TOK- operational procedures & the human sciences LEGOS!!!!!!!!!!!!! TOK- operational procedures & the human sciences

Operational procedure Definition A procedure agreed upon for the translation of a concept into a measurement of some kind. It expresses how to measure the item being defined using specific details and in its absence many problems can occur.

Real-life example A common example of the use of operational definition surrounds the argument as to how a passenger could decide whether their plane arrived on time? Is it judged by the time of landing which was stated as the arrival time, when the plane stops taxiing or when the first or last passenger leaves the plane? This is why operational definitions must be extremely precisely written to avoid possible variation in interpretations. E.g. to continue with the above example, at what stage could a passenger claim compensation for a ‘late’ flight – here the operational definition will tell us whether in fact the flight was late.

Human sciences Within the realm of human science, operational definition is the transformation of an abstract/ theoretical notion into something fixed, observable and measurable to scientists conducting a research experiment. Without it, data collected may be defective and therefore some things that are overlooked by researchers may be included by others. It is therefore important for scientists to universally share and acknowledge the same bounds created for research and the process of conducting it. Because these bounds are so crucial to the process of measurement they are often very controversial.

TOK: Operationalizing procedural replication - Operational Definitions:  20 pieces of Legos Name your group. You will have 15 mins to make something with all of the pieces provided. Write the instructions for how to build your construction - Instructions should be step by step and detailed. When finished, let Ms. Xiques know so she can take a picture of the construction. Fully take apart the construction, leaving your instructions and all the pieces at your station. As a group, move to a different station. When you are told to start, you will have 15 minutes to follow the instructions on the table to try and recreate the original structure.

1. Describe the issue/concept Activity 1. Describe the issue/concept 2. What implication(s) does this have for knowledge gained in the human sciences (how does this issue or concept affect our ability to learn and know things via the human sciences?)