5.4: Key Terms/Glossary

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 76205

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Concept mapping: Method for identifying and visualizing dimensions and indicators of concepts and relationships between concepts
Concepts: These are the building blocks of theories and are labels or language to describe objects, events, practices, and ideas in social life; complex concepts are further broken down into dimensions and indicators
Conceptualization: The process of creating concepts by applying the powers of observation and imagination
Dimension: One aspect of a concept; for example, the concept of “government” might be broken down into multiple dimensions such as “centralization of power,” “levels of bureaucracy,” and so forth
Indicator: Observable aspect of a concept
Interval measure: A measure for a variable in which observations fall along a scale with standard units
Nominal measure: A measure for a variable in which observations are classified into two or more categories
Operationalization: Process of defining a concept in measurable terms; identifying variables (or indicators) that are relevant for understanding and observing a concept in concrete ways
Ordinal measure: A measure for a variable in which observations are rank ordered
Ratio measure: An interval measure with a true zero value
Regime: The system and rules, either formal or informal, for organizing government in each society; a binary approach to regime is to divide governments into democracies and nondemocracies
Reliability: When there is a low probability of error for a proposed measure
Validity: When a proposed measure is a meaningful measure of its underlying concept