Chapter 2- Measurement Flashcards
benchmarking
A technique used to compare an organization’s performance on a particular criterion to performance of similar organizations on the same criterion.
consensual validity
An indicator has consensual validity when numerous researchers accept the indicator as valid.
convergent validity
If indicators of a concept produce similar results, the indicators have convergent validity.
correlational validity
Validity established when an indicator correlates strongly with other accepted valid indicators.
discriminant validity
If an indicator distinguishes one concept from another similar but different concept, it has discriminant validity.
efficiency
Information about costs on a per-client or per-event basis.
face validity
An indicator has face validity when the researcher accepts the indicator as valid.
indicator
A measurable aspect of a concept.
inputs
Resources that an organization uses to achieve its goals.
inter-rater reliability
A technique used to assess the degree of consistency among individuals who are applying a measurement scheme to collect and code data.
interval level
A highly precise level of measurement based on a unit or interval accepted as a common standard.
lack of precision
A threat to the reliability of measurement arising from the use of small samples or measurement scales lacking sufficient gradations.
levels of measurement
The precision inherent in the measurement of different types of variables.
measurement
The systematic assignment of numbers or categories to some phenomenon of interest for purposes of analysis.
measurement reliability
An indicator is reliable to the degree that it consistently assigns the same numbers to similar phenomena.
measurement validity
A measure is valid to the degree that it taps the concept it is intended to measure.
multiple indicators
A strategy of measurement in which several indicators are used to measure a single concept.
nominal level
A measurement level that allows only a determination that phenomena are the same or different, lacking any sense of relative size or magnitude.
objective indicator
An indicator based on reports or documents that do not require judgment on the researcher’s part.
operational definition
A definition that specifies how a concept will be measured for purposes of the study in question.
ordinal level
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.
outcomes
More precise indicators of performance than outputs that focus more on quality than on quantity and more on results outside the organization than inside.
outputs
Tangible indicators that show how an organization uses its resources.
parallel forms reliability
The correlation between responses obtained on two sets of items as a measure of reliability.
predictive validity
A type of measurement validity based on the degree to which an indicator correctly predicts a specified outcome in the future.
reliable indicator
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.
split-half reliability
Measure of reliability in which the set of items intended to measure a given concept is divided into two parts.
subjective indicator
An indicator based on the judgment of one or more persons.
subjective measure
A measure that relies on the judgment of the analyst or of a respondent in a survey.
test-retest reliability
Method for assessing measurement reliability by measuring the same phenomenon or set of variables twice over a reasonably short time period.
unobtrusive indicator
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.
valid indicator
An indicator that accurately measures the concept it is intended to measure.
