Exam 2 Study Guide CCJ 4700 Conceptualization Conceptualization the process by which we specify precisely what we mean when we use particular terms o One of the first steps to take in a research project it is the process of coming to an agreement about what we mean the result is the concept o Concept words or symbols in a language that we use to represent mental images the result of conceptualization it is up to the researcher to clarify precisely what they mean when stating the concept Direct observables things we can observe directly color of an apple Indirect observables relatively more subtle complex or indirect observations Subject A checked off female in a questionnaire you know this through the survey not because you observed it directly Constructs theoretical creations that are based on observations but that cannot be observed directly or indirectly prejudice compassion anomie have to come together as a group to find the definition of the term not directly or indirectly measureable o Reification regarding created constructs as real entities as a researcher you have to realize that the definition you made up for a term may be different to another person Dimensions specifiable aspect of a concept action compassion Indicators observation we choose to consider as a reflection of a concept we wish to study o Ex concept compassion action dimension indicator visiting a children s hospital on the holidays Consistency in our measures can make or break our research study Conceptualization example Hirschi s social bond theory Individuals with stronger social bonds will be less likely to become delinquent What is a social bond Clarified the concept by adding dimensions and indicators 4 dimensions of social bond o Attachment o Involvement o Commitment o Belief Added indicators for each dimension of social bond o Attachment to parents and teachers o Commitment to school and pro social activities 1 o Involvement in school and pro social activities o Belief in the moral order of society Operationalization Conceptual funnel operational definition measurement variables Conceptualization Conceptual definition o This shows the progression of measurement steps from our vague sense of what a term means to specific measurements Operationalization describing how a concept will be measured o The process of developing operational definitions o During this process in which concepts are converted into measurable variables Requires choosing the way the variable will be measured survey question or secondary data source Must also choose response categories or to leave the variable continuous o Range of variation ex surveying low income what is the highest number What is the lowest number Makes no sense to have a category of 50 75k 75 100k etc for low income neighborhoods o Degree of precision o Categories attributes must be both EXHAUSTIVE and MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE Exhaustive every person sampled should be able to fit into one of the categories You should have an answer choice for each attribute Question Were you victimized in the last 6 months or never victimized What if you were victimized 7 8 months ago You have no answer to select The question should be exhaustive Researchers must be able to classify every observation in terms of one of the attributes composing the variable Exclusive Researchers must be able to classify every observation in terms of one and only one attribute Levels Of Measurement Measurement the assignment of numbers or labels to units of analysis to represent variable categories Levels of measurement tell us what sorts of information we gain from the data collected 4 levels o Nominal Simplest level of measurement 2 o Ordinal o Interval Usually used to measure gender or the absence of something i e recidivism We only know that they are either in a category or not in a category Ex gender male 1 female 0 recidivism 0 did not recidivate 1 recidivate Ex numbers on the back of soccer uniforms Number 1 does not mean the person is the best No hierarchy just used for labels Variables with attributes that we can rank order There is a hierarchy Distance between the attributes have no significance makes no difference Ex Likert scales highly agree agree neutral disagree highly disagree or 1 2 3 4 5 Rarely used in Criminology Variables are rank ordered and maintain equal distances or intervals between attributes Intervals between each number are the same No true zero Ex IQ composite scales Fahrenheit temperature scale distance between 70 and 80 degrees is the same as the distance between 60 and 70 degrees a degree of 0 does not mean there s an absence of something Same with IQ an IQ of 0 does not mean the person does not have an IQ o Ratio Used the most in criminology also nominal is used a lot Variables which includes the characteristics of interval level measurement AND have a true zero point 0 means lack of whatever we re measuring Ex age You can convert higher levels of measurement into lower ones age ratio nominal you know the exact age of everyone you can make it nominal by dividing the people into age groups You cannot go from nominal to ratio only ratio to nominal Criteria of measurement quality Precision o Fineness of distinctions made between attributes that compose the variables o Exact precision is not always necessary Accuracy o Is our measure truthful correct 3 Reliability o Ex getting your PHD is accurate PHD in criminology is more precise and accurate at the same time o Sometimes being less precise is more accurate How many times have you and your spouse fought last year vs How many times you called the police They may remember this more o If the study were duplicated would the instrument yield the same answer to the same question on another test o Just because something is reliable does not mean it is accurate o Reliability of measurement vs reliability of researcher o Inter rater vs intra rater reliability Inter more than one person collecting data how can we be sure each interviewer is interpreting answers in the same way What if people are giving different answers based on how the interviewer looks Each person needs to enter data in the exact same way Intra just one person collecting data if the same person were given the same data to collect would it look the same each time Is this person consistent Personal views may also affect how the interviewer answers Last interview of the day is much less reliable o Test re test method vs split half method Test re test method Asking
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