Definitions –Economist articles Types of Scales Features of Criterion Measures –Census article Developing Measures in HR

Variable Can take two or more ‘values’, exist in multiple states (e.g., Supervisory rating) Concept General label used to describe observations (e.g., performance) Construct Scientific concept used in theories (e.g., job performance) Definitions

Operational Definition Translate characteristics of the concept into measurable features Break down concept into dimensions that are further broken down into elements Definitions

FIGURE 8.2 Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sekaran/RESEARCH 4E Example of Learning

Identify the concept, construct, variable, dimensions & elements in the “measuring generosity” article Identify the main constructs in the unemployment article What are the two variables? How are the variables measured? What are their relative advantages & disadvantages? Economist Articles

8B Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sekaran/RESEARCH 4E Types of Scales

8C Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sekaran/RESEARCH 4E

8D Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sekaran/RESEARCH 4E

8E Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sekaran/RESEARCH 4E

Nominal Name-based differences between 2 or more exclusive categories (a.k.a. categorical variable) e.g., gender, nationality Suggest 2 possible nominal variables and ways to measure them Ordinal Rank/order-based differences e.g., Letter grades, IV in career-services study Types of Scales

Interval Differences between categories are equal Cannot square/take square roots E.g rating scales, thermometer 4-2=5-3 (but 6 is not the same as 2x3) Ratio Has an absolute zero-point, assesses proportion of differences Cannot add/subtract a constant number e.g., GPA, absenteeism study, frequency scales, quantity scales Types of Scales

Convert the following ratio scales to interval scales In the past 3 months how often have you.. Sought feedback from your supervisor on how well you are performing your job? Checked w/your subordinates that what you are doing is not getting in the way of their efficient performance Exercise

Criterion relevance Assessing the concept Criterion deficiency Lacking important components of concept Criterion contamination Assessing irrelevant components Leads to Bias, unreliability Example: CIR admission criteria Features of Criterion Measures

Construct Measure Criterion deficiency Criterion contamination Criterion relevance

Criterion Practicality Criteria’s ability to discriminate b/w objects Features of Criterion Measures

Discuss problems w/the following & apply defn of criterion relevance, contamination & deficiency: Counting Immigrants Counting visible minorities Having high housing costs Having non-traditional households Having untrained researchers Allowing for Open-ended responses Census Article

What is the item-order effect in the census? How can it be resolved? How would you re-define place of residence? How would you ask for race info? How would you re-define marriage? What is an example of a confidence interval given in the article? Census Article

Definitions –Economist articles Types of Scales Features of Criterion Measures –Census article Developing Measures in HR