noun phrase · academic
operational definition
UK/ˌɒpəˈreɪʃənəl ˌdɛfəˈnɪʃən/US/ˌɑp·əˈreɪ·ʃə·nəl ˌdɛf·əˈnɪʃ·ən/op·er·A·tion·al DEF·i·ni·tion
a specific, measurable description of how a variable or concept is observed or measured in a study
Examples
“The operational definition of 'attendance' was the number of lectures attended per semester.”
“Without an operational definition, variables are hard to measure reliably.”
“The paper clearly states the operational definition of creativity used in the tests.”
Band 8 sentence
“Before data collection we agreed on an operational definition of 'sedentary behaviour' so measurements would be consistent across sites.”
Collocations
- provide an operational definition
- operational definition of
- use an operational definition
Word family
Common mistakes
operation definition→operational definition
operationally definition→operational definition
Say it for a higher band
5definition→6operationalise→7+operational definition
Synonyms
measurable definition
Easily confused
construct validity
“The researchers tested construct validity to ensure the instrument measured what it claimed to measure.”
Related words
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In Science & Research
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