Social Research Methods- ch 4
Conceptualization -
•is the process of precisely defining ideas and turning them into variables.
Operationlization -
is the process of linking the conceptualized variables to a set of procedures for
measuring them.
Conceptualization included -
-Abstract concept in hypothesis and concrete definition of concept
Operationalization includes -
-concrete definition of concept and measure of defined concept
Conceptualization and Operationalization are terms.. -
the terms social scientists use to identify what they want to study and how they want
to study it.
Ex: conceptualizing poverty -
•The seemingly simple concept of poverty has been measured in hundreds of ways.
•What first comes to your mind when you hear the term poverty?
Sociologists may choose to use either absolute or relative standards for conceptualizing
poverty.
Absolute standards -
•The same threshold applies to everyone regardless of context.
•Example: whether a person has food, clothing, and shelter
Relative standards -
•An individual is compared to what is typical in a population.
•Example: whether a person falls below the average income level
Ex: Operationalizing Poverty -
•The U.S. government operationalizes poverty with the federal poverty line (FPL).
•The FPL is measured as the annual cost of an adequate diet for a family of a given size
multiplied by three.
Limitations of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL)--> operationalizing poverty -
•Operationalizing poverty using the FPL has some serious shortcomings.
•It does not include wealth (material possessions and investments).
•It does not account for variations in costs of living throughout the United States.
levels of conceptualization -
(abstract/general)concept in hypothesis--> dimension--> variable--> indicator
(concrete/specific)
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