Each of these aspects of constructs is discussed in turn: Constructs are mental abstractions that we used to express the ideas, people, organisations, events and/or objects/things that we are interested in. The table below provides some examples of these different types of constructs: The examples above highlight a desire to capture what we mean about something through the use of just a few words (often only one or two words). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. "The sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within, available through, and derived from the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social unit" (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998, p.243). To write a concept paper for a new product, program, or service, start with a descriptive, attention-grabbing title. Hypothesis Testing: An Intuitive Guide, Answering the Birthday Problem in Statistics, The Monty Hall Problem: A Statistical Illusion, 7 Classical Assumptions of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Linear Regression. to assess the validity of the measurement procedure that you use in your dissertation to measure a given construct. Construct validity can be viewed as an overarching term to assess the validity of the measurement procedure (e.g., a questionnaire) that you use to measure a given construct (e.g., depression, commitment, trust, etc.). However, some constructs (e.g., colours, smells, sounds) are more difficult to explain in this way; instead needing to be explained through direct experiences/sense. In order to establish an operational definition of a construct, you also need to know about different types of variables [see the article: Types of variables]. We explain this distinction, as well as the relationship between construct validity and other forms of validity, in the first section of this article: What is construct validity? Tighten the micrometer as much as possible. The best way to understand the difference between a dependent and independent variable is that the meaning of each is implied by The sample size is n=3. Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). "The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma" (Oxford Dictionaries, 2011). High quality quantitative dissertations are able to clearly bring together theory, constructs and variables.Broadly speaking, constructs are the building blocks of theories, helping to explain how and why certain phenomena behave the way that they do. When the grinder releases the rod, take one measurement each at 8" down, 24" down, and 40" down from the notched end. Therefore, constructs need to be translated from the abstract (i.e., mental ideas; mental abstractions) to the concrete (i.e., measureable/testable in the form of variables). In this article, we focus on constructs. Translating abstract concepts (e.g., happiness) into concrete variables is not straightforward. Construct validity can be viewed as an overarching term to assess the validity of the measurement procedure (e.g., a questionnaire) that you use to measure a given construct (e.g., depression, commitment, trust, etc.). When this happens, the results can be confounded, which threatens the internal validity and external validity of your study [see the articles: Internal validity and External validity]. We often refer to constructs as mental abstractions because seldom are constructs directly observable (e.g., we cannot directly observe depression, even though we may associate depression with signs such as a person that often cries, engages in self-harm, has mood swings, and so forth). It is important to note that despite the need to make choices between conceptual definitions, there are no right or wrong answers. This involves creating clear and precise conceptual and operational definitions of the constructs you are interested in [see the section on Constructs in quantitative research], as well as performing various tests of validity. Measure 3 rods every hour. Imagine a debate about famine, without knowing the meaning of other constructs such as starvation, drought, poverty, disaster relief, food supply, survival, nutrition, aid, and so forth. Reliability refers to the extent to which the same answers can be obtained using the same instruments more than one time. This is because it incorporates a number of other forms of validity (i.e., content validity, convergent and divergent validity, and criterion validity) that help in the assessment of such construct validity (Messick, 1980). Constructs can be mistaken for variables because some constructs may only be represented by one variable, such that the construct name and the variable name are the same (e.g., the construct and variable, sex). You will not be able to demonstrate construct validity in a single study, although it is good practice, and valued by dissertations supervisors, when you approach a study wanting to establish as much construct validity as possible. "A process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old, just as racism and sexism accomplish this for skin colour and gender" (Butler, 1975, p.35). A measure of central tendency is a summary statistic that represents the center point or typical value of a dataset. Leeds: The Disability Press. NOTE: Perspectives/approaches to disability from Rioux (1997). Without a clear and precise way of explaining what these constructs mean, we would struggle to communicate to our audience. A variable in research simply refers to a person, place, thing, or phenomenon that you are trying to measure in some way. This reflects the desire to assess the divergent validity of the measurement procedure [see the article: Convergent and divergent validity]. You cannot say that a measurement procedure has permanently or absolutely established construct validity. If the fifth number to the right of the decimal point is 5 or higher, round the fourth number up one. Here, we will provide a list of ideal dissertation topics for the accounting dissertation. Imagine a discussion about marriage, having to continuously explain terms such as divorce, civil partnerships, love, sex, intimacy, religion, sanctity, cohabitation, engagement, and