Definition Of Construct Research Articles

Important implementation constructs for federal agencies in health and human service settings that are selecting, monitoring, and supporting grantees

Background:Federal agencies and other funders seeking to maximise their impact aim to understand factors associated with implementing evidence-based interventions (EBIs) to address health problems. Challenges exist, however, in synthesising information from different disciplines and reaching agreement about these factors due to different terminology, frameworks, and measures being used in different fields. Methods:A mixed-methods approach was used to identifying a set of implementation constructs helpful for selecting, monitoring, and supporting federal grantees in health and human service settings. Three phases of research were conducted: a literature review, structured expert interviews, and consensus building. Interviews with implementation experts were used to validate a set of implementation constructs identified in the literature review as strongly and consistently related to successful implementation of EBIs in international contexts. A modified Delphi approach was used with a technical working group (TWG) of federal staff to agree on the constructs most relevant for federally funded EBIs. Findings:This process yielded 11 constructs related to either the intervention, the intersection between the invention and context, or the implementation process. These constructs are areas of interest when integrating research evidence into routine practice. Expert interviewees recommended establishing clear, consistent construct definitions before developing valid, feasible measures of the constructs. In contrast to the numerous and specific constructs advanced by researchers, federal TWG members favoured fewer constructs with more generalisability. Discussion and conclusions:This article demonstrates the translation work required for policy contexts and highlights a successful approach to translate evidence from implementation science research for federal staff.

Broadening our Sight, and Understanding, of Low Self-Monitors (and The Big Bang Theory Characters)

Although the self-monitoring construct has been studied for almost half a century, there is considerable lack of clarity about its definition and that of its related constructs, i.e., high self- monitors (HSMs) and low self-monitors (LSMs). The understanding of the latter is particularly unclear and incomplete. We dissect the construct definitions and also review a high-quality sample of empirical articles to show that LSMs have been relatively neglected and poorly understood. They have been considered merely as opposites of HSMs, whereas in fact, they are more varied. We conceptualize five different types of LSMs that we derive from a 6-cell (2 x 3) conceptual framework, which encompasses two levels of motivation (low, high), and three levels of ability (low, moderate, high), to self-monitor. We illustrate this conceptual development by populating all six cells with characters from the popular American sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. We also develop propositions involving the five new types of LSMs to highlight the usefulness of our framework. Finally, we discuss the implications of our theorizing for research and practice.

On contemporary misdefinition of power and the importance of definitional fidelity

This paper’s conceptual treatment documents a recent tendency in the literature to abandon the traditional definition of an important social construct: power. Naturally, such flexibility or loosene...

Anticipated emotion in planned versus unplanned purchase: scale development and validation

ABSTRACT This study aims to conceptualize and validate an anticipated emotion in the planned versus unplanned purchase (AEPUP) scale. We develop and validate the AEPUP scale using the original construct (as a basis). The procedures of scale development begin with construct definitions and are followed by a three-phase operation: (1) qualitative exploration of relevant dimensions and items, (2) scale development procedure, and (3) establishment of confirmatory factor analysis and nomological validity. The empirical findings show that the new scale (refined from the anticipated emotion concept) has sound psychometric properties and is distinctive. This research contributes to the understanding of anticipated emotion concepts, as well as refines and improves the construct of AEPUP. Customer relationship management can be significantly improved by applying the scale in the formulation and implementation of market segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy.

Entrepreneurial alertness: a systematic literature review

Recently, cognitive perspectives have garnered increasing attention in entrepreneurship alertness research. But the broader psychological basis of the alertness, which differentiates intrinsic and phasic aspects of alertness, has somehow been neglected, even though some entrepreneurship scholars have described alertness as the main cognitive capability of entrepreneurs in recognizing entrepreneurial opportunities. In this systematic review, the literature of entrepreneurial alertness has been critically examined. We categorize the previous works into five broad research themes: the alertness construct itself, its cognitive foundations, its operational measurement, the theoretical antecedents of alertness, and its consequences. We then identify two gaps where future research should direct greater efforts. First, past attention to the cognitive foundations of alertness has largely focused on its phasic aspects without exploration of the role of intrinsic alertness. The recent separate theorizing of opportunity creation/discovery has only begun to explore the potential of intrinsic alertness in opportunity spotting. Secondly, a lack of attention to establishing a clear definition of the alertness construct has hampered development of valid and robust measurement instruments, which may have confounded past efforts to empirically confirm the role of alertness in a range of theoretical models.

FOODLIT-PRO: conceptual and empirical development of the food literacy wheel

Pursuing food systems’ sustainability is crucial. Given the risk constituted by unhealthy diets, scarce research on food-related adjacent fields, and inconsistency across food literacy conceptualizations, this study aims to explore the constructs’ definition and develop a conceptual and empirical framework of food literacy. A quantitative approach was taken on previously obtained qualitative outcomes from 30 interviews with experts from food-related fields. Food literacy was defined by a four-dimension model: Cooking Skills, Preserve and Analyse, Choice and Acquisition, Search and Plan. The framework Food Literacy Wheel integrates the construct definition, food literacy determinants (Internal, External) and influential factors (Nutritional, Psychological, Health, Learning Contexts, Policy, Industry, Sustainability, Social and Cultural). Allowing a broader perspective of food literacy within major food systems, this study contributes with new insights for future instruments and interventions, paving the way to develop/implement food literacy-related multi-sectorial and multilevel actions.

