Practice question · Put in order
Arrange the steps of operationalising a sociological concept, in order.
- Test whether the resulting measure behaves as the concept should
- Specify the dimensions the concept is taken to have
- Decide how the indicators will be recorded and coded
- State the concept the research is about
- Choose observable indicators for each dimension
Hints
- The sequence begins with a concept and ends with evidence about the measure itself.
- Indicators come after dimensions, not before.
Show the answer
- State the concept the research is about
- Specify the dimensions the concept is taken to have
- Choose observable indicators for each dimension
- Decide how the indicators will be recorded and coded
- Test whether the resulting measure behaves as the concept should
Why
Skipping the second step is the usual failure. A researcher who moves straight from "social capital" to a question about club membership has silently decided that social capital has one dimension and that it is associational, and every later finding inherits that decision without ever stating it.
Practise Analysing Social Processes
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