On the methods of phenomenology. How do you define, operationalize, measure "X"?
May 16, 2010 2:03 PM Subscribe
ScholarFilter: Does anyone know of a scholarly article that goes from defining a construct (say, for example an attitude of some kind) to operationalizing it to measuring it in a somewhat succinct way? I'm trying to understand this process better.
Basically, I've determined that this sort of thing would be abound in the Social Psychology literature. I know that practically every new construct that gets developed and then tested goes through essentially the same process of 1) definition, 2) operationalization (i.e. "how do I measure this?"), and 3) measuring it.
What I'd like to do now is read some articles that have executed the process. Does anyone have a clue? Maybe a journal or a keyword or some Google-Fu magic?
Basically, I've determined that this sort of thing would be abound in the Social Psychology literature. I know that practically every new construct that gets developed and then tested goes through essentially the same process of 1) definition, 2) operationalization (i.e. "how do I measure this?"), and 3) measuring it.
What I'd like to do now is read some articles that have executed the process. Does anyone have a clue? Maybe a journal or a keyword or some Google-Fu magic?
I think most social science research articles do that.
Are you looking at a specific field, or a specific type of measurement (qualitative? statistical measures?) or type of data (interview transcripts? questionnaire responses? biometrics?)?
Are you interested in a new construct that gets cited a bagillion times afterwords and becomes standard for that field?
If you could narrow it down a bit, I'd be happy to link to some that I've found helpful.
posted by pantarei70 at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2010
Are you looking at a specific field, or a specific type of measurement (qualitative? statistical measures?) or type of data (interview transcripts? questionnaire responses? biometrics?)?
Are you interested in a new construct that gets cited a bagillion times afterwords and becomes standard for that field?
If you could narrow it down a bit, I'd be happy to link to some that I've found helpful.
posted by pantarei70 at 3:02 PM on May 16, 2010
This may sound daft, but what do you mean by 'construct'?
posted by iamkimiam at 3:55 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by iamkimiam at 3:55 PM on May 16, 2010
If I'm understanding you correctly, then what you're looking for might be covered by looking at quantitative analysis of sociolinguistic variables. There are literally thousands of studies that operationalize the use of linguistic features - many of which are reflective of attitudes of the speaker, hearer or audience being appealed to. For example, measuring the use of a certain term (studies on language and gender or the use of pronouns are good places to start) within a particular environment. How often an individual (or individuals) drop their g's at the ends of ing words. How often people code-switch. Or display accent features. Or use discourse markers (as signs of everything ranging from emotional states such as nervousness to professional speech styles). Counting the types of metaphors used in specific types of advertising. The languages of the messages used in signage. Slang terms found on shirts. Which newscasters say 'Iran' like eeeeron vs. airan. And for all of these things, what correlates? What's driving it? What's influencing it?
Basically, language is a pretty good indicator of stances, attitudes and speaking styles, and this can be measured and quantified, within context, to make generalizations about groups or demonstrate social trends or specific influences on a culture or individual.
A groundbreaking article that spurned a whole subfield of linguistics, using this method is Labov's classic 'fourth floor' study in NYC department stores. Synopsis here.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:18 PM on May 16, 2010
Basically, language is a pretty good indicator of stances, attitudes and speaking styles, and this can be measured and quantified, within context, to make generalizations about groups or demonstrate social trends or specific influences on a culture or individual.
A groundbreaking article that spurned a whole subfield of linguistics, using this method is Labov's classic 'fourth floor' study in NYC department stores. Synopsis here.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:18 PM on May 16, 2010
Response by poster:
Thanks. I tried this though and what I found were articles discussing it from a meta-perspective. In other words, they talk about the act of doing these things. I already know from a conceptual standpoint how these things are done, I just want to see them in action to understand the development of a paper that does these things.
To be more specific, I'm working on my thesis where I'll be sketching out a description of something along the lines of "creepiness" with respect to visually perceived objects (like other people). Then I'll be formally defining it, and measuring it with a combination of self-report (e.g. Likert scales or semantic differentials) and implicit measures (like the IAT). I know what I want to do, I am just falling short of being able to actually do it, so I wanted to try learning by example from people who have done similar things, which I imagine there are a bajillion examples of. Any leads from that?
