Part 11: Measurement of Variables: Operational Definition

§Measurement: the assignment of numbers or other symbols to characteristics (or attributes) of objects according to a pre-specified set of rules.

Objects include persons, strategic business units, companies, countries, kitchen appliances, restaurants, shampoo, yogurt and so on.

Examples of characteristics of objects are arousal seeking tendency, achievement motivation, organizational effectiveness, shopping enjoyment, length, weight, ethnic diversity, service quality, conditioning effects and taste.