Operational Definitions in the Social Sciences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2201390 |
|---|---|
| Authors | George A Lundberg (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1942 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 727-745 |
| Publication date | 1942-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9602 • E-ISSN: 1537-5390 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/219004 |
| OpenAlex | W1990302712 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
The position of certain recent publications is examined and criticized because they seem to imply (a) that under some circumstances ambiguous concepts are more useful than precise ones and (b) that operational difinitions are of limited usefulness in sociology because of their dependence upon quantitative characteristics, whereas some items referred to by sociological concepts are "essentially qualitative in nature." Both assumptions are here questioned. Operational definitions, in common with any other method of increasing the precision of the meaning of a concept, undoubtedly frequently limit that meaning and so exclude some meanings which were previously attached to the term. It does not follow that the meanings so excluded are denied or debarred from study. These neglected aspects are themselves subject to precise and operational definition. Various other misunderstandings of the operational and positivistic position are discussed. The hypothesis is advanced that in sociology, as in other natural sciences, some of the opposition to the positivistic approach may be due to its apparent lack in aesthetic and literary qualities to minds conditioned by the scientific philosophy of the nineteenth century. A series of specific questions is propounded in the hope of clarifying the issues under consideration
Epistemology · Meaning (existential · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Positivism · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Subject (documents · Computer Science · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Philosophy
Women's Violence to Men in Intimate Relationships
I metodi della ricerca sociologica
Operational Definitions
Negotiating (under)development? Expanding bargaining power within globalised production networks
Environment
On Postmodernism, Pragmatism, and Plasterers
Herbert Blumer
The Problem of the Concept
A 'Scientific Revolution
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,15 |
| Citation span | 1964 - 2024 (61) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 9 |