OPERATIONALIZATION EXAMPLES

The following paragraphs demonstrate how to operationalize some variables that

may be used in research. When your chosen variables are previously defined in earlier
research, and you are going to use the earlier definition or method of measurement, you
can quote or paraphrase from that source and then properly reference that source. For
commonly used, everyday variables, no reference is necessary. If your are creating a
variable yourself, you must provide a definition and briefly justify your method of
measurement.

Mastery "concerns the extent to which one regards one's lifechances as being under one's own control in contrast to being
fatalistically ruled" (Pearlin and Schooler, 1978:5). The Mastery Scale
(MS) by Pearlin and Schooler is a 7 statement index requiring Likert
responses from Never have that feeling to Always have that feeling
and is included because of its wide use in stress studies. Mastery is a
construct closely associated with locus of control.
Self Esteem also has a long tradition of being useful in stress
research. Self esteem is "the evaluation which the individual makes and
customarily maintains with regard to himself or herself; it expresses an
attitude of approval or disapproval toward oneself" (Rosenberg,
1965:5). The Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale has been used in thousands
of studies and is considered highly reliable. It was also chosen for its
ease of administration and the simplicity of its 10 question Likert
format.
Commitment appears to be an important personal characteristic
in stress research as emphasized by Lazarus and Folkman (1984).
Whether it is measured as a global characteristic (Kobasa et al, 1981),
or implied by voluntary membership (Wheaton, 1980), commitment
appears to affect the strength that events or other stressors have on
individuals. For this construct the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale by
Antonovsky (1987) was selected. It is a 29 item index with a seven point
Likert range from Never have that feeling to Always have that
feeling. Sense of coherence is defined as a "global orientation that
expresses the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though
dynamic feeling of confidence," (p. 19). In addition, Neal and Groat's
Meaninglessness (ME) scale (1974) was included to measure the other
end of this dimension, alienation. Neal and Groats ME scale is a nine
item index asking for responses from Strongly agree to Strongly
disagree. Meaninglessness is defined as an individual's perception
that social and political events are overwhelmingly complex, without
purpose, and lacking in predictability.
Sex in this research is a dichotomous variable: male and female.
Age of respondents is measured in years and months.
Education is measured by highest degree attained beginning with
less than high school degree, through Ph.D.

Religion is a nominal variable with the following categories: Christian,

Muslim, and Other.

NOTE:

Variables like sex, age, education, and religion do not require a

reference because they are commonly used variables. Also, no
definition is required for unambiguous demographic variables such as
these.

REFERENCES
Antonovsky, Aaron. 1987. Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How
People Manage Stress and Stay Well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kobasa, Suzanne C., Salvatore R. Maddi, and Sheila Courington. 1981.
"Personality and constitution as mediators in the stress-illness
relationship," Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 368-378.
Lazarus, Richard S., and Susan Folkman. 1984. Stress, Appraisal, and
Coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Neal, Arthur G., and H. Theodore Groat. 1974. "Social class correlates
of stability and change in levels of alienation," Sociological Quarterly,
15, 548-558.
Pearlin, Leonard I., and Carmi Schooler. 1978. "The structure of
coping," Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2-21.
Rosenberg, Morris. 1965. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Wheaton, Blair. 1980. "The sociogenesis of psychological disorder: An
attributional theory," Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 100124.

NOTE:
The examples on the opposite page are just thatexamples. Dont
copy them exactly as you see here if your usage is differentfor
instance, you may be using education as one of your variables, but you
may find it more useful to measure number of years of education
which then would be represented by a whole number rather than
highest degree attained.
Watch closely in the articles youve collected on your topic to see
if authors have created definitions and measurements of their own or if
they have cited other researchers and used earlier operationalizations
for their variables.