IDENTIFYING PROPER
MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
SERKAN ADIGÜZEL
PhD Candidate
COURSE FLOW
• Introduction
• Ways to Measure Variables
• Three Common Types of Measures
• A Good Definition of A Measurement
• Why can’t you use your own scales?
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• Whether studying the number of polar bears left in the Arctic Circle, the
infection rate of the COVID-19 virus, the number of steps people take each
day, or the level of human happiness, every scientist faces the
challenge of measurement.
• When researchers test theories, they have to systematically measure
phenomena by collecting data. These measurements must be good ones—or
else they are useless.
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• Measurement in psychological research can be particularly challenging.
• Many of the phenomena psychologists are interested in—motivation,
emotion, thinking, reasoning—are difficult to measure directly.
• Happiness, the topic of much research, is a good example of a construct
that could be hard to assess. Is it really possible to quantify how happy
people are? Are the measurements accurate?
• Maybe people misrepresent their level of well-being, or maybe people
aren’t aware of how happy they are. How do we evaluate who is truly
happy and who isn’t?
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WAYS TO MEASURE
VARIABLES
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CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL
VARIABLES
• Each variable in a study can be referred to in two ways.
• When researchers are discussing their theories and when journalists write about
their research, they use more abstract names, called constructs or conceptual
variables.
• When testing hypotheses with empirical research, they create operational definitions
of variables, also known as operational variables, or operationalizations.
To operationalize a concept of interest means to turn it into a measured or
manipulated variable.
• For example, a researcher’s interest in the construct “coffee consumption” could
be operationalized as a structured question in which people tell an interviewer
how often they drink coffee. Alternatively, the same construct might be
operationalized by having people use an app in which they record everything
they eat or drink for a period of time. 6
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• Sometimes this operationalization step is simple and obvious.
• For example, a researcher interested in a conceptual variable such as “weight gain”
in laboratory rats would probably just weigh them.
• A researcher who is interested in the conceptual variable “income” might
operationalize this variable by asking each person about their total income last
year.
• In these two cases, the researcher can operationalize the conceptual variable
of interest straightforwardly.
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• Other times, the concepts are harder to operationalize because they are
difficult to see, touch, or feel.
• Examples are personality traits, states such as “agreeableness” and behavior
judgments such as “attempted suicide.”
• The abstract nature of these conceptual variables does not stop psychologists
from operationalizing them; it just makes studying them a little harder.
• In such cases, researchers might develop creative or elegant
operational definitions to capture the variable of interest.
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• Let’s take the variable “happiness,” as an example and operationalize it!
• The word happiness might have a variety of meanings, so let’s explicitly limit
the interest to “subjective well-being’’.
• After defining happiness at the conceptual level, we can come up with an
operational definition.
• Because we are interested in people’s perspectives on their own well-being,
we chose to operationalize subjective well-being, in part, by asking people to
report on their own happiness in a questionnaire format.
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• 5 level
• Likert type-7
• Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (7)
• Total score 5 to 35
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THREE COMMON TYPES
OF MEASURES
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SELF-REPORT MEASURES
• The types of measures psychological scientists typically use to operationalize
variables generally fall into three categories: self-report, observational, and
physiological.
• A self-report measure operationalizes a variable by recording people’s
answers to questions about themselves in a questionnaire or interview.
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• In research on children, self-reports may be replaced with parent reports
or teacher reports.
• These measures ask parents or teachers to respond to a series of questions,
such as describing the child’s recent life events, the words the child knows, or
the child’s typical classroom behaviors.
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OBSERVATIONAL MEASURES
• An observational measure, sometimes called a behavioral measure,
operationalizes a variable by recording observable behaviors or physical
traces of behaviors.
• For example, a researcher could operationalize happiness by observing how many
times a person smiles.
• Intelligence tests can be considered observational measures, because the
people who administer such tests in person are observing people’s
intelligent behaviors (such as being able to correctly solve a puzzle or
quickly detect a pattern).
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PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES
• A physiological measure operationalizes a variable by
recording biological data, such as brain activity, hormone
levels, or heart rate.
• Physiological measures usually require the use of equipment to
amplify, record, and analyze biological data.
• For example, moment-to-moment happiness has been measured
using facial electromyography (EMG)—a way of
electronically recording tiny movements in the muscles in the
face.
• Facial EMG can be used to detect a happy facial expression
because people who are smiling show particular patterns of
muscle movement around the eyes and cheeks.
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WHICH TECHNIQUE IS THE BEST?
• A single construct can be operationalized in several ways, from self-
report to behavioral observation to physiological measures.
• Some people erroneously believe physiological measures are the
most accurate. But even physiological results have to be validated by
using other measures.
Dopamine level and
The dead salmon problem happiness
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A GOOD DEFINITION OF
A MEASUREMENT
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The relationship between internet addiction and attention.
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The Trail-Making Test (B Form) 21
1-CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION
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2-OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
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3-SCORING
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4-SUB-SCORES
• Some scales have multiple sub-measurement types.
• For example, the attractiveness scale can have subtypes such as;
• Physical attractiveness
• Emotional attractiveness
• Scores are calculated both separately and in total.
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WHY CAN’T YOU USE
YOUR OWN SCALES?
There are important reasons why you should use scales that are already
established as reliable and valid:
• Scientific Rigor: Reliable and valid scales have been tested over time
through numerous studies and have demonstrated consistency in their
results. This consistency is crucial for the scientific method, which
relies on the ability to replicate findings.
• Comparability: Using established scales allows for results to be
compared across different studies. This comparability is essential for
building a cumulative body of knowledge where findings can be
corroborated or challenged by other researchers.
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• Accuracy: Valid scales measure what they claim to measure. Without
this accuracy, any conclusions drawn from the research might be
questionable. If students use their own, untested scales, it can be
difficult to discern whether results are due to the phenomenon being
measured or some other unrelated factor.
• Credibility: Peer-reviewed scales lend credibility to research. When
students use such instruments, other scientists, as well as the broader
academic community, are more likely to take their findings seriously.
• Ethical Responsibility: Psychology researchers have an ethical
obligation to ensure their research does not produce misleading
results. Using scales without established reliability and validity risks
collecting data that could lead to erroneous conclusions, which could
have negative implications if applied in practical settings, such as
clinical psychology.
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The BDI measures various aspects of depression behavior, including:
• Mood: Feelings of sadness, pessimism, and a sense of failure.
• Cognitive Symptoms: Self-dislike, self-criticism, suicidal thoughts,
indecisiveness, and a distorted negative view of one's experiences, future,
and personal worth.
• Behavioral Indicators: Loss of interest in activities, social withdrawal,
and a lack of motivation.
• Physical Symptoms: Changes in sleeping patterns, changes in appetite,
fatigue, and loss of energy.
• Somatic Symptoms: Physical manifestations such as headaches, stomach
pain, and general body discomfort that are often associated with depressive
states.
The items are analyzed by factor analysis if they are valid and reliable.
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SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FORM
• How to decide what to add?
• Decide what type of information you need?
• See what you are wondering
• See what’s been gathered by the others
• See the examples in the folder
• Don’t forget to add details specific to your hypothesis
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NEXT WEEK PRESENTATION
• Conceptual Definition of your measurement(s)
• Operational Definition of your measurement(s)
• Scoring Parameters of your measurement(s)
• Sub-score types of your measurement(s) (if any)
• Check if your measurements are right for your assumptions
• Do not forget to add your manipulation technique (if any) as a
method
• Also prepare your socio-demographic form (see the attached
files)
• Attach all the measurements to your presentation including
the socio-demographic form and the manipulation files.
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Thank You!
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