What are the different ways by which concepts can be measured? Briefly discuss each one.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In specifying a concept, we identify its particular dimensions and the indicators for these dimensions. The indicators need to be operationalized to complete the measurement process. There are various procedures a researcher can use to operationalize indicators or variables of interest. These include relying on existing measures, observations, and self-reports. Existing measures refer to commonly agreed-upon or frequently used measures. Using existing measures is intrinsic to secondary analysis and is also common in primary research. If the research community has already agreed upon certain measures, then investigators should try their best to use or at least adapt them in their studies. To find out whether those measures exist, researchers may need to conduct a thorough literature review of relevant studies and consult with experts on the topic. Researchers can also approach organizations specializing in health-related research for available instruments, such as the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey and SF-12 from the Medical Outcomes Trust. Even if there are no explicitly agreed-upon criteria for measuring certain concepts, researcher should still try to find existing measures from available, similar studies. Using existing measures saves time and money, is consistent with the cumulative nature of scientific inquiry, and gives investigators the benefit of other people’s experience.

Observation is a direct method researchers may use to examine indicators or variables of interest. Targets that can be observed include behaviors, attitudes, clothing, conversations, relationships, feelings, events, surroundings, and the like. Observations can be used with qualitative methods, particularly field research, and can also complement quantitative methods, such as structured face-to-face interviews, by noting the demeanor of the interviewee as a measure of personality and the type of household and neighborhood as a measure of social class. An experiment can also include observations to assess the impact of interventions.

Self-report refers to respondents’ answers to questions in questionnaires or interviews. It can be used to measure both objective and subjective variables, including demographics, socioeconomic indicators, knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs. Self-report tools are especially practical for large-scale studies. Self-reports, with certain limitations, can include both past events and future intentions. Self-report is most commonly used in survey research, but it can also be included in qualitative research in the form of focus group studies or in-depth interviews.

Regardless of the operational procedures used, each measure should be exhaustive (i.e., covering all potential options) and mutually exclusive (i.e., no overlapping among the response categories).