Question 1

How does a researcher use the conceptual definition of a construct in operationalization and conceptualization?

Accepted Answer

A researcher uses the conceptual definition of a construct in operationalization and conceptualization by first clearly defining the construct in theoretical terms. This involves understanding the underlying concept and its key components. Once the conceptual definition is established, the researcher can then proceed to operationalize the construct, which involves defining specific measurable variables or indicators that represent the construct in a research study. This step requires translating the abstract concept into observable and measurable terms.

Additionally, the conceptual definition guides the researcher in the process of conceptualization, which involves developing a theoretical framework for the study and identifying the relationships between different constructs. By using the conceptual definition as a foundation, the researcher can ensure that the operationalization and conceptualization of the construct are aligned with the theoretical understanding of the concept, thus enhancing the validity and reliability of the research findings. Overall, the conceptual definition serves as a crucial starting point for researchers to effectively translate abstract concepts into concrete research variables and theoretical frameworks.

Question 2

Explain how to use the Bogardus Social Distance Scale to measure whether people feel more socially distant from ex-mental hospital patients or heroin addicts.

Accepted Answer

The Bogardus Social Distance Scale is a tool used to measure the level of social distance that individuals feel towards specific groups of people. To use this scale to measure whether people feel more socially distant from ex-mental hospital patients or heroin addicts, you would first need to create a survey or questionnaire that includes the specific groups in question.

The survey would present participants with a series of scenarios or statements related to interacting with ex-mental hospital patients and heroin addicts, and ask them to indicate their level of comfort or willingness to engage with each group. For example, participants could be asked to rate their willingness to have a close friend who is an ex-mental hospital patient or a heroin addict, or their comfort level with having a family member marry someone from each group.

Participants would then use the Bogardus Social Distance Scale to rate their feelings of social distance towards each group, typically using a 7-point scale ranging from "willingness to have close relationships" to "complete avoidance." The responses would be tallied and analyzed to determine the level of social distance felt towards ex-mental hospital patients and heroin addicts.

By comparing the average scores for each group, researchers can determine whether people feel more socially distant from ex-mental hospital patients or heroin addicts. This information can provide valuable insights into societal attitudes and perceptions towards these specific groups, which can be used to inform interventions and policies aimed at reducing stigma and promoting social inclusion.

Question 3

Anthony DeGrassi asked 200 students about individual forms of physical exercise they have seriously tried. He asked questions about: (1) bicycling, (2) swimming, (3) jogging/long-distance running, and (4) weight training [free-weights or exercise machines]. When he looked at the results he found that a large majority of those who tried weight training previously had tried bicycling, swimming, and jogging. At the same time, joggers usually had tried swimming and bicycling, but not weight lifting. Also, many of those who bicycle had never tried any other form of exercise listed. With this type of result, what scaling technique should you recommend he use to organize the information?

Accepted Answer

Guttman scaling is appropriate here because it is designed to analyze patterns of responses that can be ordered in a hierarchical manner, which fits the pattern of exercise participation described.

Question 4

Janice developed a new measure of intelligence. She then tested two groups of people. One group scored low on existing IQ tests. The other scored very high. Those who scored low on old tests usually scored low on her new test; those who scored very high on old tests usually scored high on the new test. Her new measure has

Accepted Answer

Concurrent validity refers to the extent to which the results of a particular test, or measurement, correspond to those of a previously established measurement for the same construct. Janice's new measure of intelligence showing similar results to existing IQ tests for the same individuals (low scores correlating with low scores and high scores with high scores) indicates that her test likely has concurrent validity, as it appears to measure the same construct (intelligence) in a manner that aligns with the established measures.

Question 5

Dr. Smellie's survey question asked students to indicate their class standing as one of the following: Fresh., Soph., Jr., Sr., or Grad. He measured the variable at what level of measurement?

Accepted Answer

The variable is measured at the ordinal level because class standings have a natural order (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate) but the differences between them are not measurable.

Question 6

Kim Jae-On said his measure of community had unidimensionality. This means

Accepted Answer

Unidimensionality refers to the concept that a measurement or scale assesses only one single construct or dimension, meaning it is focused on measuring one specific thing or attribute.

Question 7

Dr. Liu developed a new measure of fear of crime. His conceptual definition was: The degree of emotional, behavioral, or mental response to a real or imagined theft of property or attack on one's person or family members. He then developed one question for a survey to measure his concept: "Do you lock your car doors when you park to go shopping?" What is the MAJOR problem with his measure?

Accepted Answer

The major problem with Dr. Liu's measure is content validity. The single question about locking car doors when going shopping does not adequately cover the broad conceptual definition of fear of crime, which includes emotional, behavioral, or mental responses to a wide range of potential crimes, not just the specific behavior of locking car doors.

Question 8

Dr. Liu found a high correlation between his operational definition of fear of crime and watching too much prime-time television. From this he can conclude

Accepted Answer

A high correlation between fear of crime and watching too much prime-time television suggests a relationship between the two variables, but it does not establish causality or validate the measure of fear of crime. It indicates that there might be a behavioral pattern where individuals who watch a lot of prime-time TV also take precautions against crime, possibly because the content they consume influences their perception of crime risk.

