Download Understanding Conceptualization and Measurement in Applied Research Methods - Prof. Susan and more Papers Environmental Science in PDF only on Docsity! 1 ESP 178 Applied Research Methods 1/10 - Conceptualization and Measurement THEORY Provides potential answer to research question: suggests how one variable is related to another Useful Frameworks Multilevel framework: Behavior is influenced by factors at three levels: intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental Levels Examples Intrapersonal Age, physical abilities, self-confidence Interpersonal Parental concerns, other kids playing outside Environmental Cul-de-sac, traffic levels, street width, crime rates KAB - knowledge, attitudes, behavior: Behavior is influenced by knowledge and attitudes Levels Examples Knowledge Health impacts of physical activity Attitudes Concern for health Example of “conceptual model” Examples of hypotheses - Living on a cul-de-sac leads to more street play (positive association) - Above the age of 12, street play declines (negative association) RESEARCH STEPS 1. Question 2. Conceptual model and hypothesis 3. Conceptualization and measurement of variables Parents’ attitude Cul-de- sac Street play Age 2 KEY CONCEPTS FROM CHAPTER 4 ON CONCEPTUALIZATION AND MEASUREMENT Easiest to think of “conceptualization and measurement” as going from concepts to variables to indicators/measures for components of model. Term Definition Example 1 Example 2 Concept Element of the model in abstract Street play Attitude toward street play Variable A more specific definition of a concept; only concepts that vary count as variables! Amount of time that children spend playing in their street Willingness to let children play in street Indicator/ measure A empirical measure or observation of the variable “How much time did your child spend playing in your street yesterday?” “How willing are you to let your children play in the street?” Ways of Measuring Way of Measuring Example Type Available data Researcher analyzes of maps to determine if street is a cul-de-sac objective Observations Researcher watches the cul-de-sac for 1 hour and records how many children are playing for how long objective Unobtrusive measures Researcher counts the number of basketball hoops, bicycles, and other play equipment objective Open-ended question (interview) “What kind of street do you live on?” “What do you think about letting your kids play in and around the street? self-report – of objective thing self-report – of subjective thing Fixed-choice question (survey) “Do you live on a… □ through street, □ loop street, □ cul-de-sac” “How willing are you to let your children play in and around the street”: □ very, □ somewhat, □ not at all self-report – of objective thing self-report – of subjective thing Levels of Measurement Level Definition Example Nominal Categorical, no order Street type: cul-de-sac, loop, through Ordinal Categorical, with order Frequency of play: low, medium, high Interval Continuous, with no fixed 0 point Rare in social sciences… Ratio Continuous variable Frequency of play: # times children played outside