so forth. When myths masquerade as science. Criterion validity: (concurrent and predictive validity). In order to do this, new mothers taking part in the research were asked (a) to complete a 10-question survey (i.e., as a form of self-assessment) to assess various characteristics of post-natal depression, and (b) to be observed (i.e., participant observation) by trained psychiatric nurses, who used a scale to measure these different characteristics of post-natal depression. During the dissertation process you will need to clearly and precisely explain the theories, constructs, and variables that you are interested in, as well as explain the relationship between them. After all, when assessing the construct validity of a measurement procedure, we should not only check that the contents (i.e., elements) are relevant and representative of the construct we are interested in, but also that the measurement procedure is not measuring something that is should not be measuring. For example, let's imagine that we were interested in studying the construct, post-natal depression. In reality, a significant proportion of constructs are of the more complex type. In this sense, construct validity is a process that you work through, involving a number of procedures (i.e., tests of validity, such as content validity, convergent validity, etc.) If we choose to include the construct, sex, in our research, this would be relatively easy to justify. After all, most people would associate the construct, sex, as referring to males or females. For example, take gender. By characteristics, we mean the mental abstractions/ideas within constructs that ultimately are measureable in the form of variables and their attributes. Overall, you should be aware that even if a measurement procedure is shown to have strong construct validity, this is something that develops gradually over time. In other words, we are re-stating constructs as variables, with variables also having their own attributes (e.g., gender having the attributes male/female, which is important, because gender is a classic example of where constructs/variables, and their attributes, can be confused). Being Old in America. For example, imagine that you are interested in the construct, post-natal depression, and want to create a single measurement procedure to measure post-natal depression. With each additional study that shows a measurement procedure to have strong construct validity, especially in a wide range of contexts/situations, the claim of strong construct validity becomes greater. Construct validity is considered an overarching term to assess the measurement procedure used to measure a given construct because it incorporates a number of other forms of validity (i.e., content validity, convergent and divergent validity, and criterion validity) that help in the assessment of such construct validity (Messick, 1980). This is because the constructs of sex and gender are often used interchangeably. Whilst constructs are sometimes mistaken for variables, they are not variables. Disability Studies: Past, Present and Future. Rioux, M. H. (1997). Ultimately, the operational definition is seldom perfect; that is, the choice of operational definition may be constrained by factors such as a lack of access to operational/measurement data. Perspectives/approaches towards the construct. Next, describe the problem you want to solve, and the methods youll use in order to solve it. In the section that follows, we discuss potential threats to construct validity. San Francisco: Harper & Row. Since a conceptual definition only provides the platform for the operational definition that is used to empirically measure constructs, we discuss about translating constructs into operational definitions in the next section. Since the study used two different measurement procedures, how confident can we be that both measurement procedures were measuring the same construct (i.e., post-natal depression)? Butler, R. N. (1975). In this article, we (a) explain what construct validity is, (b) discuss the various threats to construct validity that you may face; and (c) show you where you can found out more. Do the 10 questions and participant observation scale only measure the construct we are interested in (i.e., post-natal depression), and not one or more additional constructs; perhaps constructs such as post-partum mood, stress or anxiety? The role of the operational definition is to precisely describe how to measure the characteristics of a construct. If you are unsure what we mean by terms such as constructs, variables, and conceptual and operational definitions, we would recommend that you first read the articles in the section on Constructs in quantitative research. Furthermore, does the measurement procedure include all the necessary elements/questions? Broadly speaking, constructs are the building blocks of theories, helping to explain how and why certain phenomena behave the way that they do. In L. Barton & M. Oliver. Constructs provide a common language and shared meaning that help us to communicate about things clearly and precisely. When assessing the construct validity of these two measurement procedures to measure the construct, post-natal depression, we would want to know: Are the elements/questions used in the 10-question survey and the participant observation scale relevant and representative of the construct, post-natal depression, which they were supposed to be measuring? This difference in complexity raises two issues: (1) the need to explain to the reader what you mean when you use a particular construct; and (2) the fact that a construct can have more than one meaning, highlighting the importance of explaining what the construct means to you. Instead, we use variables to operationalize (i.e., measure) the constructs we are interested in. Whilst your dissertation on post-natal depression may not have looked at financial stress at all, you need to show that the scores you obtained from your measurement procedure are consistent with the scores (i.e., behaviour) from the related construct (i.e., financial stress). Is there