The nature of quantitative research
Which of the following is not a form of measurement validity?
Concurrent validity
Face validity
Conductive validity
Convergent validity
Conductive validity
Measurement validity is concerned with whether the measure used actually measures what it says it will. Bryman uses examples of formal exams and the Consumer Price Index. Do these measures really, truly, measure academic ability (as opposed to rote learning, say) or inflation (as opposed to some government norm)? The various types of validity include ‘face validity’: does the measure strike us intuitively as being capable of measuring the concept?; ‘concurrent validity’: if some people say they like cream in their coffee, do they also say they dislike coffee without cream, for example, on the basis that we might expect such opinions to be held concurrently; ‘convergent validity’: does the measure we use tend to produce the same kind of results as another measure to track the same concept? This final test can be ‘passed’ by using two research instruments, with one used as a check on the other. ‘Conductive validity’ is a concept that applies to logical argumentation and is not a form of measurement validity.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 158-161
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 158-161
Conductive validity Measurement validity is concerned with whether the measure used actually measures what it says it will. Bryman uses examples of formal exams and the Consumer Price Index. Do these measures really, truly, measure academic ability (as opposed to rote learning, say) or inflation (as opposed to some government norm)? The various types of validity include ‘face validity’: does the measure strike us intuitively as being capable of measuring the concept?; ‘concurrent validity’: if some people say they like cream in their coffee, do they also say they dislike coffee without cream, for example, on the basis that we might expect such opinions to be held concurrently; ‘convergent validity’: does the measure we use tend to produce the same kind of results as another measure to track the same concept? This final test can be ‘passed’ by using two research instruments, with one used as a check on the other. ‘Conductive validity’ is a concept that applies to logical argumentation and is not a form of measurement validity.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 158-161
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 158-161
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The term ‘reverse operationism’ means that:A. The theories we devise will often hinder our attempts to measure concepts
B. The measurements we devise can sometimes help to develop a theory
C. Techniques such as factor analysis have no place in social research
D. Driving instructors always make you practice the most difficult manoeuvre
The importance of measurement in quantitative research is that:
A. It allows us to delineate fine differences between people or cases
B. It provides a consistent device or yardstick
C. It allows for precise estimates of the degree of relationship between concepts
D. All of the above
Written accounts of quantitative research rarely include the results of reliability and validity tests because:
A. Researchers are more interested in reporting their operational definitions
B. Researchers don’t really think that these tests are important
C. Journal editors have banned these kinds of articles
D. Researchers are more interested in reporting their substantive findings
The difference between measures and indicators is that:
A. Measures are unambiguous quantities, whereas indicators are devised from common sense understandings
B. Indicators have a more direct relationship to the underlying concept than measures
C. Measures are intuitively devised and then applied as if they were direct indicators of a concept
D. Indicators are unambiguous quantities, whereas measures are subjective and value-laden
One of the preoccupations of quantitative researchers is with generalization, which is a sign of:
A. External validity
B. Internal reliability
C. External reliability
D. Internal validity
An operational definition is:
A. One that bears no relation to the underlying concept
B. An abstract, theoretical definition of a concept
C. A definition of a concept in terms of specific, empirical measures
D. One that refers to opera singers and their work
Quantitative research has been criticised because:
A. The measurement process suggests a spurious and artificial sense of accuracy
B. The reliance on instruments and procedures makes it high in ecological validity
C. It underestimates the similarities between objects in the natural and social worlds
D. All of the above
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