Measurement of

Variables: Operational
Definition
CHAPTER 6

Chapter Objectives
Explain when operationalization
of variables is necessary.
Operationally define variables.
Describe the advantages of using
existing measurement scales to
operationalize variables.

Measurement

Measurement: the assignment of

numbers or other symbols to
characteristics (or attributes) of
objects according to a prespecified set of rules.

Objects( Characteristics of)

Objects include persons, strategic

business units, companies, countries,
kitchen appliances, restaurants, shampoo,
yogurt and so on.
Examples of characteristics of objects are
arousal seeking tendency, achievement
motivation, organizational effectiveness,
shopping enjoyment, length, weight, ethnic
diversity, service quality, conditioning effects
and taste.
5

Measurement of the Variables

Measurement of variables in the

theoretical framework is an integral
part of research and an important
aspect of research design.
Unless the variables are measured
in some way, we will not be able to
test our hypotheses and find
answers to complex research issues.
5

Measurement of Variables

There are two types of variables:

Objective nature: could be measured

Subjective nature: hard to be measured

Objects that can be physically measured:

The length and width of an office table
The office floor area
The demographic characteristics of
the employees:
6

Measurement of Variables
1.

2.
3.
4.

How long have you been working in this

organization.
What is your job title.
What is your marital status?
The number of your children.

The absenteeism of employees.

The number of products produced.
The number of products rejects during
the course of each month.
7

Measurement of Variables

Objects that cant be physically

measured:
The perceptions of individuals.
extent of authority given to the
individual.
how the supervisor treats the workers.
promotional opportunities.
The degree of understanding.
8

Measurement of Variables

One technique to measure these

variables, is to reduce the abstract
notion to observable behavior and
characteristics.
For instance, the concept of thirst is
abstract; we cannot see thirst.
We expect a thirsty person to drink water.
We determine the thirst levels by the
measure of the quantity of water that
a person drink.
9

Operational Definition:
Dimensions and Elements

Operational definition is a statement of the

specific dimensions and elements through
which a concept will become measurable.
Operationalizing is done by looking at the
behavioral dimensions, or properties
denoted by the concept. These are then
translated into observable and measurable
elements.
Operationally defining a concept involves
a series of steps. An example will help to
illustrate how this is done.
10

Example: Operationalizing the

Concept of Achievement
Motivation

What behavioral dimensions or

characteristics would we expect to find
in people with high achievement
motivation?
The people who have high
achievement motivation would
probably have the following five
typical broad characteristics, which
we will call dimensions:
11

Example (Cont.)
1. They would be driven by work
2. No mood to relax
3. Prefer to work on their own rather
with others
4. They engage in challenging jobs
rather than easy ones.
5. They like to get feedback from their
superiors, colleagues, to know how they
are progressing.
12

Example (Cont.)

Although, breaking the concept of

Achievement Motivation into the above
five dimensions has reduced its level of
abstraction, we have still not
operationalized the concept into
measurable elements of behavior.
This could be done by breaking each
dimension into its elements, in order
to distinguish those who have high
motivation from those with less.
13

Example (Cont.)
Elements of dimension 1: (They would
be driven by work)
(1) be at work all the time
(2) be reluctant to take time off from work
(3) persevere even in the face of some
setbacks
All the above elements could be counted
by asking a direct questions to the
respondents through a questioners or an
interviews.

14

Example (Cont.)
Elements of Dimension 2: (No mood
to relax)
The degree of unwillingness to relax can
be measured by asking persons such
questions as:
(1) how often do you think about work
while you are away from the workplace?
(2) what are your hobbies?
(3) how do you spend your time when
you are away from workplace?

15

Example (Cont.)

Elements of Dimension 3:
(Prefer to work on their own rather
with others)
Individuals with high achievement
motivation have no patience with
ineffective people and does not
like to work with others.
16

Example (Cont.)

Elements of Dimension 4: (They

engage in challenging jobs rather
than easy ones)
They dont like routine jobs
they like to take moderate, rather
than overwhelming challenges

17

Example (Cont.)

