SOC221H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Operational Definition, Operationalization, External Validity
Document Summary
Understand the concept of operationalisation and its main goal: to observe the research topic in a manner relevant to the underlying theory, insofar that the theory reflects social reality. Know the characteristics of good observation/indicator/measurement, and be able to analyse both the quantitative and qualitative indicators in terms of these characteristics. Be able to define levels of measurement, understand their significance, and classify measurements from literature into levels. Understand that, while validity, reliability, and generalizability are achieved in different ways in typical quantitative and qualitative research, respectively, the logic that underlies their assessment is the same. Questions to guide the reading/to think about ahead of time for students. Define concept and their dimensions, according to the textbook. Define a multiple-indicator measure, according to the textbook. Understand the four types of it discussed in the textbook. Understand the most common critiques of quantitative research. Understand the most common critiques of qualitative research.
