Are there different levels of prejudice, such as high or low? Guttman’s cumulative scaling method . Given the high level of subjectivity and imprecision inherent in social science constructs, we tend to measure most of those constructs (except a few demographic constructs such as age, gender, education, and income) using multiple indicators. Measurement in the social sciences repeatability of measurements; validity is the degree to which a set of indicants measures the concept it is intended to measure. Thurstone also created two additional methods of building unidimensional scales – the method of successive intervals and the method of paired comparisons – which are both very similar to the method of equal-appearing intervals, except for how judges are asked to rate the data. Common rating scales include binary, Likert, semantic differential, or Guttman scales. Three or nine values (often called ‘anchors’) may also be used, but it is important to use an odd number of values to allow for a ‘neutral’ (or ‘neither agree nor disagree’) anchor. Measurement is the process of observing and recording the observations that are collected as part of a research effort, e.g. Ordinal scales are those that measure rank-ordered data, such as the ranking of students in a class as first, second, third, and so forth, based on their grade point average or test scores. Measurement occurs at all stages of research. Examples include simple constructs such as a person’s weight, wind speed, and probably even complex constructs like self-esteem (if we conceptualize self-esteem as consisting of a single dimension, which of course, may be a unrealistic assumption). For instance, diamonds can scratch all other naturally occurring minerals on earth— hence diamond is the ‘hardest’ mineral. If women earn less than men for the same job, is that gender prejudice? Gender and race are also measured at the nominal level. Allowed central tendency measures include mean, median, or mode, as well as measures of dispersion, such as range and standard deviation. Designed by Rensis Likert, this is a very popular rating scale for measuring ordinal data in social science research. A formative indicator is a measure that “forms” or contributes to an underlying construct. But how do we create the indicators themselves? The intelligence quotient (IQ) scale is also an interval scale, because the scale is designed such that the difference between IQ scores 100 and 110 is supposed to be the same as between 110 and 120 (although we do not really know whether that is truly the case). For instance, we can create a customer satisfaction indicator with five attributes: strongly dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, neutral, somewhat satisfied, and strongly satisfied, and assign numbers one through five respectively for these five attributes, so that we can use sophisticated statistical tools for quantitative data analysis. Louis Thurstone—one of the earliest and most famous scaling theorists—published a method of equal-appearing intervals in 1925. 2. In Deductive research, it helps researchers to specify the theory and come out with a specific variable that can place in a hypothesis. In closing, scale (or index) construction in social science research is a complex process involving several key decisions. The three most popular unidimensional scaling methods are: Thurstone’s equal-appearing scaling, Likert’s summative scaling, and Guttman’s cumulative scaling. The statistical technique also estimates a score for each item that can be used to compute a respondent’s overall score on the entire set of items. Y indicates exceptions that prevents this matrix from being perfectly cumulative. Scales and indexes generate ordinal measures of unidimensional constructs. The process of creating an index is similar to that of a scale. For instance, the method of paired comparison requires each judge to make a judgment between each pair of statements (rather than rate each statement independently on a 1 to 11 scale). For judges with the same number of ‘yes, the statements can be sorted from left to right based on most number of agreements to least. Using a complicated weighting scheme that takes into account the location and probability of purchase of each item, these prices are combined by analysts, which are then combined into an overall index score using a series of formulas and rules. In the social sciences, scaling is the process of measuring or ordering entities with respect to quantitative attributes or traits. Binary scales. The main purposes of social research Units of analysis How to design a research project The elements of research proposals Measurement ... Levels of Measurement - all measurements in science are conducted using 4 different types of scales: Nominal Level-variables with attributes of exhaustiveness and mutually exclusiveness. For instance, we often use the word “prejudice” and the word conjures a certain image in our mind; however, we may struggle if we were asked to define exactly what the term meant. Social Science Research: Principles, Methods and Practices (Revised edition), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Unidimensional scale measures constructs along a single scale, ranging from high to low. Rather, scaling is the formal process of developing scale items, before rating scales can be attached to those items. These three approaches are similar in many respects, with the key differences being the rating of the scale items by judges and the statistical methods used to select the final items. Attaching a rating scale to a statement or instrument is not scaling. A classic example in the natural sciences is Moh’s scale of mineral hardness, which characterizes the hardness of various minerals by their ability to scratch other minerals. Thurstone’s equal-appearing scaling method. However, scales typically involve a set of similar items that use the same rating scale (such as a five-point