15. A variable is:A. a measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions.B.the extent to which a measure provides consistent results.C.the unintended influence that observers or experiments can have on their subjects.D.a speculative statement about the relationship between two traits.Accessibility: Keyboard NavigationBlooms: RememberLearning Objective: 0201What Is the Scientific Method?Schaefer Chapter02 #1516. Income, religion, race, gender, and marital status can all be examples of:A.indexes.B.scales.C. variables.D.operational definitions.Accessibility: Keyboard NavigationBlooms: RememberLearning Objective: 0201What Is the Scientific Method?Schaefer Chapter02 #1617. Which of the following can serve as a variable in a study?A.marital statusB.ethnic backgroundC.age Show
14. The midpoint, or number that divides a series of values into two groups of equal numbersof values, is referred to as theA. mean.B. mode.C.median.D. percentage. 15. Rik Scarce's jail experience in 1993 revealed the potential consequences of Get answer to your question and much more 16. True/False: If x is correlated with y, then by definition, x must be the cause of y.TRUE Get answer to your question and much more 18. English-speaking people in the United States commonly use words whose origins arefrom various African, Asian, and non-English-speaking European cultures. This is anexample ofA. nonmaterial culture.B.cultural diffusion.C. cultural shock.D. cultural relativity. 19. Which of the following is an example of nonverbal communication? Get answer to your question and much more 20. In surveys of first-year college students over the last 40 years, which value has shown thestrongest gain in popularity? Get answer to your question and much more Published on May 6, 2022 by Pritha Bhandari. Revised on July 21, 2022. Operationalization means turning abstract concepts into measurable observations. Although some concepts, like height or age, are easily measured, others, like spirituality or anxiety, are not. Through operationalization, you can systematically collect data on processes and phenomena that aren’t directly observable. Operationalization exampleThe concept of social anxiety can’t be directly measured, but it can be operationalized in many different ways. For example:
Why operationalization mattersIn quantitative research, it’s important to precisely define the variables that you want to study. Without transparent and specific operational definitions, researchers may measure irrelevant concepts or inconsistently apply methods. Operationalization reduces subjectivity and increases the reliability of your study. Your choice of operational definition can sometimes affect your results. For example, an experimental intervention for social anxiety may reduce self-rating anxiety scores but not behavioral avoidance of crowded places. This means that your results are context-specific, and may not generalize to different real-life settings. Generally, abstract concepts can be operationalized in many different ways. These differences mean that you may actually measure slightly different aspects of a concept, so it’s important to be specific about what you are measuring.
If you test a hypothesis using multiple operationalizations of a concept, you can check whether your results depend on the type of measure that you use. If your results don’t vary when you use different measures, then they are said to be “robust.” How to operationalize conceptsThere are 3 main steps for operationalization:
1. Identify the main concepts you are interested in studying.Based on your research interests and goals, define your topic and come up with an initial research question. Research question exampleIs there a relation between sleep and social media behavior in teenagers?There are two main concepts in your research question:
2. Choose a variable to represent each of the concepts.Your main concepts may each have many variables, or properties, that you can measure. For instance, are you going to measure the amount of sleep or the quality of sleep? And are you going to measure how often teenagers use social media, which social media they use, or when they use it?
3. Select indicators for each of your variables.To measure your variables, decide on indicators that can represent them numerically. Sometimes these indicators will be obvious: for example, the amount of sleep is represented by the number of hours per night. But a variable like sleep quality is harder to measure. You can come up with practical ideas for how to measure variables based on previously published studies. These may include established scales or questionnaires that you can distribute to your participants. If none are available that are appropriate for your sample, you can develop your own scales or questionnaires.
After operationalizing your concepts, it’s important to report your study variables and indicators when writing up your methodology section. You can evaluate how your choice of operationalization may have affected your results or interpretations in the discussion section. Receive feedback on language, structure and formattingProfessional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:
See an example Strengths of operationalizationOperationalization makes it possible to consistently measure variables across different contexts.
Scientific research is based on observable and measurable findings. Operational definitions break down intangible concepts into recordable characteristics.
A standardized approach for collecting data leaves little room for subjective or biased personal interpretations of observations.
A good operationalization can be used consistently by other researchers. If other people measure the same thing using your operational definition, they should all get the same results. Limitations of operationalizationOperational definitions of concepts can sometimes be problematic.
Many concepts vary across different time periods and social settings. For example, poverty is a worldwide phenomenon, but the exact income-level that determines poverty can differ significantly across countries.
Operational definitions can easily miss meaningful and subjective perceptions of concepts by trying to reduce complex concepts to numbers. For example, asking consumers to rate their satisfaction with a service on a 5-point scale will tell you nothing about why they felt that way.
Context-specific operationalizations help preserve real-life experiences, but make it hard to compare studies if the measures differ significantly. For example, corruption can be operationalized in a wide range of ways (e.g., perceptions of corrupt business practices, or frequency of bribe requests from public officials), but the measures may not consistently reflect the same concept. Frequently asked questions about operationalizationWhat is operationalization? Operationalization means turning abstract conceptual ideas into measurable observations. For example, the concept of social anxiety isn’t directly observable, but it can be operationally defined in terms of self-rating scores, behavioral avoidance of crowded places, or physical anxiety symptoms in social situations. Before collecting data, it’s important to consider how you will operationalize the variables that you want to measure. What’s the difference between concepts, variables, and indicators? In scientific research, concepts are the abstract ideas or phenomena that are being studied (e.g., educational achievement). Variablesare properties or characteristics of the concept (e.g., performance at school), while indicators are ways of measuring or quantifying variables (e.g., yearly grade reports). The process of turning abstract concepts into measurable variables and indicators is called operationalization. You have already voted. Thanks :-) Your vote is saved :-) Processing your vote... What is the term for a measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions?Variable. A measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different conditions.
Which term refers to a measurable trait or characteristic that can change from one person group culture or time to another?variables. research factors that vary or change from one person or situation to another, a measurabel trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different characteristics. class conflict. Karl Max's term for the struggle between capitalists and workers. symbolic interaction.
What is the term for a specific measurable definition of a variable?The measurable variable, as the name suggests, is the variable that is measured in an experiment. It is the dependent variable (DV), which depends on changes to the independent variable (IV).
What is the term for the degree to which a measure or scale truly reflects the phenomenon under study?Validity -- the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure. A method can be reliable, consistently measuring the same thing, but not valid.
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