Theoretical and methodological support
OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONCEPTS
For sociology (empirical science), one of the fundamental problems is to establish the ways in which the connection between the theoretical-conceptual universe and the empirical, concrete reality is made.
Within this general issue, a special place is occupied by the problem of operationalizing concepts, thereby understanding the set of operations through which the defining properties of the notion can be identified, evaluated or even measured in the empirical universe. "Operational concepts" - that species of concepts that serve directly in the empirical investigation of reality - are built in the field of operationalizing general concepts and are rendered by dimensions, variables, indicators and indices (the last two especially for quantitative research).
Any general concept can be concretized by finding some features, some "material" (objects, actions, situations) or "spiritual" (opinions) characteristics.
The efficiency of the concretization processes depends on how the "characteristics" or "traits" are chosen more or less happily according to the talent of the respective observer.
The operationalization of concepts is the transition from the concept to its specific dimensions, variables, indicators and indices.
The term "dimension" is included in the classical scheme of operationalization, but it presents a high degree of relativism and, perhaps, ambiguity. The dimensions of a certain concept are not imposed by themselves. Not only do they not flow automatically once the concept is defined, but they also cannot be developed as a single model. A guiding criterion for the elaboration of the dimensions is the obtaining of additional concrete elements to define the social variables. The degree of adequacy of the dimensional model is determined based on the relevance of the information resulting from its use, and it is remarkable that this fact should be carried out through pilot research, in order not to compromise the actual research.
The dimensions of a concept are classes of information needed to study the attribute space of a concept, i.e. the range or fan of attributes that the concept "cuts out" from reality. Dimensions are still concepts, but concepts with a lower degree of generality than the parent concept. (the defined concept is the genus-term for dimension-notions, which are species-terms of the concept, that is, they are in the inclusion relation: the set of elements of the term genus will include the set of elements of the term species)
The variables. The concept of "variable" has several connotations in sociology. It designates quality in a narrow sense. In a general sense, the term "variable" refers to the indication of the property of social phenomena and processes to change, to evolve, to modify, to take on different values from one moment to another, from one individual to another, from a collective to another, regardless of the nature of the respective phenomenon. In this sense, the term "variable" is put in relation to that of "criterion". R. Boudon considered that the variable is "the result of dividing the collective according to one or more criteria" - the sex, the qualification level or the age of the studied population are also variables according to the stated definition. About the nature of the variables, it can be noted that they are seen both as manifest realities (directly observable) and as latent states, which cannot be directly observed (measurable), but which can be investigated through directly observable indicators.
Indicators – a concept that renders an observable, measurable sign related to certain aspects of social reality. It is the concept that makes something specific to be recorded, observed and measured directly, directly. Indicators mediate the knowledge of a dimension through its related variables, rendering the observable and measurable aspect of reality, while the dimension (although more "concrete" than the concept) gives information about facts not directly observable. In statistical terms, the indicator is "a characteristic", numerically expressed of an economic, social category, being the notion for a numerical expression determined on the basis of statistical observations.
The index is generally a ratio of the size of an indicator at time t1 to the size of that indicator at time t0 or a ratio of two coexisting sizes.
The operationalization of concepts serves essentially to put the research project into action, providing the background data for the selection of methods, for the construction of investigative tools for the entire research. (for example, in a sociological survey through a questionnaire, its questions are interrogative statements that convert as such the indicators retained from the operationalization process; the questions in the questionnaire have the role of processed, translated, adjusted indicators so that they are valid and functional in the process