I forgot that construct may be somewhat jargon-y. By construct I mean something very similar to "concept", only it's a concept that currently only exists by description, and it's then my job to construct it (flesh it out and measure it) with empirical methods. Say, the construct of "attractiveness" or "IQ". I've considered looking to these as examples, but the literature on them is miles deep.
posted by tybeet at 4:58 PM on May 16, 2010
I got numerous hits by googling " operatiionaliizing measuing constructs". Hits were in sociology, social psychology and consumer research. As a basic tutorial I would look first at the business/marketing constructs as they have a simple and direct application (e.g. consumer satisfaction, etc) Good luck
Thanks. I tried this though and what I found were articles discussing it from a meta-perspective. In other words, they talk about the act of doing these things. I already know from a conceptual standpoint how these things are done, I just want to see them in action to understand the development of a paper that does these things.
Are you looking at a specific field, or a specific type of measurement (qualitative? statistical measures?) or type of data (interview transcripts? questionnaire responses? biometrics?)?... If you could narrow it down a bit, I'd be happy to link to some that I've found helpful.
To be more specific, I'm working on my thesis where I'll be sketching out a description of something along the lines of "creepiness" with respect to visually perceived objects (like other people). Then I'll be formally defining it, and measuring it with a combination of self-report (e.g. Likert scales or semantic differentials) and implicit measures (like the IAT). I know what I want to do, I am just falling short of being able to actually do it, so I wanted to try learning by example from people who have done similar things, which I imagine there are a bajillion examples of. Any leads from that?
This may sound daft, but what do you mean by 'construct'?
I forgot that construct may be somewhat jargon-y. By construct I mean something very similar to "concept", only it's a concept that currently only exists by description, and it's then my job to construct it (flesh it out and measure it) with empirical methods. Say, the construct of "attractiveness" or "IQ". I've considered looking to these as examples, but the literature on them is miles deep.
If I'm understanding you correctly, then what you're looking for might be covered by looking at quantitative analysis of sociolinguistic variables.Thanks, I will definitely read the Labov article. It sounds like it might be similar, and I imagine it's interesting even if it's not relevant.
posted by tybeet at 4:58 PM on May 16, 2010
Hakim, Catherine (2010). "Erotic Capital". European Sociological Review.
posted by hworth at 6:30 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by hworth at 6:30 PM on May 16, 2010
It seems to me that most sociological articles would do this, and if that's not an appropriate style to your field, then my impression is that within the field of psychology, APA format would mandate this too. Try published articles in these fields on topics which thematically are relatively close to your field. Alternately, you could try googling "APA format" or referring to the APA manual for more info.
posted by kch at 6:46 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by kch at 6:46 PM on May 16, 2010
Heather L. O'Brien, Elaine G. Toms. (2008). What is user engagement? A conceptual framework for defining user engagement with technology. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(6), 938-955.
Heather L. O'Brien, Elaine G. Toms. (2009). The development and evaluation of a survey to measure user engagement. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 50-69.
The two articles describe the first author's thesis work - the first one addresses the definition and operationalization of the construct (including the whole process of arriving at the definition) and the second article is about measuring the construct.
posted by needled at 7:22 PM on May 16, 2010
Heather L. O'Brien, Elaine G. Toms. (2009). The development and evaluation of a survey to measure user engagement. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 50-69.
The two articles describe the first author's thesis work - the first one addresses the definition and operationalization of the construct (including the whole process of arriving at the definition) and the second article is about measuring the construct.
posted by needled at 7:22 PM on May 16, 2010
I think you should include terms like "scale development" when searching for an example in your field. Here is a good (much-cited) example from marketing:
Parasuraman, A, VA Zeithaml, and LL Berry (1988), "SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality.," Journal of Retailing, 64 (1), 12-40.
posted by prenominal at 10:07 PM on May 16, 2010
Parasuraman, A, VA Zeithaml, and LL Berry (1988), "SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality.," Journal of Retailing, 64 (1), 12-40.
posted by prenominal at 10:07 PM on May 16, 2010
Jodi O'Brien wrote the textbook being used in the social psychology class I'm currently taking (The Production of Reality: Essays and Readings on Social Interaction), and the introductory essays to each section are great, both in terms of explaining things and discussing scholarship and important concepts for each. Also, some of her other work (especially "Writing in the Body: Gender (Re)Production in Online Interaction") does a really good job of talking about relevant and important concepts as she does her work and analysis.
posted by naturalog at 10:21 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by naturalog at 10:21 PM on May 16, 2010
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posted by rmhsinc at 2:22 PM on May 16, 2010