an appropriate balance of elements, or are some over- or under-represented? More difficult to understand and measure: Some constructs that we think we understand, and that we think the reader will understand, can be more complex than we first thought. Take the following examples: NOTE: Definitions are verbatim from Oxford Dictionaries (www.oxforddictionaries.com), a great online resource. As briefly discussed above, construct validity can be viewed as an overarching term to assess the validity of the measurement procedure (e.g., a questionnaire) that you use to measure a given construct (e.g., depression, commitment, trust, etc.). Some constructs can be very easy to understand/measure (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, height), but others are more difficult/complex (e.g., ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem). Do the scores from the two measurement procedures used make accurate predictions (i.e., both theoretically and logically) about the construct they represent (i.e., post-natal depression)? Clearly, there are some tests of validity that you will need to carry out during your study that will help to improve the construct validity of your measurement procedure (e.g., content validity). Translating constructs into operational definitions can be an iterative process, but testing (i.e., the measurement process) should not start until a conceptual and operational definition of your construct(s) have been selected (i.e., you cannot have good measurement without conceptual/operational clarity of constructs). Constructs can be represented by a wide range of variables. You can think of it as the This reflects the desire to assess the content validity of the measurement procedure [see the article: Content validity]. Record to 4 decimal points. People view constructs in different ways (e.g., in the case of happiness, people often adopt a perspective that focuses on actions, such as smoking a cigarette, or possessions, such as owning a diamond, so you need to be clear how you intend to operationalize a construct, and why you are making such choices). 50 Ideal Free Dissertation Topics for Accounting Dissertation. Dictionary: www.oxforddictionaries.com. By complexity, we mean the relative difficulty that people have understanding and measuring (i.e., observing) various constructs. Ultimately, for construct validity to exist, there needs to be (a) a clear link between the construct you are interested in and the measures and interventions that are used to operationalize it (i.e., measure it), and (b) a clear distinction between different constructs (Cronbach and Meehl, 1955; Nunnally, 1978). Constructs can also have a number of different dimensions (e.g., the construct, organisational commitment, is often viewed as consisting of three dimensions - affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment - which whilst constructs in their own right, are part of the broader construct, organisational commitment). Expressing the meaning of constructs using theoretical or nominal definitions, Translating constructs into operational definitions, Ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem, poverty, social capital, trust, philanthropy, affluence, morality, tolerance, air pollution, genetic engineering, euthanasia, marriage, taboos, Age, gender, ethnicity, height, obesity, morbidity, energy, muscle soreness, fatigue, Financial performance, corporate social responsibility, firm survival, organisational culture, service quality, corporate governance, outsourcing, alliances, Armageddon, famine, urban regeneration, Jihad, secularism, Sun, hurricanes, tsunamis, trees, flowers, amino acids, stem cells, Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age, The problem of obesity - the state of being grossly fat or overweight - among children, The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife, The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma, A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance. These theoretical or nominal definitions can be found (a) in academic journals (usually the Abstract/Introduction/Literature Review; often early on); (b) in subject specific or standard dictionaries; or (c) created specifically where none exist. Some example theoretical and nominal definitions are presented in the table below: Clarity is also required when setting out the constructs you intend to study because (a) the meaning/understanding that people get from a construct can be different, and (b) constructs can be viewed from a number of different perspectives, even when there is agreement of the meaning of constructs (e.g., intelligence may be viewed in terms of IQ, but also EI - emotional intelligence - or another perspective). However, one of the more difficult assessments of construct validity during a single study, which is extremely important, but less likely to be carried out, is the need to ensure that the scores that are attained from your measurement procedure for a given construct behave in a way that is consistent with that construct. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. It may also be possible, and will certainly be desirable, to carry out other tests of validity that will give you more confidence that your measurement procedure is construct valid (e.g., convergent and divergent validity, and concurrent and predictive validity). The first step to write an accounting dissertation is to select a unique topic idea. It is for this reason that construct validity is viewed as a process that you go through to assess the validity of a measurement procedure, whilst a number of other forms of validity are procedures (or tools) that you use to more practically assess whether the measurement procedure measures a given construct (Wainer & Braun, 1988). But social scientists would argue that gender is a more complex construct, including additional attributes to just male and female; perhaps including bisexual, homosexual, transsexual, and so forth. Take the following examples: We know that the construct, sex, has just two attributes in humans: male and female. 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