Operationalization1

Operationalization: A Researcher's Best Tool

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What is Operationalization?

Operationalization can be defined as the process of turning abstract concepts into measurable observations. It involves defining how a concept can be measured, observed, or manipulated. Using operationalization, researchers can systematically collect and evaluate phenomena that can’t be observed directly.

Operationalization is integral when trying to study phenomena that are not directly measurable such as the phenomenon of health. Health cannot be measured directly. However, it can be operationalized through the use of different indicators such as body mass index, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels. 

Why is Operationalization Important?

In order to conduct quantitative research, you require precisely defined variables. As certain abstract concepts can’t necessarily be measured directly, they need to be operationalised before they can be researched. Let’s look at a few different abstract concepts and the ways in which they can be operationalized:

Customer Loyalty:

Many different survey types can be used to collect feedback from customers and track customer loyalty levels. The Net Promoter Score® is a commonly used metric of customer loyalty.

Perception of Threat:

Increase in sweat gland activity and changes in heart rate can be a physiological response to the perception of threat.

Overconfidence:

Overconfidence can be operationalised by measuring the difference between how well respondents think they did on a test and how well they actually did.

How to Operationalize Concepts?

The following three steps can be used to operationalize concepts effectively: 

  • Outline the Concepts you want to Study
  • Select Variables to represent each Concept
  • Select Variable Indicators

Outline the Concepts you want to Study

The concept you are trying to study will influence your research question. A research question is a question that a research study sets out to answer. For example, let’s assume you want to study the effects of social media on depression among teenagers. Your research question would be as follows:

“What is the effect of social media use on the mental health of teenagers?” The concepts being studied in this question are social media use and depression. 

Select Variables to represent each Concept

The next step is to clearly define which variables you are going to measure. Your main concept may have a range of different variables that are measurable, however, you must select the variables that will help you answer your research question best. 

You can even select variables by reviewing previous literature on the same concept to discern the most relevant variables. 

For example, you can measure ‘how often teenagers use social media’ (frequency), or you can track ‘which social media they use’ (type). 

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Select Variable Indicators

Once you’ve selected a variable to represent each concept being measured, you can decide on the indicators for the different variables. These indicators will represent your variable numerically, allowing you to measure and evaluate them. For this step, too, you can refer to past literature to get an idea of the different practical ideas that can be implemented to measure your selected variables. 

Let’s assume that the variable you decided to select while measuring social media behaviour is frequency. In this case, the indicator of frequency could be the number of logins during the day or the total amount of time spent cumulatively on social media on a daily basis. 

Advantages of Operationalization

Let’s take a look at the key benefits of using operationalization:

Consistency:

Operationalization helps ensure consistency in the collection and interpretation of data, also facilitating the replication and extension of any study that employs it. 

Specificity and Objectivity:

It clearly defines how a concept can be measured, reducing or eliminating the possibility of subjective or biased interpretations. 

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Disadvantages of Operationalization

Operationalization also has its disadvantages:

Lack of Acceptance:

Abstract concepts can usually be defined in a number of different ways. For this reason, other researchers often question the correspondence between the methods of operationalization used in a specific study and the theoretical concept. 

Reductiveness:

As operationalization involves the interpretation and narrowing down of a broad abstract concept into sharper and less subjective observations, it can cause the original concept to lose some of its meaning. 

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