Sociology 2206A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Theoretical Definition, Socioeconomic Status, Operationalization
26 Oct 2016
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The mental process of developing clear and precise meaning for abstract ideas or concepts ( thinking process ) Providing a specific and tentative (meaning it can change) definition for an abstract idea or a concept. Consultation with the existing research (get a basic understanding) Tailoring your concept to fit your research interest (modification) Definitional criteria: will set your definition, what kind of criteria are you using. Ability of individuals or groups to move within a social hierarchy with changes in income, education, occupation, etc. Measurement: assigning numbers or labels to units of analysis in order to represent conceptual properties. Two types of measures: direct observables (ex. Things we can observe rather simply and directly: indirect observables. Things that require more subtle, complex, or indirect observations. Requiring concrete indicators that help us to observe (ex. Socio-economic status, race/ ethnicity, age, leadership, academic achievement, social network, gender discrimination, depression) Variables that have a relatively fixed set of separate attributes.
