Measuring Social Life:

How Many? How Much? What Type?

Chapter 5

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Why Measure?
Some reasons:
evaluate an explanation
test a hypothesis
provide empirical support for a theory
make a decision about medical treatment
study an applied issue

More central to quantitative research than

qualitative research.
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Making Aspects of the Social World

Visible
We use many measures in daily life.
Measurement extends the range of our
senses.
Measures make otherwise unseen ideas
become visible

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Measuring with Numbers or Words

1. Timing
2. Direction
3. Data Form
4. Linkages

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Measuring with Numbers or Words

Two Parts of the Measurement Process
Conceptualization = refining an idea by giving
it a very clear, explicit definition.
Conceptual Definition = Defining a variable
or concept in theoretical terms with
assumptions and references to other concepts.
Operationalization = the process of linking a
conceptual definition with specific measures.
Operational Definition = defining a concept
as specific operations or actions that you carry
to measure it.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

Measuring with Numbers or Words

Quantitative Conceptualization and
Operationalization
Three-part sequence:
1. Conceptualization
2. Operationalization
3. Measurement
Conceptual hypothesis = Stating a hypothesis
with the variables as abstract concepts.
Empirical hypothesis = the hypothesis stated in
terms of specific measures of variables.
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Why Measure?
Qualitative Conceptualization and
Operationalization
Ideas are in flux during data collection
Definitions become clarified during data collection.

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Why Measure?

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Why Measure?
QUANTITATIVE

QUALITATIVE

1. Conceptualize variables by developing

a clear, complete written conceptual
definition for the core idea of each. You
want build on past theories, consider
definitions others have used, and be very
logical.

1. Gather empirical data and

simultaneously think about concepts to
organize and make sense of the data.
Develop a clear definitions for each idea
that you use. They may be ones you have
read about, new ideas you create, or ones
that the people you are studying use.

2. Operationalize variables by creating

specific activities to measure each. This is
your operational definition that will closely
match how you have defined the variable
in its conceptual definition.

2. As you gather data, be very aware of

processes you use to make sense of the
data and your own thinking. Reflect on
and describe this process of linking ideas
to specific observations in the data.

3. Gather empirical data using the specific

measurement activities of your
operational definition, this links data to the
conceptual definition.

3. Review and refine your definitions and

the descriptions of how you gathered data
and made sense of it.

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How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Creating a Good Measure
1. Keep an open mind.
2. Borrow from others.
3. Anticipate difficulties.
4. Do not forget your unit of analysis.

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How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Reliability and Validity in Quantitative
Research
Reliability = A feature of measures the
method of measuring is dependable and
consistent.
1. Clearly Conceptualize.
2. Increase the Level of Measurement.
3. Use Multiple Indicators.
Multiple indicators = Having several different specific
measures that to indicate the same concept.

4. Use Pilot Studies and Replication.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Reliability and Validity in Quantitative
Research
Validity = A feature of measures; the
concept of interest closely matches the
method used to measure it.
Measurement validity is the fit between
conceptual and operational definitions
Validity is more difficult to achieve than reliability.

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Reliability and Validity in Quantitative Research
Three Types of Measurement Validity
1. Face Validity.
2. Content Validity
3. Criterion Validity

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How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Reliability and Validity in Qualitative
Research
measure in a thoughtful and consistent
manner, so that it is dependable
measure in a consistent and self-conscious
way
Measure with authenticity. Authenticity means
a fair, honest, and balanced account of social
life that captures what is real for particular
people living in a specific time and place.
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity
Putting Reliability and Validity Together
Reliability is easier to achieve than validity.
Reliability is necessary but not sufficient for
validity.
A measure can produce the same result over
and over but what it measures may not match
the definition of the construct (i.e., validity).
You can have a reliable measure that is
invalid.
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

How to Create Good Measures:

Reliability and Validity

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2009

A Guide to Quantitative Measurement

Levels of Measurement
Measurement = The degree a measure is
refined or precise.
Continuous and Discrete Variables
Continuous Variable = A variable that can be
measured with numbers that can be subdivided
into smaller increments.
Discrete variable = A variable measured with a
limited number of fixed categories.

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A Guide to Quantitative Measurement

Levels of Measurement
Four Levels of Measurement
Nominal measures

Ordinal measures
Interval measures
Ratio measures

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A Guide to Quantitative
Measurement
Distance between
Categories
Measured

Level

Different
Categories

Nominal

Yes

Ordinal

Yes

Yes

Interval

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ratio

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ranked

True Zero

Yes

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A Guide to Quantitative Measurement

Specialized Measures: Scales and
Indexes
Scale = A measure that captures a concepts
intensity, direction, or level at the ordinal level
of measurement.
Index = A composite measure that combines
several indicators into a single score.

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A Guide to Quantitative Measurement

Specialized Measures: Scales and
Indexes
Mutually Exclusive and Exhaustive Attributes.
Mutually exclusive = each units fits into one, and
only one, category of a variable.
Exhaustive = all units fit into some category of a
variable.

Unidimensionality
Unidimensionality = All items of an index or scale
measure the same concept or have a common
dimension.
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Adding Measures to Get a Score:

Index Construction
To create an index, you combine two or
more items into a single numerical score.
Two complications in index construction
1. Count items equally or weight them?
2. The missing data issue

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Capturing Intensity: Scale

Construction
Scale = A measure that captures the
intensity of a persons behaviors or
feelings.
Some Commonly Used Scales
Likert Scale.
Measuring Social Distance
Semantic Differential
Guttman Scaling
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Capturing Intensity: Scale

Construction
Summary Review Major Scales

LikertGeneral Attitude
Semantic DifferentialIndirect
Measure Indicates attitude
Evaluation Measure Indicates
using ranked answers showing
subjective feelings using
degree of agreement/support.
connotations in adjective sets.
BogardusSocial Distance
Measure
Indicates acceptance of
various levels of social
intimacy with out-groups.

GuttmanStructural of
Response Measure
Indicates whether a set of items
corresponds to a hierarchical
pattern

Out-group Sociologists define an outgroupas a group to which you do

not belong and from which you feel separated

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