Observations and measurements

• What is it to “make an observation”?

Controlled observation: A planned observation where the variables believed to influence the
outcome are registered (measured), but cannot be manipulated in order to see what happens if
they are changed. Uncontrolled observation: An unplanned observation? One lacks significant
information about the influencing variables.

1. Narrow view: you observe only what you can detect with your senses
Direct observation: by looking at, hearing, etc. without any aid
Aided direct observation: looking at, hearing, etc. possible only with aids
2. Wide view:
Indirect observation: you observe

• In what two ways can observations be said to be theory dependent?

This means that our observations start out from our conceptions about what types of empirical
observations are most suitable for finding out the regularities in nature. The relationship between
theories and observations is comparable to that between the hen and the egg; there is not much
point in debating which of them came first.

• What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias
• Collection of evidence: searching for evidence that could confirm your hypothesis
• Interpretation of evidence: The observer ”sees” what he or she expects to see

• What is the Hawthorne effect?

observer influence

• The Hawthorne effect: People have a tendency to change their behaviour when they know they are being
studied.

• What is single blinding?

The subject does not know whether he or she is getting a treatment or not

• What is double blinding?

The experimenter does not know which subject is getting the treatment. Reduces the effect of observer
expectations.

• What two problems does one try to solve by double-blinding medical tests?
Clinical drug tests are usually performed as double-blind tests. Different patient groups
receive different drugs (and often one of the groups receives placebo, a drug with no
physiological effect) and a placebo

• What do you do when you “operationalize” a property? What is construct validity?

To operationalize a feature of interest is to provide a way of linking it to observable properties.

Construct validity is the degree to which a test measures the property that it purports to be
measuring.

Check that the operationalization accurately reflects

 the intended concept.
• Comparison between conceptual understanding and
measurement result

• What is convergent validity?

Convergent validity: Different ways of measuring the same intended concept should give rise
to similar results.

• What is divergent validity?

Divergent validity: Different ways of measuring the different intended concept should give rise
dissimilar results.

• What is a measurement scale?

A list of numbers assigned to a certain relation of something to something else

• What does one mean by a systematic versus a random error?

Random errors are inherently unpredictable, and have null
expected value- i.e. they are scattered about the true value.
• Reducing random errors increases precision, but not
accuracy.

• They can be reduced by repeating measurements and

averaging over outcomes, or by trying an alternative
operationalization that might have lower random errors.

The accuracy of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of

measurements of a quantity to that quantity's true value. (threaten by systematic error)

The precision of a measurement system is the degree to which repeated

measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results. (threaten by random error)

The stability of a measurement system is the degree to which similar

measurements repeated over extended periods of time show the same
results. (Thretened by Unit deterioration occurs when the units used in measurement
change their nature in time)

• What is the difference between a reliable versus a valid method of measurement?

In a reliable method of measurement repeated measurements give the same or similar results. On the other
hand in a valid method of measurement, measurements come close to the true value of that being observed.

• What do you do when you calibrate an instrument?

You adjust the measuring instrument so that it yields on average the right value. To do this, you measure
something whose value of the magnitude is known, and you adjust the instrument to that same value.

• In what ways can the numbers of the Celsius scale be said to be “merely conventional” (arbitrary); in what
ways not?
Fixing "0" and "100" - purely conventional. Same difference in column height on different parts of
thermometer corresponds to same difference in degrees Celsius - not purely conventional.