Chapter 5: Identifying Good Measurement

Question 1

Conceptual definition

Answer 1

A researcher’s definition of a variable at the theoretical level. Also called construct.

Question 2

Self-report measure

Answer 2

A method of measuring a variable in which people answer questions about themselves in a questionnaire or interview.

Question 3

Observational measure

Answer 3

A method of measuring a variable by recording observable behaviours or physical traces of behaviours. Also called behavioural measure.

Question 4

Physiological measure

Answer 4

A method of measuring a variable by recording physiological data.

Question 5

Categorical variable

Answer 5

A variable whose levels are categories (e.g., male and female). Also called nominal variable.

Question 6

Quantitative variable

Answer 6

A variable whose values can be recorded as meaningful numbers.

Question 7

Ordinal scale

Answer 7

A quantitative measurement scale whose levels represent a ranked order, and in which distances between levels are not equal (e.g., order of finishers in a race).

Question 8

Interval scale

Answer 8

A quantitative measurement scale that has no “true zero,” and in which the numerals represent equal intervals (distances) between levels (e.g., temperature in degrees).

Question 9

Ratio scale

Answer 9

A quantitative measurement scale in which the numerals have equal intervals and the value of zero truly means “none” of the variable being measured.

Question 10

Reliability

Answer 10

The consistency of the results of measure.

Question 11

Validity

Answer 11

The appropriateness of a conclusion or a decision.

Question 12

Test-retest reliability

Answer 12

The consistency of results every time the measure is used(If you remeasure it after some time, the results are the same or very similar)

Question 13

Interrater reliability

Answer 13

The degree to which two or more coders or observers give consistent ratings of a set of targets.

Question 14

Internal reliability

Answer 14

Is a measure that contains several items, the consistency in a pattern of answers, no matter how a question is phrased. Also called internal consistency.(Similar questions should give the sam answers)

Question 15

Correlation coefficient r

Answer 15

A single number, ranging from –1.0 to 1.0, that indicates the strength and direction of an association between two variables.

Question 16

Average inter-item correlation(AIC)

Answer 16

A measure of internal reliability for a set of items; it is the mean of all possible correlations computed between each item and the others.

Question 17

Cronbach’s alpha

Answer 17

A correlation-based statistic that measures a scale’s internal reliability. Also called coefficient alpha.

Question 18

Face validity

Answer 18

The extent to which a measure is subjectively considered a plausible operationalisation of the conceptual variable in question. (It looks like what you want to measure)

Question 19

Content validity

Answer 19

The extent to which a measure captures all parts of a defined construct.(The measure contains all the parts that your theory says it should contain)

Question 20

Criterion validity

Answer 20

An empirical form of measurement validity that establishes the extent to which a measure is associated with a behavioural outcome with which it should be associated.(Your measure is correlated with a relevant behavioural outcome)

Question 21

Known-groups paradigm

Answer 21

A method for establishing criterion validity, in which a researcher tests two or more groups who are known to differ on the variable of interest, to ensure that they score differently on a measure of that variable.

Question 22

Convergent validity

Answer 22

An empirical test of the extent to which a self-report measure correlates with other measures of a theoretically similar construct. (Your self-report measure is more strongly associated with self-report measures of similar constructs)

Question 23

Discriminant validity

Answer 23

An empirical test of the extent to which a self-report measure does not correlate strongly with measures of theoretically dissimilar constructs. Also called divergent validity.(Your self-report measure is less strongly associated with self-report measures of dissimilar construct)