Essay Example on CONCEPTUALIZING AND OPERATIONALIZING VARIABLES

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AMERICAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM Conceptual Definition Conceptual definition tells you what the concept means it tells you what your constructs are by explaining how they are related to other constructs This explanation and all of the constructs it refers to are abstract This is the process by which we specify what we mean when we use particular terms in studies It is also described as the mental step that unclear and imprecise notions are made more direct Babbie 2011 Operational Definition Operational Definition is a definition of how one will operate with a concept in a given study So what does one mean when they say operate well it means how one will either measure it or how one will manipulate it control it or randomize it It is considered to be one level beyond conceptualization Babbie 2011 Conceptualizing the Variable RACE Race is often defined as Non Hispanic White Hispanic American Indian Alaska Native Asian American Pacific Islander African American Black American Indian and Alaskan Native Asian and Native Hawaiian etc Cassidy Grieco 2001 The term race is often viewed by others as a social construct rather than biologic or genetic Some view it as what one looks like in a physical feature or see race as a cultural difference Race is a human Construct Race is a made of categorization that s based on physical appearances

Because races are based on appearance to some its ascribed meaning that people are assigned and racial categories based on what other people see Even if somebody could be mistaken for a certain racial category can still apply to them These categories are fluid and our ideas of regional groupings change all the time The population of the world is becoming increasingly mixed but even a person with multiple races will still ultimately belong to a racial category themselves whether or not it s the same as their parents Operationalize the variable RACE White is described to individuals who have background in Europe Middle East or North America Cassidy Grieco 2001 Black or African American describes people with background in any of the groups in Africa such as Black African American Nigerian and Haitian Cassidy Grieco 2001 American Indian and Alaskan Native refer to individuals having a background in either North or South America and who have continuous tribal history It includes Rosebud Sioux Chippewa and Navajo Cassidy Grieco 2001 Asian describes individuals with background of the Far East Southeast Asia Including individuals who state their race as Asian Indian Chinese Filipino Korean Japanese Vietnamese or other Asians such as Burmese Hmong and Pakistani Cassidy Greico 2001 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander describes individuals of backgrounds in Hawaii Guam Samoa and other Pacific Islands such as Guamanian Chamorro and Samoan Other forms of race include Moroccan South African Belizean and Hispanic Mexican Puerto Rican and Cuban Cassidy Greico 2001 Everyone s view and perceptions of the word race is different and Understanding what conceptual and operational definitions has to do with census and race can impact that view Not everyone will categorize themselves in a group that the feel they don t belong 



The Bureau made some changes to the conceptualization and operationalization of race in the 2000 census one of those changes was the revision of race People were given the choice to mark more than one race Greico Cassidy 2001 This change was how questions were written question asked were now going with the times and catered to the changing lifestyles and sensitivities among people of today States Bureau 2000 These changes were made not only made because the lifestyles of families today in the United states changed it was to show that they acknowledge today's increasing diversity in today's world Also the Office of Management and Budget changed the minimum of five categories for data on race to be changed from five to a sixth category other Greico Cassidy 2001 This change was also made because there were many people not giving the right race When other came about there were around 18 5 million people who selected other as a second choice to which these candidates were of the Hispanic origin and because 16 8 million people are of the Hispanic origin this count is very important Greico Cassidy 2001 Seeing how questions can get a different answer depending on how it is written it is almost certain that the answer to this would be yes the difference in operationalization could produce a different conclusion about race


Also it depends on how some individual views the word race not everyone will have the same view on what race is and how it is being presented to them Last instead of having one category with multiple races in it the change allowed people to answer more specifically Defining one's race is not easy and I think that the Census Bureau s conceptualization and operationalization of race does and doesn't match my view of race at 100 Checking a box that you are but not really are categorized as may make one feel like they are nothing Take My children for example They are mixed they are white and Hispanic I have no problem marking them down as Hispanic but they have no categories to choose when it comes to their race They have white black native American Asian or Hawaiian how is this going to make them feel when it comes to checking that box REFERENCES BABBIE E 2011 THE BASICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH 5TH EDITION CASSIDY R GRIECO E 2001 OERVIEW OF RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS WWW CENSUS GOV PROD 2001


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