CONCEPTUALIZATION,

OPERATIONALIZATION,
AND MEASUREMENT
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 VARIABLES AND DATA
Variable is an observable characteristic of a
population or sample which makes one element
different from that of the others. It is a quantity or
quality that may assume any set of values or being
expressed in different categories.
Variables are the subject of measurement
Data refers to the factual information obtained in
measuring variables regarding a population or
sample.

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 Measuring Variables
• To establish relationships between variables,
researchers must observe the variables and
record their observations. This requires that
the variables be measured.
• The process of measuring a variable requires a
set of categories called a scale of
measurement and a process that classifies
each individual into one category.

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 THE CONCEPTS OF MEASUREMENTS
Measurement is the process of assigning numbers to objects
(or events or situations) in accord with some rules. The
numbers assigned can indicate numerical values or categories
Instrumentation, a component of measurement, is the
application of specific rules to develop a measurement
device(instrument)
Direct measurement: measurement of concrete factors or
elements (weight, age, gender, ethnicity)
Indirect measurement: measurement of abstract ideas
represented by indicators/attributes (perception/opinion
about compliance or effectiveness)

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 TYPES OF VARIABLES/DATA
1. Qualitative variables/data :non-measurable
characteristics or attributes that cannot assume numerical
values but can be classified into two or more categories. It
could be:
 a)dichotomous: gender- male/female; level of agreement-
agree/disagree or yes/no
 b) trichotomous : (three options/categories) upper
class/middle class/ lower class; first/second/third year
levels
 c) multinomous: (four or more options/categories)
ethnicity-Kankanaey, Ibaloi, Kalanguya, Isneg, T’boli, etc.;
religious affiliations-Catholic, Methodist, JW, INC, etc.

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 1

2. Quantitative variables/data: can be counted with bare

hands, measured using measuring device, calculated
using mathematical formulas. It could be:
a) discrete (obtain by counting): number of
households/children, number cases filed
b)continuous (obtain by measurement): weight, height,
length, crime or unemployment rate

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 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT/SCALES
OF MEASURING VARIABLES/DATA
1. Nominal scale
 Used when data can be organized into categories of a
defined properly, but the categories cannot be ordered
 Data are labels or names used to identify an attribute of
the element.
 A nonnumeric label or numeric code may be used.
 Ex. Gender(1-male/2-female); religion (1-Islam/2-
Christianity/3-Buddhism). Numbers are used for coding
purposes, not for mathematical calculations

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 Categorical Variable
• A nominal variable is another name for a categorical
variable. Nominal variables have two or more
categories without having any kind of natural order.
They are variables with no numeric value, such as
occupation or political party affiliation

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 2. Ordinal Scale
1

Used when data can be organized into categories of an

attribute that can be ranked or ordered.
 It reveals magnitude but cannot demonstrate that the
intervals between the ranked categories are equal
 A nonnumeric label or numeric code may be used
 Ex. Satisfaction ratings(5,very satisfactory/ 4,
satisfactory/ 3, fair/2, poor/1, needs improvement)
 Ex. Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior

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Examples

High school class ranking: 1st, 9th, 87th…

Socioeconomic status: poor, middle class, rich.
The Likert Scale: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree,
strongly agree.
Level of Agreement: yes, maybe, no.
Time of Day: dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night.

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 3. Interval Scale
1

 Specifies the precise difference between the values or

ranks. Interval data are always numeric.
 There is magnitude and equal interval between the
numerical scales but no fixed zero point
 Mathematical functions can be used
 Ex. IQ scores(110, 140); grading system (75, 76, 80);
temperatures in degrees
4. Ratio Scale
 Has the same characteristics of interval scale but have
meaningful zero point (0 means none).
 Ex. Length of service, number of children in a family,
amount of money, number of unemployed

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 1

Nominal
Levels Lowest
Ordinal to
of
Measurement Interval highest

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Ratio 16
 Summary of Levels of Measurement

Arrang Determine if
Put data
Level of e data Subtract one data value
in
measurement in data values is a multiple of
categories
order another
Nominal Yes No No No
Ordinal Yes Yes No No
Interval Yes Yes Yes No
Ratio Yes Yes Yes Yes

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REQUIREMENT FOR SCALE
MEASUREMENT
Scale must be structured so that the categories of the scale fit the
property being measured. How?
a. It must be exhaustive, that is, categories must be sufficient to
include all outcomes encountered.
b. It must be mutually exclusive, which means that each observation
must fit into one and only one category of the scale

