HMPYC80 EXAM PREP NOTES
NEW RRI
,Scientific method can be seen as a set of rigorous procedures used in research to obtain an interpret
facts. These procedures include defining the problem – stating the METHOD for measuring, defining
the criteria to be USED, OBSERVING and MEAAURING, presenting the FINDINGS, limiting to
conclusions to those aspects that agree SUPPORTED by the FINDINGS, and basing the
recommendations on the REAL FINDINGS>
Science can be distinguishing from other forms of understanding in that science refers to both a
SYSTEM for producing KNOWLEDGE and KNOWLEDGE produced from the system = universalism,
organised scepticism and communalism
CONSTRUCT
a construct is the abstract idea, underlying theme, or subject matter that one wishes to
measure using survey questions. ... As a cohesive set, the dimensions of a construct
define the construct
CONCEPTS
Consists is a mixed bunch consisting of concepts – borrowed from the underlying science and from
related professions. Such concepts must be part of a parcel = example from social work are
assessment, coping skills, significant others, role play, intervention, cognitive restructuring, crisis
intervention, task-centred case work and termination
Constructs are broad concepts or topics for a study. Constructs can be conceptually defined in
that they have meaning in theoretical terms. They can be abstract and do not necessarily need
to be directly observable. Examples of constructs include intelligence or life satisfaction.
WHAT IS A CONSTRUCT: (WORDS/LABELS e.g. Mental State)
A construct is an image or abstract idea specifically invented for a given research and/or theory-
building purpose. The Role of Constructs } A construct is an abstract idea inferred from specific
instances that are thought to be related. } Typical marketing constructs are brand loyalty,
satisfaction, preference, awareness, knowledge. } Research objectives typically call for the
measurement of constructs. } There are customary methods for defining and measuring constructs
The conceptualization process is all the more important because of the imprecision,
vagueness, and ambiguity of many social science constructs. For instance, is
“compassion” the same thing as “empathy” or “sentimentality”? If you have a proposition
stating that “compassion is positively related to empathy”, you cannot test that proposition
unless you can conceptually separate empathy from compassion and then empirically
measure these two very similar constructs correctly.
One important decision in conceptualizing constructs is specifying whether they are
unidimensional and multidimensional.
Unidimensional constructs are those that are expected to have a single underlying
dimension. These constructs can be measured using a single measure or test.
Examples include simple constructs such as a person’s weight, wind speed, and probably
even complex constructs like self-esteem (if we conceptualize self-esteem as consisting of a
single dimension, which of course, may be an unrealistic assumption).
,Multidimensional constructs consist of two or more underlying dimensions.
For instance, if we conceptualize a person’s academic aptitude as consisting of two
dimensions – mathematical and verbal ability – then academic aptitude is a
multidimensional construct. Each of the underlying dimensions in this case must be
measured separately, say, using different tests for mathematical and verbal ability, and the
two scores can be combined, possibly in a weighted manner, to create an overall value for
the academic aptitude construct.
CONCEPTS – BUILDING BLOCKS – organise thinking about the social word (Statement as a
sentence) LINKS the THEORETICAL DEFINITION (connections of concepts) What is meant/intended
by a certain concept Generalisation – ordinary language)
(Concepts linked to Mental State = love, happiness, aggression, hunger)
A concept is a generally accepted collection of meanings or characteristics associated with certain
events, objects, conditions, situations, and behaviours. Classifying and categorizing objects or
events that have common characteristics beyond any single observation creates concepts.
We design hypotheses using concepts. We devise measurement concepts by which to test these
hypothetical statements. We gather data using these measurement concepts. The success of
research hinges on (1) how clearly, we conceptualize
(2) how well others understand the concepts we use.
For example, when we survey people on the question of customer loyalty, the questions we use
need to tap faithfully the attitudes of the participants. Attitudes are abstract, yet we must attempt
to measure them using carefully selected concepts.
