Measurement and Description
We begin our exploration of quantitative methods in sociology (and the social sciences more broadly) by thinking carefully about how we make the passage from theory and concepts to empirical data. For concepts to be explored empirically (not just theoretically), we need to operationalise them. The lecture introduces some core ideas behind social measurement in general. In the IT workshop, we will look more carefully at examples of how “social trust” has been conceptualised, operationalised and measured in practice.
Once empirical data have been collected, a first step in their analysis is to explore and describe the recorded variables using appropriate descriptive statistics. It may be that our research question is a very simple one and the whole purpose of the research was to describe the distribution of a measured concept or phenomenon. In most cases, however, descriptive statistics are but the first – albeit essential – step in the analytic process. In real-life research scenarios, we are more interested in drawing comparisons between cases and identifying associations (relationships) between various concepts and phenomena. That will be the topic of week 3.
Readings
Statistics:
- IMS: Chapters 1 (“Data”) and 2 (“Study design”)
Application:
- Uslaner, E. M. 2012. Chapter 7 (“Measuring generalized trust: in defense of the ‘standard’ question”, pp. 72-82) in Lyon, Fergus, Guido Möllering, and M. N. K. Saunders, eds. 2012. Handbook of Research Methods on Trust. Northampton, Mass: Edward Elgar Pub.
- Delhey, Jan, Kenneth Newton, and Christian Welzel. 2011. “How General Is Trust in ‘Most People’? Solving the Radius of Trust Problem.” American Sociological Review 76(5): 786–807.
- Bekkers, René, and Bart Sandberg. 2018. “Grading Generalized Trust Across Europe.” Paper presented at The 6th ESS Workshop in The Hague, 16th March 2018. Available at: https://osf.io/qntze
Advanced topics:
- Robbins, Blaine G. 2022. “Measuring Generalized Trust: Two New Approaches.” Sociological Methods & Research 51(1): 305–56.
- Robbins, Blaine G. 2024. “An Empirical Comparison of Four Generalized Trust Scales: Test–Retest Reliability, Measurement Invariance, Predictive Validity, and Replicability.” Sociological Methods & Research 53(2): 760–803.
Further reading:
- Stevens, S. S. 1946. “On the Theory of Scales of Measurement.” Science 103(2684): 677–80.
- Duncan, Otis Dudley. 1984. Notes on Social Measurement: Historical and Critical. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. (especially Chapter 4 discussing and criticising Stevens (1946))