Likert scale). Likert items allow for more granularity (more finely tuned response) than binary items, including whether respondents are neutral to the statement. These items are then rated by judges on a 1 to 5 (or 1 to 7) rating scale as follows: 1 for strongly disagree with the concept, 2 for somewhat disagree with the concept, 3 for undecided, 4 for somewhat agree with the concept, and 5 for strongly agree with the concept. A rating scale is used to capture the respondents’ reactions to a given item—for example, a nominal scaled item captures a yes/no reaction—,and an ordinal scaled item captures a value between ‘strongly disagree’ and ‘strongly agree’. Biophysical Measurement in Experimental Social Science Research is an ideal primer for the experimental social scientist wishing to update their knowledge and skillset in the area of laboratory-based biophysical measurement. Home. Operationalization refers to the process of developing indicators or items for measuring these constructs. A reflective indicator is a measure that “reflects” an underlying construct. However, researchers sometimes wish to summarize measures of two or more constructs to create a set of categories or types called a typology . Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices. For instance, if religiosity is defined as composing of a belief dimension, a devotional dimension, and a ritual dimension, then indicators chosen to measure each of these different dimensions will be considered formative indicators. One important decision in conceptualizing constructs is specifying whether they are unidimensional and multidimensional. For instance, one can create a political typology of newspapers based on their orientation toward domestic and foreign policy, as expressed in their editorial columns, as shown in Figure 6.2. In his seminal article titled ‘On the theory of scales of measurement’ published in Science in 1946,[1] psychologist Stanley Smith Stevens defined four generic types of rating scales for scientific measurements: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales. In this brief video lecture, I talk about how concepts are developed and defined in the social sciences. Quantitative research is a strategy which involves the collection of numerical data, a deductive view of the relationship between theory and research, a preference for a natural science approach (and for positivism in particular), and an objectivist conception of social reality. Scales can be unidimensional or multidimensional, based on whether the underlying construct is unidimensional (e.g., weight, wind speed, firm size) or multidimensional (e.g., academic aptitude, intelligence). In practice, we seldom find a set of items that matches this cumulative pattern perfectly. For instance, if we conceptualize a person’s academic aptitude as consisting of two dimensions – mathematical and verbal ability – then academic aptitude is a multidimensional construct. However, the scale does not indicate the actual hardness of these minerals or even provides a relative assessment of their hardness. Reviewing the literature, using theories, and/or interviewing experts or key stakeholders may help resolve this issue. Are there different levels of prejudice, such as high or low? Many behavioral laboratories across the globe have acquired increasingly sophisticated biophysical measurement equipment, sometimes for particular research … Quantitative analysis: Descriptive statistics, 15. For instance, academic aptitude can be measured using two separate tests of students’ mathematical and verbal ability, and then combining these scores to create an overall measure for academic aptitude. As with Thurstone’s method, the Likert method also starts with a clear definition of the construct of interest, and using a set of experts to generate about 80 to 100 potential scale items. Three or nine values (often called “anchors”) may also be used, but it is important to use an odd number of values to allow for a “neutral” (or “neither agree nor disagree”) anchor. Though indexes and scales yield a single numerical score or value representing a construct of interest, they are different in many ways. A multi-dimensional typology of newspapers. A formative indicator is a measure that ‘forms’ or contributes to an underlying construct. ), and religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc.). ‘Scales’, as discussed in this section, are a little different from the ‘rating scales’ discussed in the previous section. As noted in the previous chapter, variables may be independent, dependent, mediating, or moderating, depending on how they are employed in a research study. Figure 6.1. This scale includes Likert items that are simply-worded statements to which respondents can indicate their extent of agreement or disagreement on a five or seven-point scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. Interval scales are those where the values measured are not only rank-ordered, but are also equidistant from adjacent attributes. The next chapter will examine how to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scales developed using the above approaches. Each item in this scale is a binary item, and the total number of ‘yes’ indicated by a respondent (a value from zero to six) can be used as an overall measure of that person’s political activism. A scalogram analysis is used to examine how closely a set of items corresponds to the idea of cumulativeness. The selection process is done by having each judge independently rate each item on a scale from 1 to 11 based on how closely, in their opinion, that item reflects the intended construct (1 represents extremely unfavorable and 11 represents extremely favorable). This is the glossary definition of measurement in science, with examples of common measurements and systems. Quantitative research methods are used in scientific research and in some disciplines, such as economics. MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH SONDARVA YAGNESH M MSc Agricultural Extension Education BACA AAU, Anand. 