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Measurement of Variables: Operational Definition and Scales
Measurement of Variables: Operational Definition and Scales
But when we get into the realm of people‘s subjective feelings, attitudes, and perceptions,
the measurement of these factors or variables becomes difficult. This is one of the aspects
of organizational behavior and management research that adds to the complexity of
research studies.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: DIMENSIONS
AND ELEMENTS
2) Ordinal Scale
An ordinal scale not only categorizes the variables in such a way as to denote differences
among the various categories, it also rank-orders the categories in some meaningful way. With
any variable for which the categories are to be ordered according to some preference, the
ordinal scale would be used. The preference would be ranked (e.g., from best to worst; first to
last) and numbered 1, 2, and so on. For example, respondents might be asked to indicate their
preferences by ranking the importance they attach to five distinct characteristics in a job that
the researcher might be interested in studying. Such a question might take the following form:
ORDINAL SCALE LOOKS LIKE
3) Interval Scale
An interval scale allows us to perform certain arithmetical operations on the data collected
from the respondents.
This helps us to compute the means and the standard deviations of the responses on the
variables. In other words, the interval scale not only groups individuals according to
certain categories and taps the order of these groups, it also measures the magnitude of the
differences in the preferences among the individuals.
4) Ratio Scale
The ratio scale overcomes the disadvantage of the arbitrary origin point of the interval
scale, in that it has an absolute (in contrast to an arbitrary) zero point, which is a
meaningful measurement point. Thus the ratio scale not only measures the magnitude of
the differences between points on the scale but also taps the proportions in the
differences. It is the most powerful of the four scales because it has a unique zero origin
(not an arbitrary origin) and subsumes all the proper- ties of the other three scales. The
weighing balance is a good example of a ratio scale.
For Instance:
For instance, a person weighing 250 pounds is twice as heavy as one who weighs 125 pounds. Note that multiplying
or dividing both of these numbers (250 and 125) by any given number will preserve the ratio of 2:1. The measure of
central tendency of the ratio scale could be either the arithmetic or the geometric mean and the mea- sure of
dispersion could be either the standard deviation, or variance, or the coefficient of variation. Some examples of ratio
scales are those pertaining to actual age, income, and the number of organizations individuals have worked for.
INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
In conducting transnational research, it is important to remember that certain
variables have different meanings and connotations in different cultures. For
instance, the term love is subject to several interpretations in different cultures and
has at least 20 different interpretations in some countries. Likewise, the concept
knowledge is equated with ‘jnana’ in some Eastern cultures and construed as
realization of the Almighty. Thus, it is wise for researchers who hail from a
country speaking a different language to recruit the help of local scholars to
operationally define certain concepts while engaging in cross-cultural research.
SCALES READING ACTIVITY
Please read the page no 190 to 192 from example 8.7 to review of scales (text
book), and discuss specifically all four scales:
READING TIME 30 MINUTES
Followed Discussion (2-5 minutes each student)
DATA COLLECTION METHODS
Once you have understood the operation definition, dimensions and elements
and scaling for variables the next step is to decide on data collection methods.
SOURCES OF DATA
• Primary Data
Primary data refer to information obtained firsthand by the researcher on the
variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study.
• Secondary Data
Secondary data refer to information gathered from sources already existing
PRIMARY SOURCES OF DATA
• Focus Groups
Focus groups consist typically of 8 to 10 members with a moderator leading the discussions for
about 2 hours on a particular topic, concept, or product. Members are generally chosen on the
basis of their expertise in the topic on which information is sought.
Role of moderator:
The selection of and role played by the moderator are critical. The moderator introduces the
topic, observes, and takes notes and/or tapes the discussions. The moderator never becomes an
integral part of the discussions, but merely steers the group persuasively to obtain all the
relevant information, and helps the group members to get through any impasse that might
occur.
Nature of Data Obtained:
Qualitative
• Video conferencing
Focus groups through video conferencing, use of technology (e.g., COVID)
• Panels
panels (of members) meet more than once. In cases where the effects of
certain interventions or changes are to be studied over a period of time, panel
studies are very useful. Individuals are randomly chosen to serve as panel
members for a research study.
• Static and dynamic panels
Panels can be either static (i.e., the same members serve on the panel over
extended periods of time) or dynamic (i.e., the panel members change from
time to time as various phases of the study are in progress).
SECONDARY SOURCES OF DATA
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Observation
• Motivation Techniques
PART 1: INTERVIEWING
• Structured Interviews
Structured interviews are those conducted when it is known at the outset what
information is needed. The interviewer has a list of predetermined questions to be
asked of the respondents either personally, through the telephone, or through the
medium of a PC.
Visual aids such as pictures, line drawings, cards, and other materials are also sometimes used
in conducting interviews.
READ PLEASE
The main purpose of the unstructured interview is to explore and probe into the several factors in
the situation that might be central to the broad problem area. During this process it might become
evident that the problem, as identified by the client, is but a symptom of a more serious and deep-
rooted problem. Con- ducting unstructured interviews with many people in the organization could
result in the identification of several critical factors in the situation. These would then be pursued
further during the structured interviews for eliciting more in- depth information on them. This
will help identify the critical problem as well as solve it. In applied research, a tentative theory of
the factors contributing to the problem is often conceptualized on the basis of the information
obtained from the unstructured and structured interviews.
GENERAL TIPS TO FOLLOW IN
INTERVIEWING
• Interviewees’ Bias
Interviewees can bias the data when they do not come out with their true opinions
but provide information that they think is what the interviewer expects of them or
would like to hear.
• Situational Bias
• Trust level and rapport establish
• Physical setting of the interview
CONTINUING …..
• Funneling
In the beginning of an unstructured interview, it is advisable to ask open-ended
questions to get a broad idea and form some impressions about the situation. For
example a question that could be asked, would be:
What are some of your feelings about working for this organization?
From the responses to this broad question, further questions that are progressively
more focused may be asked as the researcher processes the interviewees‘ responses
and notes some possible key issues relevant to the situation. This transition from
broad to narrow themes is called the funneling technique.
• Unbiased questions
• Clarifying issues
• Helping the respondents to think through issues