Question 1

The specification of concepts in a scientific inquiry depends on

Accepted Answer

The specification of concepts in a scientific inquiry depends on nominal and operational definitions. Nominal definitions clarify the meaning of a concept or term, while operational definitions describe the specific procedures or operations that will be used to measure or manipulate that concept in a study. Real definitions, on the other hand, refer to the objective essence or nature of a concept, which is often difficult to define in scientific terms. While real definitions may provide a theoretical grounding for a concept, they are less relevant to the practical specification of a concept in a specific study. Therefore, the most relevant types of definitions for specifying concepts in scientific inquiry are nominal and operational definitions.

Question 2

A measurement that is inaccurate,but consistently reports the same results is

Accepted Answer

A measurement that is consistently reporting the same inaccurate results is precise, but it is not valid because it is not measuring the true value accurately.

Question 3

Professor Spence decided to define socioeconomic status as a combination of income and education.Spence then determined the questions to be asked and the categories of responses.Spence was assigning socioeconomic status

Accepted Answer

Spence provided both a nominal definition (a label for the concept as a combination of income and education) and an operational definition (a clear set of questions and responses to identify the level of socioeconomic status).

Question 4

When the variable religious affiliation is classified as Protestant,Catholic,and Jewish,this variable has the important quality of being

Accepted Answer

The answer of When the variable religious affiliation is classified...

Question 5

Measuring a respondent's age on an online survey would be considered a(n):

Accepted Answer

Age is an indirect observable because it is not directly observed but rather reported by the respondent.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Definitions are more problematic for descriptive research because they directly affect the conclusions drawn, whereas explanatory research focuses more on relationships and patterns, which are less affected by specific definitions.

Question 7

A measurement of fear of crime,ranked from 1 to 10 with 10 being "most fearful" and 1 being "not fearful at all" would be an example of:

Accepted Answer

A measurement of fear of crime is an example of an indirect observable, as it cannot be directly observed but is inferred from self-reported responses on a scale. The other options (direct observable, definition, nominal variable, and validity) do not accurately describe this type of measurement.

Question 8

In terms of specification,which of the following statements about nominal definitions is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Nominal definitions do not typically specify how a concept will be measured or operationalized, as that would fall under an operational definition. Nominal definitions simply assign a definition to a concept, often based on consensus or convention, but they do not make claims about the reality or measurement of that concept.

Question 9

Which of the following is a nominal variable?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is a nominal...

Question 10

Techniques used to create reliable measures include

Accepted Answer

Asking about things relevant to respondents ensures that the measures are reliable because respondents can provide accurate and consistent answers based on their own experiences and perspectives. Asking about anything of interest regardless of respondents (A), making up new measures (B), and being vague (C) can lead to unreliable data as the responses may not be relevant or consistent. Creating a new measure each time (E) may also lead to inconsistencies and difficulties in comparing data across different studies.

Question 11

When we fall into the trap of believing that terms have real meanings,we are guilty of

Accepted Answer

When we reify a term, we give it a concrete or objective existence, even though it may just be an abstract concept. This can lead to confusion and misunderstanding, as people may believe that a term has a fixed, universally accepted meaning when in fact it may be subject to interpretation or may vary depending on context or perspective.

Question 12

Professor Miller argues that there are three aspects to the quality of a relationship: 1)belonging/affirmation,2)interdependence,and 3)intimacy.These "aspects" of quality of a relationship are called

Accepted Answer

Aspects of quality of a relationship are called dimensions because they represent different facets or components of a complex concept. In other words, they are different ways to measure or understand the quality of a relationship. Variables refer to specific measurable factors that can be manipulated or controlled in a study, constructs are abstract concepts that cannot be directly observed but are inferred from observable indicators, indicators are specific measures that reflect a construct, and conceptions refer to the way people think about a concept or idea.

Question 13

In assessing a measure of sexual attitudes Troiden and Jendrek examined the link between the measure of sexual attitudes and sexual experience.They reasoned that people expressing liberal sexual attitudes would have a wider range of sexual experiences than those expressing conservative attitudes.They were concerned with examining the ______ of the sexual attitude measurements.

Accepted Answer

Troiden and Jendrek were concerned with examining the construct validity of the sexual attitude measurements by assessing the relationship between the measure and the concept it was designed to measure (i.e., liberal versus conservative sexual attitudes and sexual experience). Split-half validity pertains to the consistency of results across two halves of the test, while face validity refers to the test's appearance of measuring what it is supposed to measure. Criterion-related validity pertains to the correlation between a test and an external criterion. Content validity refers to the extent to which a test measures all aspects of the construct it is intended to measure.

Question 14

After noting that there are three aspects to the quality of a relationship (belonging/affirmation,interdependence,and intimacy)Professor Miller designed an instrument to measure the quality of a relationship.In looking at her questionnaire,she noticed that there were no items tapping intimacy.Her measure lacks

Accepted Answer

Content validity refers to whether an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. In this case, the instrument does not measure intimacy, which is an essential aspect of the quality of a relationship, resulting in a lack of content validity.

Question 15

A measurement of religion in which the indicators include Christian,Muslim,Judaism,and Other would be at what level?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of nominal measurement because the indicators are categories without any inherent order or numerical value assigned to them.

Question 16

Which of the following sequences illustrates the progression of measurement steps?

Accepted Answer

Conceptualization is the first step in the measurement process, followed by nominal definition, operational definition, and measurement in the real world.

Question 17

Professor Myth asked respondents whether they had ever been divorced.One year later Professor Myth asked the same respondents the same question.Myth found that with repeated applications of the measure,different responses were obtained for the same respondent.This means that the measuring instrument was

Accepted Answer

The different responses could indicate that the measuring instrument is unreliable, or it could mean that the respondent's marital status genuinely changed over the year.

Question 18

In testing a new survey that he developed,Marcus asked his introduction to sociology class to fill out the survey for extra credit,and then a week later asked the same class to take the survey again.Marcus was testing the exam's

Accepted Answer

Marcus was testing the reliability of the survey by administering it twice to the same group of people and measuring the consistency of their responses over time. Reliability refers to the degree to which a measure produces consistent results over time or across different groups of people.

Question 19

Because low marital adjustment should lead to divorce,Professor Rogers checked his measure of marital adjustment by examining whether couples with low marital adjustment scores were more likely than couples with high marital adjustment scores to later obtain a divorce.This illustrates the use of

Accepted Answer

Criterion-related validity involves examining whether scores on a measure are related to an external criterion, such as divorce in the case of measuring marital adjustment. Therefore, the professor's use of checking if couples with low marital adjustment scores were more likely to obtain a divorce illustrates the use of criterion-related validity as a way to validate the measure of marital adjustment. Face validity involves examining if a measure appears to assess what it claims to assess. Content validity involves examining if a measure covers all relevant aspects of a construct. Construct validity involves examining if a measure assesses the underlying construct it claims to measure. Test-retest validity involves examining if a measure provides consistent results over time.

Question 20

Hudson et al.(1983,Journal of Sex Research)developed a series of questions to examine sexual attitudes (SAS).The SAS scores of religious fundamentalists,a group believed to be conservative regarding sexual expression,were compared with the scores of social work graduate students,a group believed to be liberal regarding sexual expression.The researchers were examining the instrument's

Accepted Answer

The researchers were comparing the SAS scores of two groups with known differences in sexual attitudes to see if the instrument accurately reflects these differences, which is an examination of criterion validity.

Quiz 5: Conceptualization, operationalization, and Measurement