14. There are 4 levels of measurement in social science research that every good researcher understands. A group of judges then rate each candidate item as “yes” if they view the item as being favorable to the construct and “no” if they see the item as unfavorable. In this chapter, we will examine the related processes of conceptualization and operationalization for creating measures of such constructs. Social science research is focused on finding reasons for human behavior. For instance, if religiosity is defined as composing of a belief dimension, a devotional dimension, and a ritual dimension, then indicators chosen to measure each of these different dimensions will be considered formative indicators. The combination of indicators at the empirical level representing a given construct is called a variable. For example, the temperature scale (in Fahrenheit or Celsius), where the difference between 30 and 40 degree Fahrenheit is the same as that between 80 and 90 degree Fahrenheit. Table 6.1. For example, we can measure the height of a person by assigning the person a number based on the number of inches tall that person is. For instance, the word ‘prejudice’ conjures a certain image in our mind, however, we may struggle if we were asked to define exactly what the term meant. Finally, what procedure would you use to generate the scale items (e.g., Thurstone, Likert, or Guttman method) or index components? Permissible statistics are chi-square and frequency distribution, and only a one-to-one (equality) transformation is allowed (e.g., 1 = Male, 2 = Female). If churchgoers believe that non-believers will burn in hell, is that religious prejudice? Quantitative data can be analyzed using quantitative data analysis techniques, such as regression or structural equation modeling, while qualitative data require qualitative data analysis techniques, such as coding. Unidimensional constructs are measured using reflective indicators (even though multiple reflective indicators may be used for measuring abstruse constructs such as self-esteem), while multidimensional constructs are measured as a formative combination of the multiple dimensions, even though each of the underlying dimensions may be measured using one or more reflective indicators. Ratio scales are those that have all the qualities of nominal, ordinal, and interval scales, and in addition, also have a “true zero” point (where the value zero implies lack or non-availability of the underlying construct). A classic example in the natural sciences is Moh’s scale of mineral hardness, which characterises the hardness of various minerals by their ability to scratch other minerals. If women earn less than men for the same job, is that gender prejudice? If deeply religious people believe that some members of their society, such as nonbelievers, gays, and abortion doctors, will burn in hell for their sins, and forcefully try to change the “sinners” behaviors to prevent them from going to hell, are they acting in a prejudicial manner or a compassionate manner? Likewise, a customer satisfaction scale may be constructed to represent five attributes: “strongly dissatisfied”, “somewhat dissatisfied”, “neutral”, “somewhat satisfied” and “strongly satisfied”. For example, if religiosity is defined as a construct that measures how religious a person is, then attending religious services may be a reflective indicator of religiosity. Each item in the above Guttman scale has a weight (not indicated above) which varies with the intensity of that item, and the weighted combination of each response is used as an aggregate measure of an observation. More formally, scaling is a branch of measurement that involves the construction of measures by associating qualitative judgments about unobservable constructs with quantitative, measurable metric units. Since most scales employed in social science research are unidimensional, we will next three examine approaches for creating unidimensional scales. The attributes need to be exhaustive and m… Some argue that the sophistication of the scaling methodology makes scales different from indexes, while others suggest that indexing methodology can be equally sophisticated. Conceptualization is a process of specifying a term or concept that researchers want to measure. The Likert method, a unidimensional scaling method developed by Murphy and Likert (1938), is quite possibly the most popular of the three scaling approaches described in this chapter. Hence, statistical analyses may involve percentiles and non-parametric analysis, but more sophisticated techniques such as correlation, regression, and analysis of variance, are not appropriate. For instance, if we conceptualise a person’s academic aptitude as consisting of two dimensions—mathematical and verbal ability—then academic aptitude is a multidimensional construct. The three most popular unidimensional scaling methods are: (1) Thurstone’s equal-appearing scaling, (2) Likert’s summative scaling, and (3) Guttman’s cumulative scaling. Permissible statistical analyses include all of those allowed for nominal and ordinal scales, plus correlation, regression, analysis of variance, and so on. The statistical technique also estimates a score for each item that can be used to compute a respondent’s overall score on the entire set of items. Reviewing the literature, using theories, and/or interviewing experts or key stakeholders may help resolve this issue. Turning social phenomena into data: measurement instruments for the social sciences. Designed by Guttman (1950), the cumulative scaling method is based on Emory Bogardus’ social distance technique, which assumes that people’s willingness to participate in social relations with other people vary in degrees of intensity, and measures that intensity using a list of items arranged from “least intense” to “most