Measurement

2007 - A

Measurement
Measurement in research consists of assigning numbers to empirical events in compliance with a set of rules. This definition implies that measurement is a three-part process:
Selecting observable empirical event Developing a set of rules: scheme for assigning numbers to symbols to represent aspects of the event being measured Applying mapping rule (s) to each observation of that event.

What is measured?
OBJECTS: Includes the things of ordinary experience, such as tables, people, books, and automobiles PROPERTIES: are the characteristics of the objects. A person physical properties may be stated in terms of weight, height, and posture. Psychological properties includes attitude and intelligence. Social properties includes leadership ability, class affiliation, or status.

Mapping rules
Mapping rules have four characteristics:
Classification: numbers are used to group or sort responses. No order exist Order: number are ordered. One number is greater than, less than, or equal to another number. Distance: differences b/w numbers are ordered. The difference b/w any pair of numbers is greater than, or less than, or equal to the difference b/w any other pair of numbers. Origin: the number series has a unique origin indicated by the number zero

 An example of a confounding variable (Instructor)

Statistics 1

Data types
In measuring, one devises some mapping rules and then translate the observation of property indicants that rule. For each concept or construct, several types of data are possible.

Nominal data
Nominal data are more widely collected than any other. In nominal data researcher are collecting information on a variable that naturally or by design can be grouped into two or more categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (in-depth).

Ordinal data
Ordinal data include the characteristics of the nominal scale plus an indicator of order. If a > b and b>c, than a is greater than c. The use of ordinal scale implies a statement of greater than or less than without stating how much greater or lesser. Other descriptions includes may be used such as: superior to, happier than, poorer than, or above or less

Interval data
Interval data have the power of nominal and ordinal data plus one additional strength. They incorporate the concept of equality of interval (the distance between 1 & 2 equals the distance between 2 & 3). For example: the elapsed time between 3 & 6 am equals the time between 4 & 7 am.

Ratio data
Ratio data incorporate all of the powers of the previous data types plus the provision for absolute zero or origin. Ratio represent the actual amounts of a variable . Measure of physical dimensions such as weight, height, distance, and area are examples.

Scales of Measurement
Type of Scale or data Key Features Mutually exclusive categories. categorical data Gender Ethnicity Yes/no Responses Examples

Nominal

Ordinal

Discrete categories that can Educational Level be rank ordered, to show Class Rank more or less of something. Socioeconomic Status Numerical data but without Fahrenheit Scale a meaningful zero point. IQ Scores Personality Test Scores Numerical data plus a meaningful zero point. Height, Reaction Time, # of times a behavior occurs

Interval

Ratio

Measuring Students Studying

Type of Scale Question & Method of Measurement Do Students Study? Examples

Nominal

Carl yes

Jeff - yes Rosa - no Jenna - no

Responses fall into yes Maria yes or no categories. Neil yes

Ordinal

Who studies more? Students are rank ordered on studying.

Carl studies more than Maria, who studies more than Neil, who studies more than Jeff, etc.

Measuring Students Studying (2)

Type of Scale Question & Method of Measurement Examples Carl 5 (Always)

Interval

Who studies more?

Studying is rated on a 5point scale. (a Likert Scale)

Maria - 4 (Usually) Neil 3 (Often) Jeff 2 (Sometimes) Rosa 1 (Never) Jenna 1 (Never) Carl 6 hours/day Maria 5 hours/day Neil 2 hours/day Jeff 1 hour/day Rosa 0 hours/day Jenna 0 hours/day

Ratio

Who studies more?

Measure the amount of time spent studying.

Sources of measurement difference

The respondent Situational factors The measurer The instrument

The characteristics of sound measurement

What are the characteristics of a good measurement tool?

Answer
The tool should be an accurate counter or indicator of what we are interested in measuring And It should be easy and efficient to use

Three major criteria

There are three major criteria for evaluating a measurement tool
Validity Reliability Practicality

Validity
Validity refers to the extent to which a test measures what we actually wish to measure. In general, validity concerns the degree to which an account is accurate or truthful In qualitative research, validity concerns the degree to which a finding is judged to have been interpreted in a correct way The text features two major forms of validity Internal and External

Validity
Validity is not a commodity that can be purchased with techniques Rather, validity is, like integrity, character and quality, to be assessed relative to purposes and circumstances.
Brinberg and McGrath 1985:13

External validity
The external validity of research findings refers to the datas ability to be generalized across persons, settings, and times (discussed in sampling techniques lecture)

Internal validity
Validity in this context is the extend to which differences found with a measuring tool reflect true differences among respondents being tested. The difficulty in meeting the test of validity is that usually one does not know what the true differences are.

Three major forms of validity

Content validity Criterion validity Construct validity

Types Content

What is measured Degree to which the content of the items adequately represents the universe of all relevant items under study.

Methods
Judgmental or panel evaluation with content validity ratio

Criterion related

Degree to which the predictor is adequate correlation in capturing the relevant aspects of the criterion

Concurrent Description of the present; criterion data are available at same time as predictor scores. Predictive Construct Prediction of the future: criterion data are measured after the passage of time Answer the questions What accounts for Judgmental the variance in the measure? Attempts to Correlation of identify the underlying construct (s) being proposed test with measured and determine how well the test established one represent it (them)