Week 3 (Theory, Concepts, Variables and validity) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is conceptualisation?

A

Making vague concepts or ideas concrete by defining and demarcating them.

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2
Q

What are concepts?

A

The building blocks of a theory and categories for ideas and observations.

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3
Q

What is a indicator?

A

The unity of measurement which measures a concept. A direct indicator refers to a measurement of a concept with only two possible answers, indirect indicators do not.

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4
Q

What is operationalisation?

A

Turning concepts in to variables by making them more measurable.

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5
Q

Reasons for operationalisation

A
  • determining fine differences between cases
  • measuring accurately and consistently
  • calculating the precise relation between variables
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6
Q

Name the 5 different types of variables and what they mean.

A
  • nominal
    Categories that can not be measured (ex religion)
  • dichotomous
    Their are only two categories (ex gender)
  • ordinal
    Questions that can be rank ordered (ex education)
  • interval
    Ranked within equal distances between categories (ex temperature)
  • ratio
    Ratio scales but we a point 0 (ex age)
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7
Q

Quality criteria of research

A

Replicability (openness, transparency)
Validity (four different types)
Reliability (stability/consistency of measurement)

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8
Q

Explain the four types of validity

A

Measurement validity: do you measure what you want to measure?

Internal validity: is the causal relation between the variables true?

External validity: are the generalizations to the larger group correct?

Ecological validity: are the results valid outside the research environment?

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9
Q

A good theory should be…

A
  • Give an adequate answer to a given problem
  • must be concise and clear
  • must contain concepts that are clearly defined
  • must be testable within a certain method
  • must not contain any ethical value judgement
  • mused be based on a theory or literature.
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