TITLE :
1. Contains a central psychological construct from the research proposal or study:
1 = Absent/incorrect
2= Partially Correct
3 = Complete correct and up to standard
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)
Constructs are mental abstractions that we used to express
the ideas, people, organisations, events and/or objects/things that we are interested in.
Constructs are a way of bringing theory down to earth, helping to explain the different
components of theories, as well as measure/observe their behaviour. The table below
provides some examples of these different types of constructs:
Types of
Examples
constructs
, Ideas Ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem, poverty, social capital,
trust, philanthropy, affluence, morality, tolerance, air
pollution, genetic engineering, euthanasia, marriage, taboos
People Age, gender, ethnicity, height, obesity, morbidity, energy,
muscle soreness, fatigue
Organisations Financial performance, corporate social responsibility, firm
survival, organisational culture, service quality, corporate
governance, outsourcing, alliances
Events Armageddon, famine, urban regeneration, Jihad, secularism
Sun, hurricanes, tsunamis, trees, flowers, amino acids, stem
Objects/Things
cells
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). Take the following
examples:
The meaning we are trying to convey Construct
Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age Ageism
The problem of obesity - the state of being grossly fat or Child
overweight - among children obesity
The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized Marriage
by law, by which they become husband and wife
Extreme scarcity of food Famine
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable Euthanasia
and painful disease or in an irreversible coma
A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other
Tsunami
disturbance
2. Title indicates the research setting OR demographic information of the same population
POPULATION refer to the population as an aggregate or totality of all the objects, subjects or
members that conform to a set of specifications.
1 = Absent/incorrect
2= Partially Correct
3 = Complete correct and up to standard
Demographic information : age, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education,
employments:
Example: population was South African women of all races, age groups, educational status, socio-
economic status and residential areas,
Population vs Sample. The main difference between a population and sample has to
do with how observations are assigned to the data set. A population includes all of the
elements from a set of data. A sample consists one or more observations drawn from
the population.
SAMPLE A sample is a subset of a population selected to participate in the study, it is a fraction of
the whole, selected to participate in the research project
NEW RRI
,Scientific method can be seen as a set of rigorous procedures used in research to obtain an interpret
facts. These procedures include defining the problem – stating the METHOD for measuring, defining
the criteria to be USED, OBSERVING and MEAAURING, presenting the FINDINGS, limiting to
conclusions to those aspects that agree SUPPORTED by the FINDINGS, and basing the
recommendations on the REAL FINDINGS>
Science can be distinguishing from other forms of understanding in that science refers to both a
SYSTEM for producing KNOWLEDGE and KNOWLEDGE produced from the system = universalism,
organised scepticism and communalism
CONSTRUCT
a construct is the abstract idea, underlying theme, or subject matter that one wishes to
measure using survey questions. ... As a cohesive set, the dimensions of a construct
define the construct
CONCEPTS
Consists is a mixed bunch consisting of concepts – borrowed from the underlying science and from
related professions. Such concepts must be part of a parcel = example from social work are
assessment, coping skills, significant others, role play, intervention, cognitive restructuring, crisis
intervention, task-centred case work and termination
Constructs are broad concepts or topics for a study. Constructs can be conceptually defined in
that they have meaning in theoretical terms. They can be abstract and do not necessarily need
to be directly observable. Examples of constructs include intelligence or life satisfaction.
WHAT IS A CONSTRUCT: (WORDS/LABELS e.g. Mental State)
A construct is an image or abstract idea specifically invented for a given research and/or theory-
building purpose. The Role of Constructs } A construct is an abstract idea inferred from specific
instances that are thought to be related. } Typical marketing constructs are brand loyalty,
satisfaction, preference, awareness, knowledge. } Research objectives typically call for the
measurement of constructs. } There are customary methods for defining and measuring constructs
The conceptualization process is all the more important because of the imprecision,
vagueness, and ambiguity of many social science constructs. For instance, is
“compassion” the same thing as “empathy” or “sentimentality”? If you have a proposition
stating that “compassion is positively related to empathy”, you cannot test that proposition
unless you can conceptually separate empathy from compassion and then empirically
measure these two very similar constructs correctly.
