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Research Methods STA630

Lesson 5

CONCEPTS

Things we observe are the observable realities, which could be physical or abstract. For purposes of

identification of reality we try to give a name to it. By using the name we communicate with others and

over time it becomes part of our language.

A concept is a generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes, occurrences, or processes that has

been given a name. In other words a concept is an idea expressed as a symbol or in words. Natural

science concepts are often expressed in symbolic forms. Most social science concepts are expressed as

words. Words, after all, are symbols too; they are symbols we learn with language. Height is a concept

with which all of you are familiar. In a sense, a language is merely an agreement to represent ideas by

sound or written characters that people learned at some point in their lives. Learning concepts and

theory is like learning language.

Concepts are an Abstraction of Reality

Concepts are everywhere, and you use them all the time. Height is simple concept form everyday

experience. What does it mean? It is easy to use the concept of height, but describing the concept itself

is difficult. It represents an abstract idea about physical reality, or an abstraction of reality. Height is a

characteristic of physical objects, the distance from top to bottom. All people, buildings, trees,

mountains, books and so forth have height. The word height refers to an abstract idea. We associate its

sound and its written form with that idea. There is nothing inherent in the sounds that make up the word

and the idea it represents. The connection is arbitrary, but it is still useful. People can express the

abstract idea to one another using thee symbols.

In other words concepts are the abstractions of reality physical of non-physical like table, leadership,

productivity, and morale are all labels given to some phenomenon (reality). The concepts stand for

phenomenon not the phenomenon itself; hence it may be called an abstraction of empirical reality.

Degree of Abstraction

Concepts vary in their level of abstraction. They are on a continuum from the most concrete to the most

abstract. Very concrete ones refer to straightforward physical objects or familiar experiences (e.g.

height, school, age, family income, or housing). More abstract concepts refer to ideas that have a

diffuse, indirect expression (e.g. family dissolution, racism, political power)

The organization of concepts in sequence from the most concrete and individual to the most

general indicates the degree of abstraction. Moving up the ladder of abstraction, the basic concept

becomes more abstract, wider in scope, and less amenable to measurement. The scientific researcher

operates at two levels of concepts (and propositions) and on the empirical level of variables. At the

empirical level we experience reality that is we observe objects or events.

Sources of Concepts

Everyday culture is filled with concepts, but many of them have vague and unclear definitions.

Likewise, the values and experiences of people in a culture may limit everyday concepts. Nevertheless,

we borrow concepts from everyday culture; though these to be refined.

We create concepts from personal experiences, creative thought, or observation. The classical theorist

originated many concepts like family system, gender role, socialization, self-worth, frustration, and

displaced aggression.

We also borrow concepts from sister disciplines.

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Research Methods STA630

Importance of Concepts

Social science concepts form a specialized language, or jargon. Specialists use jargon as a short hand

way to communicate with one another. Most fields have their own jargon. Physicians, lawyers,

engineers, accountants, plumbers, and auto mechanics all have specialized languages. They use their

jargon to refer to the ideas and objects with which they work. Special problems grow out of the need

for concept precision and inventiveness. Vague meanings attached to a concept create problems of

measurement. Therefore, not only the construction of concepts is necessary but also these should be

precise and the researchers should have some agreement to its meaning.

Identification of concepts is necessary because we use concepts in hypothesis formulation. Here too one

of the characteristics of a good hypothesis is that it should be conceptually clear.

The success of research hinges on (1) how clearly we conceptualize and (2) how well others understand

the concept we use. For example we might ask respondents for an estimate of their family income. This

may seem to be a simple, unambiguous concept, but we may receive varying and confusing answers

unless we restrict or narrow the concept by specifying:

· Time period, such as weekly, monthly, or annually.

· Before or after income taxes.

· For head of the family only or for all family members.

· For salary and wages only or also for dividends, interest, and capital gains.

· Income in kind, such as free rent, employee discounts, or food stamps.

Definitions

Confusion about the meaning of concepts can destroy a research study's value without the researcher or

client even knowing it. If words have different meanings to the parties involved, then they are not

communicating on the same wave-length. Definitions are one way to reduce this danger.

Dictionary Definitions

Researchers must struggle with two types of definitions. In the more familiar dictionary, a concept is

defined with synonyms. For example, a customer is defined as a patron: a patron, in turn, is defined as

customer or client of an establishment; a client is defined as one who employs the services of any

professional ..., also loosely, a patron of any shop. These circular definitions may be adequate for

general communication but not for research.

Dictionary definitions are also called conceptual or theoretical or nominal definitions. Conceptual

definition is a definition in abstract, theoretical terms. It refers to other ideas or constructs. There is no

magical way to turn a construct into precise conceptual definition. It involves thinking carefully,

observing directly, consulting with others, reading what others have said, and trying possible

definitions.

A single construct can have several definitions, and people may disagree over definitions. Conceptual

definitions are linked to theoretical frameworks and to value positions. For example, a conflict theorist

may define social class as the power and property a group of people in a society has or lacks. A

structural functionalist defines it in terms of individual who share a social status, life-style, or subjective

justification. Although people disagree over definitions, the researcher should always state explicitly

which definition he or she is using.

Some constructs are highly abstract and complex. They contain lower level concepts within them (e.g.

powerlessness), which can be made even more specific (e.g. a feeling of little power over wherever on

lives). Other concepts are concrete and simple (e.g. age). When developing definitions, a researcher

needs to be aware of how complex and abstract a construct is. For example, a concrete construct such

as age is easier to define (e.g. number of years that have passed since birth) than is a complex, abstract

concept such as morale.

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Research Methods STA630

Operational Definition

In research we must measure concepts and constructs, and this requires more rigorous definitions. A

concept must be made operational in order to be measured. An operational definition gives meanings to

a concept by specifying the activities or operations necessary to measure it. An operational definition

specifies what must be done to measure the concept under investigation. It is like a manual of

instruction or a recipe: do such-and-such in so-and-so manner.

Operational definition is also called a working definition stated in terms of specific testing or

measurement criteria. The concepts must have empirical referents (i.e. we must be able to count,

measure, or in some other way gather thee information through our senses). Whether the object to be

defined is physical e.g. a machine tool) or highly abstract (e.g. achievement motivation), the definition

must specify characteristics and how to be observed. The specification and procedures must be so clear

that any competent person using them would classify the objects the same way. So in operational

definition we must specify concrete indicators that can be observed/measured (observable indicators).

Use both Definitions in Research

Look at observable phenomenon, we construct a label for it, then try to define it theoretically, which

gives a lead to the development of criteria for its measurement, and finally we gather thee data.