Chapter 5: Identifying Good Measurement Flashcards
Conceptual definition
A researcher’s definition of a variable at the theoretical level. Also called construct.
Self-report measure
A method of measuring a variable in which people answer questions about themselves in a questionnaire or interview.
Observational measure
A method of measuring a variable by recording observable behaviours or physical traces of behaviours. Also called behavioural measure.
Physiological measure
A method of measuring a variable by recording physiological data.
Categorical variable
A variable whose levels are categories (e.g., male and female). Also called nominal variable.
Quantitative variable
A variable whose values can be recorded as meaningful numbers.
Ordinal scale
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).
Interval scale
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).
Ratio scale
A quantitative measurement scale in which the numerals have equal intervals and the value of zero truly means “none” of the variable being measured.
Reliability
The consistency of the results of measure.
Validity
The appropriateness of a conclusion or a decision.
Test-retest reliability
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)
Interrater reliability
The degree to which two or more coders or observers give consistent ratings of a set of targets.
Internal reliability
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)
Correlation coefficient r
A single number, ranging from –1.0 to 1.0, that indicates the strength and direction of an association between two variables.
Average inter-item correlation(AIC)
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.
Cronbach’s alpha
A correlation-based statistic that measures a scale’s internal reliability. Also called coefficient alpha.
Face validity
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)
Content validity
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)
Criterion validity
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)
Known-groups paradigm
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.
Convergent validity
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)
Discriminant validity
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)
