Chapter 2- Measurement

Question 1

benchmarking

Answer 1

A technique used to compare an organization’s performance on a particular criterion to performance of similar organizations on the same criterion.

Question 2

consensual validity

Answer 2

An indicator has consensual validity when numerous researchers accept the indicator as valid.

Question 3

convergent validity

Answer 3

If indicators of a concept produce similar results, the indicators have convergent validity.

Question 4

correlational validity

Answer 4

Validity established when an indicator correlates strongly with other accepted valid indicators.

Question 5

discriminant validity

Answer 5

If an indicator distinguishes one concept from another similar but different concept, it has discriminant validity.

Question 6

efficiency

Answer 6

Information about costs on a per-client or per-event basis.

Question 7

face validity

Answer 7

An indicator has face validity when the researcher accepts the indicator as valid.

Question 8

indicator

Answer 8

A measurable aspect of a concept.

Question 9

inputs

Answer 9

Resources that an organization uses to achieve its goals.

Question 10

inter-rater reliability

Answer 10

A technique used to assess the degree of consistency among individuals who are applying a measurement scheme to collect and code data.

Question 11

interval level

Answer 11

A highly precise level of measurement based on a unit or interval accepted as a common standard.

Question 12

lack of precision

Answer 12

A threat to the reliability of measurement arising from the use of small samples or measurement scales lacking sufficient gradations.

Question 13

levels of measurement

Answer 13

The precision inherent in the measurement of different types of variables.

Question 14

measurement

Answer 14

The systematic assignment of numbers or categories to some phenomenon of interest for purposes of analysis.

Question 15

measurement reliability

Answer 15

An indicator is reliable to the degree that it consistently assigns the same numbers to similar phenomena.

Question 16

measurement validity

Answer 16

A measure is valid to the degree that it taps the concept it is intended to measure.

Question 17

multiple indicators

Answer 17

A strategy of measurement in which several indicators are used to measure a single concept.

Question 18

nominal level

Answer 18

A measurement level that allows only a determination that phenomena are the same or different, lacking any sense of relative size or magnitude.

Question 19

objective indicator

Answer 19

An indicator based on reports or documents that do not require judgment on the researcher’s part.

Question 20

operational definition

Answer 20

A definition that specifies how a concept will be measured for purposes of the study in question.

Question 21

ordinal level

Answer 21

A level of measurement at which it is possible to say that one object (or event or phenomenon) has more or less of a given characteristic than another, but not how much more or less.

Question 22

outcomes

Answer 22

More precise indicators of performance than outputs that focus more on quality than on quantity and more on results outside the organization than inside.

Question 23

outputs

Answer 23

Tangible indicators that show how an organization uses its resources.

Question 24

parallel forms reliability

Answer 24

The correlation between responses obtained on two sets of items as a measure of reliability.

Question 25

predictive validity

Answer 25

A type of measurement validity based on the degree to which an indicator correctly predicts a specified outcome in the future.

Question 26

reliable indicator

Answer 26

An indicator that consistently assigns the same scores to some phenomenon that has not, in fact, changed, regardless of who is doing the measuring, where the measuring is conducted, or other extraneous factors.

Question 27

split-half reliability

Answer 27

Measure of reliability in which the set of items intended to measure a given concept is divided into two parts.

Question 28

subjective indicator

Answer 28

An indicator based on the judgment of one or more persons.

Question 29

subjective measure

Answer 29

A measure that relies on the judgment of the analyst or of a respondent in a survey.

Question 30

test-retest reliability

Answer 30

Method for assessing measurement reliability by measuring the same phenomenon or set of variables twice over a reasonably short time period.

Question 31

unobtrusive indicator

Answer 31

A variable or measure collected without the knowledge or reactivity of the subject, such as fingerprint smudges on museum display cases to evaluate the popularity of different exhibits.

Question 32

valid indicator

Answer 32

An indicator that accurately measures the concept it is intended to measure.