Elements of Dimension 5: (They

like to get feedback from their
superiors, colleagues, to know how they
are progressing)

asks for feedback on how the job

has been done, both negative and
positive.
( see Figure 1)
18

Figure 1

19

Operational Definition:
Dimensions and Elements

Operationally defining the

concept is the best way to
measure it. We measure it by ask
the respondents to report their
own behavior patterns by asking
them appropriate questions,
which they can respond to on
some scale that we provide.
20

Example: Answers to the following

questions from respondents would be one
way of tapping the level of achievement
motivation

1.

2.

3.

4.

The researcher should try to ask questions

about the elements of the concept.
To what extent would you push yourself to get
the job done on time?
How difficult do you find it to continue to do
your work in the face of initial failures?
How often do you neglect personal matters
because you are preoccupied with your job?
How frequently do you think of your work when
you are at home?
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5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

To what extent do you engage

yourself in hobbies?
How disappointed would you feel if you
did not reach the goals you had set for
yourself?
How much do you concentrate on
achieving your goals?
How annoyed do you get when you
make mistakes?
To what extent would you prefer to work
by yourself rather than with others?
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10. To what extent would you prefer a job

that is difficult but challenging, to one
that is easy and routine?
11.

12.

13.

During the past 3 months, how often have

you sought feedback from your superiors
on how well you are performing your job?
How often have you tried to obtain
feedback on your performance from your
co-workers during the past 3 months?
To what extent would it frustrate you if
people did not give you feedback on how
you are progressing?
23

What an Operational
Definition Is Not

Just as important to understand what an

operational definition is, equally important is
to remember what it is not.
An operational definition does not describe
the correlates of the concept.
The operational definition does not consist of
delineating the reasons, antecedents,
consequences, or correlates of the concept.
Rather, it describes its observable
characteristics in order to be able to measure
the concept.

24

What an Operational
Definition Is Not
For example, achievement motivation
and performance and/or success may
be highly correlated.
Thus, We cannot measure an individuals level
of motivation through success and/or
performance. Performance and success could
have been made possible as a consequence
of achievement motivation, but in
themselves, the two are not measures of it.
For instance, a person with high achievement
motivation may have failed for some reason, perhaps
beyond his control, to perform the job successfully.
25

What an Operational
Definition Is Not

If we judge the achievement motivation

of this person with performance as the
yardstick, we would have measured
the wrong concept. Instead of
measuring achievement motivationour variable of interest- we would have
measured performance, another
variable we had not intended to measure
nor were interested in.
26

Example
Operationalizing the Concept of
Learning

Learning is an important concept in the

educational setting. How could we
measure the abstract concept called
learning?
First, we need to define the concept
operationally (the dimensions).
Second, break it down to observable
and measurable behaviors (the
elements).
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Example (Cont.)

The dimensions of learning are:

1. Understanding (understands
what is taught in the class room).
2. Retention (remembers what is
understood).
3. Application (applies whatever
has been understood and
remembered).
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Example (Cont.)

These terms still abstract, it is

necessary to break these three
dimensions into elements so we can
measure the concept of learning.
A schematic diagram of the
operational definition of the
concept of learning is shown in Figure
2. The diagram will facilitate our
understanding of the discussion.
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Figure 2

30

What Is Not an Operational

?Definition of Learning

It is important to remember that learning

is no measure of the effort the teacher
expends in explaining, nor that put in by
the student to understand, though both of
these naturally tend to enhance
understanding.
Thus, efforts of the teacher and the
students, may be correlated to learning
they do not actually measure it.
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A Measure of Student Learning

1.
2.

3.

An exam that measures learning in

students would include the following
questions (the particular dimensions
tapped are shown in parentheses):
Define the concept of motivation (recall).
State the various theories of motivation
and explain them, giving examples
(understanding and recall).
What is your viewpoint of the managers
role as motivator? (understanding and
analysis).
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A Measure of Student Learning

4.

5.

Describe three different situations in

which a manager of a work
organization would use equity theory,
the expectancy theory, and job designs
to motivate employees (application).
How does motivation relate to
leadership? How are these concepts
related to a managers job?
(understanding, retention, application).
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Exercise 1

Schematically depict the

operational definition of the
concept of stress and develop 10
questions that would measure
stress.

34

Solution to Exercise 1

35

Exercise 2

Schematically depict the

operational definition of the
concept of enriched job and
develop 12 items to measure it.

36

Solution to Exercise 2

37