Identifying Good Measurement Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering measurement variables, scales, types of measures, reliability, and construct validity based on PSYC344 lecture notes.

Conceptual Variable

The theoretical or abstract definition of a variable at the construct level.

Operational Definition

The specific process or method used to measure or manipulate a conceptual variable in an empirical study.

Self-Report Measure

A measurement method that records individuals' answers to questions about themselves via surveys or interviews.

Observational Measure

A measurement method that records visible behaviors or physical traces of behavior, also called a behavioral measure.

Physiological Measure

A measurement method that records biological processes or physiological data, such as brain activity or heart rate.

Categorical Variable

A variable whose levels are distinct, non-numerical categories, also referred to as a nominal variable.

Quantitative Variable

A variable whose values are coded as meaningful numbers.

Ordinal Scale

A quantitative measurement scale in which numerals represent a ranked order, but the distances between ranks are not necessarily equal.

Interval Scale

A quantitative measurement scale with equal distances between subsequent numerals, but lacking a true zero point.

Ratio Scale

A quantitative measurement scale with equal distances between numerals and a true zero point representing complete absence of the variable.

Reliability

The consistency, stability, or repeatability of measurement scores.

Test-Retest Reliability

The consistency of test scores when the same measurement instrument is administered to the same subjects at different points in time.

Interrater Reliability

The degree of agreement or consistency between two or more independent observers rating the same target or behavior.

Internal Reliability

The extent to which multiple items on a single scale produce consistent responses when assessing the same construct.

Cronbach's Alpha

A statistical coefficient used to measure internal reliability, where a value above $0.70$ indicates acceptable internal consistency.

Face Validity

A subjective judgment of construct validity assessing whether a measurement tool appears to measure what it intends to measure at face value.

Content Validity

A subjective evaluation of validity checking whether a measurement tool captures all essential parts or components of a construct defined by theory.

Criterion Validity

An empirical assessment of construct validity evaluating whether scores on a measure correlate predictably with key behavioral outcomes.

Known-Groups Paradigm

A method for testing criterion validity by determining whether a measure discriminates between groups whose status or behavior is already established.

Convergent Validity

The empirical pattern demonstrating a strong correlation between scores on a measure and scores on other measures of theoretically similar constructs.

Discriminant Validity

The empirical pattern demonstrating a lack of correlation between scores on a measure and scores on measures of theoretically different constructs.