intense”. These scales are called ‘ratio’ scales because the ratios of two points on these measures are meaningful and interpretable. Sorted rating matrix for a Guttman scale. Stevens, S. (1946). For instance, there may be certain tribes in the world who lack prejudice and who cannot even imagine what this concept entails. Second, indexes often combine objectively measurable values such as prices or income, while scales are designed to assess subjective or judgmental constructs such as attitude, prejudice, or self-esteem. Unidimensional constructs are measured using reflective indicators, even though multiple reflective indicators may be used for measuring abstruse constructs such as self-esteem. Hence, this method is called a summated scale. Multidimensional scales, on the other hand, employ different items or tests to measure each dimension of the construct separately, and then combine the scores on each dimension to create an overall measure of the multidimensional construct. Measurement refers to careful, deliberate observations of the real world and is the essence of empirical research. For instance, there may be certain tribes in the world who lack prejudice and who cannot even imagine what this concept entails. More formally, scaling is a branch of measurement that involves the construction of measures by associating qualitative judgments about unobservable constructs with quantitative, measurable metric units. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3/, CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, Arithmetic mean, range, standard deviation, Correlation, regression, analysis of variance, Positive similarities(multiplicative, logarithmic), Have you ever written a letter to a public official, Have you ever signed a political petition, Have you ever donated money to a political cause, Have you ever donated money to a candidate running for public office, Have you ever written a political letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine, Have you ever persuaded someone to change his/her voting plans, I’m proud of my relationship with my supervisor at work, I can tell that other people at work are glad to have me there, I feel like I make a useful contribution at work, Do you mind immigrants being citizens of your country, Do you mind immigrants living in your own neighborhood, Would you mind living next door to an immigrant, Would you mind having an immigrant as your close friend, Would you mind if someone in your family married an immigrant. This typology can be used to categorize newspapers into one of four “ideal types” (A through D), identify the distribution of newspapers across these ideal types, and perhaps even create a classificatory model to classifying newspapers into one of these four ideal types depending on other attributes. For instance, academic aptitude can be measured using two separate tests of students’ mathematical and verbal ability, and then combining these scores to create an overall measure for academic aptitude. Though this appears simple, there may be a lot of disagreement among judges on what components (constructs) should be included or excluded from an index. The selection process is done by having each judge independently rate each item on a scale from 1 to 11 based on how closely, in their opinion, that item reflects the intended construct (1 represents extremely unfavourable and 11 represents extremely favourable). For each item, compute the median and inter-quartile range (the difference between the 75 th and the 25 th percentile – a measure of dispersion), which are plotted on a histogram, as shown in Figure 6.1. However, note that the numbers are only labels associated with respondents’ personal evaluation of their own satisfaction, and the underlying variable (satisfaction) is still qualitative even though we represented it in a quantitative manner. This is particularly the case with many social science constructs such as self-esteem, which are assumed to have a single dimension going from low to high. Examples include gender (two values: male or female), industry type (manufacturing, financial, agriculture, etc. Semantic differential scale. Judges with the same number of “yes”, the statements can be sorted from left to right based on most number of agreements to least. First, conceptualize (define) the index and its constituent components. Each of the underlying dimensions in this case must be measured separately—for example, using different tests for mathematical and verbal ability—and the two scores can be combined, possibly in a weighted manner, to create an overall value for the academic aptitude construct. Guttman scale. Given the high level of subjectivity and imprecision inherent in social science constructs, we tend to measure most of those constructs (except a few demographic constructs such as age, gender, education, and income) using multiple indicators. Likewise, a customer satisfaction scale may be constructed to represent five attributes: ‘strongly dissatisfied’, ‘somewhat dissatisfied’, ‘neutral’, ‘somewhat satisfied’ and ‘strongly satisfied’. Measurement refers to careful, deliberate observations of the real world and is the essence of empirical research. Biophysical Measurement in Experimental Social Science Research. Thurstone also created two additional methods of building unidimensional scales—the method of successive intervals and the method of paired comparisons—which are both very similar to the method of equal-appearing intervals, other than the way judges are asked to rate the data. Science, Tech, Math Science Math Social Sciences Computer Science Animals & Nature Humanities History & Culture Visual Arts Literature English Geography Philosophy Issues Languages English as a Second Language The CPI is a measure of how much consumers have to pay for goods and services in general, and is divided into eight major categories (food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, healthcare, recreation, education