Page 99 - SREENARAYANAGURU OPEN UNIVERSITY

3.1.4 Process of Measurement

The following is the process involved in measurement:
a. The first and most important step in measurement is learning ◆ Concept
everything there is to know about the studied subject. A thorough identification
understanding of a subject can be attained by observations, a
thorough examination of the literature, and talking to specialists
which helps in identifying the concept for the study.

b. The researcher should learn the key ideas behind their ◆ Conceptualisation
investigation. In theoretical studies as opposed to more practical
research, where core notions are frequently already established,
this stage of concept formation is more obvious.
c. After gaining a thorough understanding on the concept and
its key ideas, the researcher has to specify dimensions of that ◆ Specify dimensions
concept. For example, when a study is conducted to determine
the job satisfaction of employees working in a company, various
dimensions such as job security, remuneration, opportunities for
career growth etc. could be considered.

d. The researcher must create indicators to gauge each concept’s
component once its dimensions have been determined. When
knowledge, opinion, expectations, etc. are measured, indicators
are specific questions, scales, or other tools. Since there is rarely
a perfect way to quantify a notion, the researcher must take a
variety of options into account. The scores are more stable and
their validity is increased when more than one indicator is used.
These indicators should then be combined into a single index.
By providing scale values for responses and then adding the
related scores, it is easy to create an overall index. Due to the ◆ Formation of index
fact that a single indication only has a probabilistic association
with what we truly want to know, a general index would serve
as a better assessment instrument. The broad index of the many
concepts relevant to the research investigation should be obtained
in this way.

3.2.5 Errors in Measurements

Despite employing accurate measurement scales when
assessing objects or features, errors can still find their way into
the process. Implementing a well-designed research methodology
allows us to reduce these errors, but complete elimination remains
unattainable. Research studies frequently adhere to the GIGO ◆ Systematic error and
principle, which stands for Garbage In Garbage Out, implying random error
that if inaccurate or flawed data is provided as input, the resulting
outputs will be inappropriate or misleading. The errors can be
classified as systematic error and random error. Systematic errors

SGOU - SLM - MCom Research Methodology 93