Lesson 6

Forming all Operational

Definitions
Intended Learning Outcomes
This learning activity challenges you to:

1. Identify terms to be defined in the

study
2. Define these terms operationally or as
used in the study
Defining the Terms
Used in the Study
 It is important to include definition of
terms in your research in order to
understand the key terms being used
in the study. These terms should be
clearly defined according to how
they are used in the study for easy
understanding of the problem and
avoid ambiguous meaning to terms
which can be otherwise interpreted in
different ways. This is what we refer to
as operational definition.
 There are cases when you have to define
terms based on actual concepts, that is,
based on what has been accepted as the
definition as used by the experts in the
area. This is what we refer to as
conceptual definition. This is also
accepted provided you acknowledge the
author from who you borrowed the
definition, then proceed to define the terms
operationally by applying the conceptual
definition to the study and to finally arrive
at an operational definition of term.
 Make sure to define common terms
that may have special meaning or used
differently. To identify terms to be
defined, start from the title. All terms
in the title that may be given a double
meaning or a meaning different from
how you intended it to be used in your
study should be operationally defined.
 From the title, proceed to the
general statement and the sub-
questions and look for the variables.
Variables which are used with a different
meaning from the traditional or
accepted meanings should be defined
while those variables with meanings
similar to accepted or traditional
definitions may no longer be included in
the definition of terms. Example is if you
are referring to gender as male and
female or age as the chronological age.
 If however you would like to
expand your definition of age to
mean mental age as required in
the study, then, you have to define
age operationally.
 As you progress in writing your
research, you might be using terms
which might again be given a different
meaning from the usual as you used it
in your study, from the introduction to
the analysis and the interpretation
of data. These should also be given a
proper balance in the definition or
terms.
 Terms used by authors you cited but
not actually used in your study may not be
defined. If quoting definitions from the
dictionary as may sometimes be needed,
avoid the circular definitions, such as
“freedom” is the state of being free, that is,
using the root word of the term to
define it. You will not be clarifying the
meaning of the terms in that manner.
 In writing your definitions, make sure
that the terms defined are arranged in
alphabetical order and that the
definitions are presented in complete
sentence, with a format similar to what
are presented below:
 Changes in Company Activities.
These pertain to the possible
organizational changes that the company
will undergo for the next five years such
as internal growth, vertical integration,
horizontal expansion, company
diversification, combination strategies,
and retrenchment. These also include
turnaround, divestment, and liquidation.
 Adjustment. This is used
interchangeably with marital
adjustment which is the degree to
which a couple gets along with each
other or have a good working
relationship and are able to satisfy each
other’s need over the marital course. It
is an ongoing process (Balolong,2010).
 Gender Roles. This refers to the
beliefs about how the other person
should behave in relation to his/her
partner, like whether a woman should
serve the man or is she given more
liberties (Balolong,2010)
 Relationship With In-laws. This is
one area being considered in
determining the adjustment strategies
of the respondents where their
relationships with the relatives of their
non-Filipino partners and the
relationship with the relatives of the
Filipino women partners is being
considered (Balolong,2010).
 Local Government Units. This
refers to an administrative and political
government subsidiary to the national
government which could itself consist of
sub-units as in the case of the
Municipality of Castillejos. It has the
legal authority to levy taxes, legislate,
and execute programs for the citizens
(Rafanan,2012).
 Poverty Line/Threshold. This
refers to the minimum monthly income
required or the expenditure necessary
to satisfy the food threshold a family
(Maniego,2010).