and communication, and “other goods and services”), which are further subdivided into more than 200 smaller items. The process of regarding mental constructs as real is called reification, which is central to defining constructs and identifying measurable variables for measuring them. Examples include simple constructs such as a person’s weight, wind speed, and probably even complex constructs like self-esteem (if we conceptualise self-esteem as consisting of a single dimension, which of course, may be an unrealistic assumption). However, the actual or relative values of attributes or difference in attribute values cannot be assessed. Levels of measurement , also called rating scales , refer to the values that an indicator can take (but says nothing about the indicator itself). However, the scale does not indicate the actual hardness of these minerals, or even provide a relative assessment of their hardness. Indeed, part of what makes social science interesting are the debates over, for instance, what is a theft, or what is crime. We also discussed the requirements a measurement must meet to provide these benefits and showed several examples of effective measurements. While defining constructs such as prejudice or compassion, we must understand that sometimes, these constructs are not real or can exist independently, but are simply imaginary creations in our mind. The Kelvin temperature scale is also a ratio scale, in contrast to the Fahrenheit or Celsius scales, because the zero point on this scale (equalling -273.15 degree Celsius) is not an arbitrary value but represents a state where the particles of matter at this temperature have zero kinetic energy. Fast Download speed and ads Free! For example, male and female (or M and F, or 1 and 2) are two levels of the indicator ‘gender’. Judges may include academics trained in the process of instrument construction or a random sample of respondents of interest (i.e., people who are familiar with the phenomenon). Should you use an odd or even number of attributes (i.e., do you wish to have neutral or mid-point value)? The combination of indicators at the empirical level representing a given construct is called a variable . As an example, the construct ‘attitude toward immigrants’ can be measured using five items shown in Table 6.5. These items are generated by experts who know something about the construct being measured. Hence, the name paired comparison method. All measures of central tendencies, including geometric and harmonic means, are allowed for ratio scales, as are ratio measures, such as studentized range or coefficient of variation. Permissible statistical analyses include all of those allowed for nominal and ordinal scales, plus correlation, regression, analysis of variance, and so on. This process of measuring abstract concepts in concrete terms remains one of the most difficult tasks in empirical social science research. These items are then rated by judges on a 1 to 5 (or 1 to 7) rating scale as follows: 1 for strongly disagree with the concept, 2 for somewhat disagree with the concept, 3 for undecided, 4 for somewhat agree with the concept, and 5 for strongly agree with the concept. As in the Likert scale, the overall scale score may be a summation of individual item scores. For instance, a “gender” variable may have two attributes: male or female. How do you wish to label the scale attributes (especially for semantic differential scales)? Among the frustrations constantly confronting the social scientist are those associated with the general process of measurement. Likert’s summative scaling method. In the latter case, we can say that respondents who are ‘somewhat satisfied’ are less satisfied than those who are ‘strongly satisfied’, but we cannot quantify their satisfaction levels. Likert items allow for more granularity (more finely tuned response) than binary items, including whether respondents are neutral to the statement. Likert scales are one of the most commonly used scales in social science research.They offer a simple rating system that is common to surveys of all kinds. Again, this process may involve a lot of subjectivity. All statistical methods are allowed. Measurement is the process by which we describe and ascribe meaning to the key facts, concepts, or other phenomena that we are investigating. In the social and behavioral sciences, as in many other areas of science, we typically assign numbers to various attributes of people, objects, or concepts. Judges may include academics trained in the process of instrument construction or a random sample of respondents of interest (i.e., people who are familiar with the phenomenon). Note that many variables in social science research are qualitative, even when represented in a quantitative manner. These constructs can be measured using a single measure or test. The next chapter will examine how to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scales developed using the above approaches. Nevertheless, indexes and scales are both essential tools in social science research. Download full Biophysical Measurement In Experimental Social Science Research Book or read online anytime anywhere, Available in PDF, ePub and Kindle. Knowledge of social research is useful for interpreting and weighing such reports. Even if we assign unique numbers to each value, for instance 1 for male and 2 for female, the numbers don’t really mean anything (i.e., 1 is not less than or half of 2) and could have been easily been represented non-numerically, such as M for male and F for female. Interval scales allow us to examine ‘how much more’ is one attribute when compared to another, which is not possible with nominal or ordinal scales. 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Among researchers ways of … conceptualization and operationalization for creating measures of dispersion such.

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