Constructs
This is the landing page for topics related to defining your constructs that you want to study.
Your constructs are the things you want to measure. In the social sciences, we often cannot directly observe the constructs we are interested in. Instead, we try to indirectly measure them, for example with questionnaires.
In order to measure our constructs well, we need to build a good understanding of them. This is a key part of both our substantive theories and measurement theories. A first step is to conceptually define your construct—you define what you mean exactly with your construct. After that, you can figure out how to operationally define your construct—how to measure it.
Below we have specified multiple articles that may help conceptually define your construct.
Think more about your constructs
Clearly articulating the meaning and boundaries of your construct ensure that the construct is well understood and consistently applied throughout your research.
- Conceptually defining your construct
- [The ontology of your construct]
- Theory
Translate your construct into measurable variables enables empirical testing.