Chapter 5: Identifying good measurement

Question 1

3 types of measure

Answer 1

• self-report measure
• observational measure
• physiological measure

Question 2

self-report measure

Answer 2

operationalizes a variable by recording people’s answers to questions about themselves in a questionnaire or interview

Question 3

observational measure

Answer 3

operationalizes a variable by recording observable behavior or physical traces of behavior

Question 4

physiological measure

Answer 4

operationalizes a variable by recording biological data

Question 5

quantitative (continuous) variables

Answer 5

coded with meaningful numbers
- ordinal scale
- interval scale
- ratio scale

Question 6

ordinal scale

Answer 6

applies when the numerals of a quantitative variable represent a ranked order with scales that might be unequal

Question 7

interval scale

Answer 7

applies to the numerals of a quantitative variable that meet 2 conditions
- the numberals represent equal intervals between levels
- there is no true 0 (a person can score 0, but it does not mean literally nothing)

Question 8

ratio scale

Answer 8

applies to the numerals of a quantitative variable under 2 conditions
- the numerals represent equal intervals between levels
- there is a true 0, a person is able to score 0 and that means literally nothing

Question 9

reliability vs validity

Answer 9

• reliability: how consistent the results of a measurement are
• validity: is the operationalization measuring what it is supposed to measure

Question 10

test-retest reliability

Answer 10

a study participant will get pretty much the same score each time they are measured with it

Question 11

interrater reliability

Answer 11

consistent scores are obtained no matter who measures the variable

Question 12

internal reliability

Answer 12

a study participant gives a consistent pattern of answers, no matter how the researchers phrase the question

Question 13

average inter-item correlation (AIC)

Answer 13

the average of all correlations

Question 14

cronbach’s alpha

Answer 14

combines the AIC and the number of items in a scale
- the closer it is to 1 the better the reliability of the scale is
- for self-report measures: 0.8+

Question 15

types of reliability relevant for each kind of the three operationalizations

Answer 15

Question 16

face validity

Answer 16

does the test measure what it’s supposed to measure

Question 17

content validity

Answer 17

evaluates how well an instrument covers all relevant parts of the construct it aims to measure

Question 18

criterion validity

Answer 18

evaluates whether the measure is associated with a concrete behavioral outcome that it should be associate with, according to the conceptual definition

Question 19

known-groups paradigm

Answer 19

researchers see whether scores on the measure can discriminate among 2 or more groups, whose behavior is already confirmed

Question 20

convergent validity

Answer 20

how closely a test is related to other tests measuring the same/similar construct

Question 21

discriminant validity

Answer 21

tests whether constructs that are not supposed to be related are actually unrelated

Question 22

can a measure be valid if it is not reliable

Answer 22

if a measure is not reliable, then it cannot be valid