Question 9

Refer to the following paragraph to answer the questions below. 
Maria Valencia developed a new test to measure intelligence or IQ. She claimed that, using her test, someone with an IQ of 180 would be considered twice as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 90. In addition, someone with an IQ of 90 was three times as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 30. In order to see how good it was, she tested two groups of students with her new test during the first week of the semester. One group scored low on existing IQ tests. The other scored very high. 
She found that those who scored low on old tests usually scored low on her new test, while those who scored very high on old tests usually scored high on the new test. In addition, she had the group of people who took the new test retake it at the midterm and again at the end of the semester. She found that a person's IQ score did not change across the three times it was measured during the semester.
-By comparing it with an old test, she has shown the new measure to have

Accepted Answer

The new test shows concurrent validity because the scores on Maria's test correlate with scores on existing IQ tests, indicating that it measures the same construct.

Question 10

Beth Bobson wants to develop a composite measure of how employees feel about a new corporate name and logo. She uses a measure where employees note their feelings on a continuum between two extremes. The polar extremes are labeled and refer to general evaluative adjectives. Which of the following is she using?

Accepted Answer

Beth Bobson is using a semantic differential scale, which is characterized by asking respondents to rate a concept on a scale between two bipolar adjectives. This method is commonly used to measure attitudes and feelings towards a specific object or concept, such as a corporate name and logo in this case.

Question 11

Jack Jackson, owner of the Jackson Automobile Supermarket, wanted to find out the kinds of cars to push to graduating college students. He asked 100 college seniors to rate ten aspects of 11 models his dealership sold: style, fuel economy, engineering, safety, performance, prestige, comfort, price, selection or options, and interior size. Each car was rated on the ten aspects from 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Each student also rated the importance of each aspect (1 = unimportant, 2 = moderate importance, 3 = very important). Then each aspect rating was weighed (multiplied) by its importance rating. Next, everything was added together for a score. Each car received a score of 0 to 150. After calculating the information and reviewing the results, Jack focused on selling cars with scores of 80 and higher to graduating students. What measurement technique did Jack use in his study?

Accepted Answer

Jack used an index as his measurement technique, which involves combining multiple indicators (in this case, ratings of different aspects of cars) into a single score to measure a complex concept (the overall appeal of cars to graduating college students).

Question 12

Green County Social Services Department is interested in placing a group home for adults with mental retardation in a neighborhood. The department wants to measure the feelings of people in the Meadowood neighborhood towards cognitively disabled adults. The staff creates a questionnaire that contains an item that has six categories for the degree of contact that goes from "Having cognitively disabled adults in my city," to "Having a cognitively disabled adult as a roommate."
Neighborhood residents are to begin with the first category and mark all those that they feel personally comfortable with. The questionnaire uses the

Accepted Answer

The Bogardus Social Distance Scale is used to measure the willingness of individuals to participate in social contacts of varying degrees of closeness with members of diverse social groups, which aligns with the described methodology of marking comfort levels with different degrees of contact with cognitively disabled adults.

Question 13

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. 
 
-Conceptual definition of the dependent variable:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the letters marking parts of the...

Question 14

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. 
 
-Conceptualization of the dependent variable:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the letters marking parts of the...

Question 15

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. 
 
-Empirical hypothesis:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Use the letters marking parts of the...

Question 16

Talk about:
-Bogardus Social Distance Scale

Accepted Answer

The answer of Talk about:
-Bogardus Social Distance Scale...

Question 17

Talk about:
-conceptual definition

Accepted Answer

The answer of Talk about:
-conceptual definition...

Question 18

Talk about:
-conceptual hypothesis

Accepted Answer

The answer of Talk about:
-conceptual hypothesis...

Question 19

Talk about:
-conceptualization

Accepted Answer

The answer of Talk about:
-conceptualization...

Question 20

Talk about:
-concurrent validity

Accepted Answer

The answer of Talk about:
-concurrent validity...

Quiz 5: Qualitative and Quantitative Measurement

How does a researcher use the conceptual definition of a construct in operationalization and conceptualization?

Explain how to use the Bogardus Social Distance Scale to measure whether people feel more socially distant from ex-mental hospital patients or heroin addicts.

Dr. Smellie's survey question asked students to indicate their class standing as one of the following: Fresh., Soph., Jr., Sr., or Grad. He measured the variable at what level of measurement?

Kim Jae-On said his measure of community had unidimensionality. This means

Dr. Liu found a high correlation between his operational definition of fear of crime and watching too much prime-time television. From this he can conclude

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. -Conceptual definition of the dependent variable:

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. -Conceptualization of the dependent variable:

Use the letters marking parts of the diagram of the measurement process to identify the following parts. -Empirical hypothesis:

Talk about: -Bogardus Social Distance Scale

Talk about: -conceptual definition

Talk about: -conceptual hypothesis

Talk about: -conceptualization

Talk about: -concurrent validity