RESEARCH METHODS Lecture 5 CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES Concept

RESEARCH METHODS Lecture 5

CONCEPTS AND VARIABLES

Concept • Things we observe Observable realities physical or abstract • For purposes of identification of a reality we try to give a name to it. • By using name we communicate with others. Part of language • Names are constructs. • These constructs are concepts.

Concepts are mental images of reality • Concept is an idea expressed as symbol or in words. • Words are also symbols. • Agreement to represent ideas by sounds or written words. • Concepts can be symbols.

An Abstraction of reality • Table, leadership, productivity, morale are all labels given to some phenomenon (reality) • Concepts stand for phenomenon not the phenomenon itself. • It may be called an abstraction of empirical reality.

Concepts are Abstractions of Reality Abstract Level CONCEPTS Empirical OBSERVATION OF OBJECTS Level AND EVENTS (REALITY)

Degree of Abstraction • Moving up the ladder of abstraction, the basic concept becomes more abstract, wider in scope, and less measurable.

A Ladder Of Abstraction For Concepts Fruit Banana Reality Increasingly more abstract Vegetation

Sources of Concepts • We create concepts from personal experience. Mass, speed, family. • We borrow from other disciplines. • We develop a specialized jargon or terminology for a particular subject.

Importance to Research • Concepts are basic to all thought and communication. • Special problems grow out of the need for concept precision and inventiveness. • We use concepts in hypothesis formulation.

Definitions • Confusions about the meanings of concepts can destroy the value of a study. • Definitions are one way to reduce this danger. • Two types of definitions: 1. Dictionary (theoretical) definition 2. Operational definition.

Dictionary definition • Also called as Conceptual/Theoretical/Nominal • Concept is defined with a synonym. Use other constructs to explain a construct. • How to define a “customer, ” “client, ” “a satisfied worker”?

Operational Definition • Working definition: stated in terms of specific testing or measurement criteria. • Concrete indicators that can be observed/measured. Specify empirical indicators.

We use both the definitions in research • Observational phenomenon Construct Conceptual def. operational definition data.

RESEARCH METHODS Lecture 5