Identifying Good Measurement

These flashcards cover key concepts related to measurement and validity in research.

Construct

An abstract concept that we are trying to measure, such as love or intelligence.

Operational Definition

A definition that specifies the procedures or operations used to measure a construct.

Self-report Measure

A method of measurement where individuals report their own thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

Observational Measure

A method of measurement that involves observing behavior without self-reports.

Physiological Measure

A method of measurement that assesses biological data, such as brain activity.

Continuous Variables

Variables that can take on any value within a range.

Categorical Variables

Variables that represent distinct groups or categories.

Nominal Scale

A scale of measurement used for labeling variables without a quantitative value; examples include species names.

Ordinal Scale

A scale of measurement that has ordered categories but no fixed interval between them; examples include rankings.

Interval Scale

A scale of measurement that has equal intervals between values but no true zero; examples include temperature in Celsius.

Ratio Scale

A scale of measurement similar to interval scales but with a meaningful zero point, allowing for ratios to be calculated.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure over time, across different raters, or across items.

Test-retest Reliability

The degree to which the same test yields consistent results over time.

Interrater Reliability

The level of agreement among different raters scoring the same test.

Internal Consistency

The extent to which different items on the same test measure the same concept.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test accurately measures the theoretical construct it intends to measure.

Content Validity

The extent to which test items represent the entire domain of the construct being measured.

Concurrent Validity

The degree to which test results correlate with a pre-existing criterion measured at the same time.

Predictive Validity

The extent to which a test can predict outcomes or performance in the future.

Convergent Validity

When a test correlates well with other measures of the same construct.

Discriminant Validity

When a test shows little correlation with measures of different constructs.