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 SOURCES OF DATA
Primary Source: firsthand information directly
gathered from the source. Data come from
interviews, survey and direct observation of the
following: Participants/subjects, key Informants,
procedures/ practices, settings(specific
environments), objects (inanimate things e.g.,
artifacts)
Secondary Source: third person accounts such as
records, documents, newspapers books and
other secondary data
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 MEASUREMENT STRATEGIES/METHODS
1. Survey Questionnaire
2. Interviews (Key Informant Interview-KII,
Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Individual or
Team/Group Interviews)
3. Observations
4. Documentary analysis/Secondary data
5. Tests and Assessments
6. Experimentation Method
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 METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA
1. REGISTRATION METHOD- data may be easily
obtained in government and private offices.
2. INTERVIEW METHOD- person to person
interaction between the interviewer and the
interviewee (Key Informant Interview-KII, Focus
Group Discussion (FGD), Individual or
Team/Group Interviews)
3. QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD- written responses
are obtained by distribution of questionnaires
(open ended, multiple choice, check list, scale
02/09/2022 type, ranked order). 22
 4. OBSERVATION METHOD- is a scientific
1

method of investigation that make use of all

senses to measure or obtain outcomes/
responses from the object of the study

5. EXPERIMENTATION METHOD- use when the

objective is to determine the cause-and-effect of
a certain phenomenon under some controlled
conditions.

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 Survey Questionnaires

 Purpose: Survey questionnaires are collected by

evaluators/researchers to gather specific
information from participants or stakeholders.
 It is a self-directing instrument structured with
questions and indicators for the respondents to
react from.
 Data collected often include demographic
information, satisfaction levels, and opinions.
 Usually administered on paper, in a structured or
semi-structured format (direct to the person,
through mail, over the phone, or via email/Internet)
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 Advantages 1

 Less time consuming and less expensive to

administer than other methods
 Can be administered to large groups of individuals
 Preserves the anonymity and confidentiality of the
respondents’ reactions and answers
Challenges
 Data entry and analysis can be time consuming
 May be difficult to receive completed surveys from
stakeholders.
 Not suited for poorly educated respondents
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 Designing survey questionnaire
1. Open questions (open-ended, free-answer)
 Respondents are given flexibility enough to answer
questions or specify indicators other than those
listed in the questionnaire
Advantages:
 respondents can answer in their own terms, allows
unusual terms to be derived and their level of
understanding can be tapped
 Useful in exploring new ideas of which the
researcher has limited knowledge
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 Useful for generating fixed-choice format answers 26
 Disadvantages:
1

 Answers have to be coded, which is time

consuming.
2. Closed questions (closed-ended, guided response)
 The options or answers are given or enumerated,
and the respondents simply tick, check, encircle or
ranked his answers.
Advantages:
1. Easy to process the answers
2. Respondents will have an ease in answering the
questions
02/09/2022 3. Reduces the possibility of variability 27
 1

Disadvantages:
1. Loss of spontaneity in the respondent's
answer (some possible replies are not
covered by the fixed answers)
2. It can be difficult to make forced choice-
answers mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
3. Validity may be jeopardized as there might be
varied interpretations of the forced-choice
answers
4. Greater possibility of “missing data”

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 Types of closed-ended questions
1. Recall type/personal information: such as age, gender,
place ,income or date of birth
2. Dichotomous: yes/no, true/false
3. Multiple choice: only one answer is chosen among the
given options
4. Multiple response: two or more options may be chosen
5. Ranked-Order questions: respondents are asked to
rank answers from “most” to “least” important,
reasonable, frequent or beneficial.
6. Checklist: called “matrix questions” , questions which
are usually itemized are written horizontally while
02/09/2022 respondents’ answer are written vertically 29
 Rules in constructing questions
1

1. Avoid ambiguous, equivocal or technical terms in

the questions and instructions.
2. Avoid long questions.
3. Avoid double-barreled questions.
4. Avoid general questions.
5. Avoid leading or loaded questions
6. State questions affirmatively except when needed
7. Make sure that the respondents have the requisite
knowledge
8. Make sure that the options provided are balanced.
02/09/2022 9. Add “others” to options of multiple response 30
 CRITERIA OR ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD
INSTRUMENT
1. RELIABILITY-the degree of consistency and precision
or accuracy that a measuring instrument
demonstrates.
2. VALIDITY- degree to which a test measures what it
really purports to measure.
3. OBJECTIVITY- the degree to which the measure is
independent of the personal opinion, subjective
judgment, biases, and the beliefs of the individual
test user
4. FEASIBILITY- concerned with the aspect of skills, cost
02/09/2022 and time. 31
 STEPS IN INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION
1. CONTENT VALIDATION- degree to which the test
represents the essence, topics, and the areas that the
instrument is designed to measure. Done thru
documentary analysis, table of specifications,
consultation with expert, item writing)
2. FACE VALIDATION- pertains whether the test looks
valid and can measure what one intends to measure.
3. TRIAL RUN- instrument is first administered to a pilot
group of respondents
4. EVALUATION OF THE INSTRUMENT- this involves
statistical treatment to determine its reliability and
02/09/2022 validity. 32