One important decision in conceptualizing constructs is specifying whether they are
unidimensional and multidimensional.
Unidimensional constructs are those that are expected to have a single underlying
dimension. These constructs can be measured using a single measure or test.
Examples include simple constructs such as a person’s weight, wind speed, and probably
even complex constructs like self-esteem (if we conceptualize self-esteem as consisting of a
single dimension, which of course, may be an unrealistic assumption).
,Multidimensional constructs consist of two or more underlying dimensions.
For instance, if we conceptualize a person’s academic aptitude as consisting of two
dimensions – mathematical and verbal ability – then academic aptitude is a
multidimensional construct. Each of the underlying dimensions in this case must be
measured separately, say, using different tests for mathematical and verbal ability, and the
two scores can be combined, possibly in a weighted manner, to create an overall value for
the academic aptitude construct.
CONCEPTS – BUILDING BLOCKS – organise thinking about the social word (Statement as a
sentence) LINKS the THEORETICAL DEFINITION (connections of concepts) What is meant/intended
by a certain concept Generalisation – ordinary language)
(Concepts linked to Mental State = love, happiness, aggression, hunger)
A concept is a generally accepted collection of meanings or characteristics associated with certain
events, objects, conditions, situations, and behaviours. Classifying and categorizing objects or
events that have common characteristics beyond any single observation creates concepts.
We design hypotheses using concepts. We devise measurement concepts by which to test these
hypothetical statements. We gather data using these measurement concepts. The success of
research hinges on (1) how clearly, we conceptualize
(2) how well others understand the concepts we use.
For example, when we survey people on the question of customer loyalty, the questions we use
need to tap faithfully the attitudes of the participants. Attitudes are abstract, yet we must attempt
to measure them using carefully selected concepts.
TITLE :
1. Contains a central psychological construct from the research proposal or study:
1 = Absent/incorrect
2= Partially Correct
3 = Complete correct and up to standard
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)
Constructs are mental abstractions that we used to express
the ideas, people, organisations, events and/or objects/things that we are interested in.
Constructs are a way of bringing theory down to earth, helping to explain the different
components of theories, as well as measure/observe their behaviour. The table below
provides some examples of these different types of constructs:
Types of
Examples
constructs
, Ideas Ageism, sexism, racism, self-esteem, poverty, social capital,
trust, philanthropy, affluence, morality, tolerance, air
pollution, genetic engineering, euthanasia, marriage, taboos
People Age, gender, ethnicity, height, obesity, morbidity, energy,
muscle soreness, fatigue
Organisations Financial performance, corporate social responsibility, firm
survival, organisational culture, service quality, corporate
governance, outsourcing, alliances
Events Armageddon, famine, urban regeneration, Jihad, secularism
Sun, hurricanes, tsunamis, trees, flowers, amino acids, stem
Objects/Things
cells
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). Take the following
examples:
The meaning we are trying to convey Construct
Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age Ageism
The problem of obesity - the state of being grossly fat or Child
overweight - among children obesity
The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized Marriage
by law, by which they become husband and wife
Extreme scarcity of food Famine
The painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable Euthanasia
and painful disease or in an irreversible coma
A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other
Tsunami
disturbance
2. Title indicates the research setting OR demographic information of the same population
POPULATION refer to the population as an aggregate or totality of all the objects, subjects or
members that conform to a set of specifications.
1 = Absent/incorrect
2= Partially Correct
3 = Complete correct and up to standard
Demographic information : age, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education,
employments:
Example: population was South African women of all races, age groups, educational status, socio-
economic status and residential areas,
Population vs Sample. The main difference between a population and sample has to
do with how observations are assigned to the data set. A population includes all of the
elements from a set of data. A sample consists one or more observations drawn from
the population.
SAMPLE A sample is a subset of a population selected to participate in the study, it is a fraction of
the whole, selected to participate in the research project
