Design Research

Methodology

An assignment on
MEASURING A CONCEPT

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Sheikh Serajul Hakim Sharafat Zaman Saurov
Professor Of Architecture Discipline Student Id: 170148
Khulna University Studio: 4.1
An assignment on MEASURING A CONCEPT
Measurement is the process of observing and recording the observations that are collected as part of a
research effort. There are two major issues that will be considered here. For example, researchers tend to
know who the tallest person in a family is. So, they use centimeter to measure their height and make
comparison between all the family members. Level of measurement refers to the amount of information that
the variable provides about the phenomenon being measured.

First of all the fundamental ideas involved in measuring. Here we have to consider two of major
measurement concepts. In Levels of Measurement, I explain the meaning of the four major levels of
measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Then we move on to the reliability of measurement,
including consideration of true score theory and a variety of reliability estimators.
Secondly the different types of measures that you might use in social research. We consider four broad
categories of measurements. Survey research includes the design and implementation of interviews and
questionnaires. Scaling involves consideration of the major methods of developing and implementing a
scale. Qualitative research provides an overview of the broad range of non-numerical measurement
approaches. And unobtrusive measures presents a variety of measurement methods that don’t intrude on or
interfere with the context of the research.

Characteristics of a Good Measurement Procedure

A good measurement procedure is characterized by three key qualities. First, the set of attributes
representing a variable must be exhaustive and inclusive.

1. Conceptualization
• Initial step is to clarify the concepts embedded in one’s hypothesis with words and examples.
• Process of formulating and clarifying concepts is called conceptualization. It is linked to theory testing and
construction.
• The conceptualization is an ongoing process that may occur prior to any particular empirical investigation
and is usually continues through research as theories and their constituent concepts are refined and
elaborated.

2.Operationalization
• Once the meaning of the concept is clarified and the concept is constructed as variable, the process of
operationalization of the measurement process begins.
• First step of the operationalization is to set up an operational definition as a counterpart of conceptual
definition that corresponds reasonably good to the concept in question.
• An operational definition describes the research operation that will specify the value and category of the
variable on each case.

3. Verbal reports
• Self reports provide simple and generally accurate measures of background variables such as age, gender,
marital status and education.
• Composite measures: in self report attitude measurement, responses to several questions frequently are
combines to create and index or scale.

4. Observation
• observation provides direct and generally unequivocal evidence of overt behavior, but it also is used to
measure subjective experience such as feelings and attitudes.
Levels of Measurement
Nominal • Ordinal • Interval • Ratio

Nominal measurement: System in which cases are classified into two or more categories on
some variable, such as gender, race, religious preference etc. In nominal measurement
numbers (more accurately numerals) are assigned to the categories simply as labels or
codes for the researcher’s convenience in collecting and analyzing the data. Categories of
the variable should possess two characteristics: they must be exhaustive and mutually
exclusive.
Ordinal Measurement: In ordinal measurement, number indicate only the rank order of
cases on some variable. it allows the researchers to make an accurate judgment about one
thing compared to another, even when they can not make an accurate absolute judgment.
For Example: Individual’s ranking of certain leisure activities in terms of the pleasure
derived from them. The three activities are ranked as: 1.Playing tennis 2.Watching television
3. Reading sociology , where one, two and three represent individuals’ ranking of the leisure
activities
Interval measurement: Interval measurement has the quality of the nominal and ordinal
levels, plus the requirement that equal distances or intervals between numbers represents
equal distances in the variable being measured. For Example: Fahrenheit temperature scale:
the difference between 20ºF and 30ºF is the same as the difference between 90ºF and
100ºF- 10ºF. We can infer not only that 100ºF is hotter than 90ºF but also how much it is
Ratio Measurement: Includes the feature of other levels plus an absolute zero point. The
presence of an absolute zero makes it possible to multiply or divide scale numbers
meaningfully and thereby form ratios. For Example: Compare interval or differences

Importance of Reliability, Consistency and Validity

Reliability: Reliability is highly important for psychological research. This is because it tests if the study fulfills its
predicted aims and hypothesis and also ensures that the results are due to the study and not any possible
extraneous variables. If a study is reliable it can have positive implications for other areas of psychology and could
be used to improve/aid issues. This allowed the study to be used to develop further research in this field. Also, the
reliability of this study extends worldwide and has become an accepted methodology worldwide. This shows how
reliability can have an impact on the acceptance of a study.
Validity: Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure. If research has high
validity, that means it produces results that correspond to real properties, characteristics, and variations in the
physical or social world. The most important characteristics of any good test are validity. In other words, is
describes the efficiency at which it measures the performance what it aims to measure. This validity also tests the
concern and measures and how well it does its work. For example: To judge the validity of any test it is necessary
to know what is this test for. Also, it ascertains what is the purpose of the test.
The validity of a test is classified into 4 types:
1. Content validity 2. Concurrent validity 3. Predictive validity 4. Construct Validity
Consistency: Another way of thinking about reliability is in terms of consistency. Whereas stability refers to the
reliability of a measure over time, consistency refers to its reliability across observers or across items. As
mentioned above, consistency in research design falls in three categories: quantitative reliability, qualitative
dependability, and MMR dependability