Experimental Designs

Operational Definitions

When developing a research study, the researcher needs to define each concept, variable, term, or object in their study in a clear and concise way. The researchers’ definition must tell the reader how the variables can be measured or detected because variables can mean different things to different people. For instance, many researchers define intelligence as scores obtained from an IQ test. Other researchers may define intelligence using scores obtained from an aptitude test which tests knowledge in a specific area.

Importance of operational definitions:

- Methodology is clearer to the reader
- Researchers can accurately replicate studies

Limitations:

- Concept can almost never be fully defined by operations

Some are easy:

Time: seconds measured by a stopwatch.
Weight: numbers on a weight scale

Others harder:

Generosity
Creativity