric
many variables in social science are qualitative, even if represented in a quantitative manner
reflective indicator:
"reflects" an underlying construct
attending religous services as a reflective indicator of religiosity
formative indicator:
"forms" or contributes to an underlying construct; may represent different dimensions of a construct
measures of belief, devotion, and ritual to measure religiosity
Scaling:
process of creating indicators;
branch of measurement that involves the construction of measures by associating qualitative judgements about unobservable constructs with quantitative , measureable metric units
Outcome is a
scale
Thurstone's equal-appearing scaling method:
starts with clear conceptual definition of construct and potential scale items are generated to measure it; pool of items are presented to a panel of judges
Likert's Summative Scaling Method:
most popular; starts with clear definition of construct; scale items judged by experts; experts rate items 1-5; researcher may use judgement in the end
Guttman's Cumulative Scaling Method:
starts with clear definition of construct; uses experts to develop large set of potential items; judges then rate items with "yeses"
assumes that people’s willingness to participate in social relations with other people vary in degrees of intensity, and measures that intensity using a list of items arranged from ‘least intense’ to ‘most intense’
Levels of Measurement
or
rating scales
:
values that an indicator can take
nominal scales:
also called categorical scales;
measure categorical data
used for variables/indicators with mutually exclusive attributes
assigned numbers do not have meaning; nominal scales simply assign names or labels
ordinal scales:
measure rank-ordered data
ex: class rank; shows ranking, but no data about GPA or performance itself
interval scales:
values measured are rank-ordered AND equidistant from adjacent attributes
ex: IQ scale
ratio scales:
all qualities of nominal, ordinal, and interval scales, plus a "true zero" point
ex: Kelvin temp scale
Common Rating Scales:
Binary Scales:
nominal scales consisting of binary items;
ex: yes or no; true or false
Likert Scale:
simply worded statements that ask a respondent to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement
Semantic Differential Scale:
composite scale asking respondents for opinions or feelings toward a statement using pairs of adjectives
Guttman Scale:
composite scale that uses a series of items arranged in increasing order of intensity, from least intense to most intense;
ex: attitude toward immigrants
measured with
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