Development and validation of a tourism fatigue scale

Abstract Fatigue is a pervasive physiological and psychological phenomenon in tourism experiences, but remains almost unexplored in the existing literature on tourist perception and behavior. The possible reason for this deficiency is the vagueness of the tourism fatigue concept and the lack of a measurement tool in addition to the influence of the traditional paradigms and ideas of the tourism research. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring tourism fatigue based on its conceptualization. Taking Zhouzhuang Ancient Town and Huangshan Mountain as examples, 926 samples were collected through two rounds of data collection. Following construct definition, initial item production, scale purification, EFA, CFA, reliability and validity testing, a four-dimensional (physical, motivational, affective and cognitive) tourism fatigue model with 16 items was established. This study extends the current knowledge of tourist perceptions and behaviors and provides a tool for further related investigation for academics and managers.

Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ): Validity Evidence among HIV+ Patients in Northeast Brazil

The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ) measures psychosocial, existential, and spiritual needs in clinical contexts. The objective was to confirm its factor structure in Brazil, comparing the results of its validation for Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, under similar sampling conditions, in João Pessoa (Paraíba-Brazil), among 157 HIV(Human Immunodeficiency Virus)+ patients, most of them men (49%) (women = 35%; other = 16%), aged between 30 and 49 years (53.5%). From exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis a structure of five factors (or components) was obtained: Religious Needs (α = 0.73), Inner Peace and Family Support Needs, gathered (α = 0.64), Existential Needs (α = 0.49) and two new factors instead of “Giving/Generativity Needs”, being Social Recognition Needs (α = 0.54), referring explicitly to religious practices, with items formerly found in the Religious Needs factor, and Time Domain: Reflection and Clarification Needs (α = 0.57), which group only two items (item 4, “reflection on the past” (formerly in the Inner Peace component) and item 5, “resolution of outstanding problems”). The institutional religiosity perceived in the composition of the Social Recognition Needs component shows that these patients differentiate “religiosity” from “spirituality”. The Religious Needs component was formed with items from the “spirituality” construct definition. The most important component was Inner Peace and Family Support Needs, a relevant coping strategy in this disease. The results met proper validity criteria, and SpNQ proved to be sensitive and appropriate to situations of cultural and clinical diversity between samplings.

Psychology Today: Still in Denial, Still Outdated.

The questionable state of psychology as a science has been pointed out repeatedly over last hundred years. Sometimes programs to overcome the obvious limitations of psychology have been also proposed. So far, in vain. Zagaria with coauthors (this issue) bring the subject up again. They demonstrate that psychology today is characterized by the incoherence of definitions of core constructs and lack of consensus in the scientific community. The authors also suggest that psychology would do better by adopting a research program of a specific form of evolutionary psychology. In this paper I show, mostly on the basis of my earlier works on the same subject, that shortcomings of psychology today go much deeper than the authors of the target article have discussed. Psychology today is characterized by fundamental epistemological and methodological problems. As the same shortcomings characterize the version of evolutionary psychology advocated by Zagaria and coauthors, it is not the best candidate to ground the future of psychology. I suggest the psychology misses unifying psychology of a specific kind, which basic principles were outlined by Vygotsky almost a century ago.

An Overview of Pragmatism and Pragmatism Assessment

From the time Stalnaker (1974) asked for the development of a pragmatic theory to take into account a detailed explanation of linguistic context, still there is not an agreed-upon theory to explain pragmatic knowledge (Roever, 2011). Due to the vital importance of reliability and validity in language assessment, it is imperative to develop a construct definition for the tests of pragmatic knowledge to be more valid, authentic, and generalizable. In this paper, a short review of pragmatism as well as some issues in the assessment of the pragmatic competence, such as reliability, validity, and practicality, is presented.

Analisis Kesalahan Siswa dalam Menilai Kebenaran Suatu Pernyataan

The reasonings students provided in assessing the truth of a statement still show many mistakes. Therefore, this present research aimed to find the students’ errors in judging the truth of a statement. The present research employed a qualitative approach, and the participants were 10th-grade senior high school students in one of Lumajang district. This research instrument consisted of three questions demanding evaluative abilities. The findings showed that the students made three kinds of errors reasoning in judging the truth of the statements, which are conceptual errors, principle errors, and factual errors. This study is implied to the Mathematics teachers to provide students opportunities to construct definitions, distinguish the differences among the characteristics of two and three-dimensional figures, and to explain the meaning of mathematical symbols in various contexts to avoid conceptual errors, principle errors, and factual errors.

Assessing L2 listening at a Japanese university: Effects of input type and response format

Large-scale and classroom-based tests of L2 listening comprehension typically employ audio-only listening texts and a multiple-choice response format. However, the effect of these test task characteristics on test-taker performance remains elusive, and begs the question as to whether they are the best option in terms of construct validity. Furthermore, the interaction between these test task characteristics and their potential joint effect on performance has not been sufficiently explored. To address this gap, a study was conducted at a Japanese university which investigated the effect of input type (audio-only vs. video) and response format (multiple-choice vs. short answer) on L2 listening test performance. Participants were divided into four groups to take an academic listening test with one of four combinations of input and response format: (1) audio-only with multiple-choice questions; (2) video with multiple-choice questions; (3) audio-only with short answer questions; and (4) video with short answer questions. Results of a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA revealed a statistically significant effect of response format on test-taker performance. No significant effect for input type was found and no significant interaction among the variables was detected. Results suggest that visual input and audiovisual literacy need to be more clearly articulated within the construct definition of academic listening, if they are to be included at all.

Developing Interpreting Competence Scales in China.

Tertiary-level interpreter training and education have developed rapidly in China, and over 200 undergraduate and over 200 postgraduate T&I programs have been launched over the past decade. Despite the rapid development, there has been no standardized framework allowing for the reliable and valid measurement of interpreting competence in China. Against this background, the China Standards of English (CSE), which are the Chinese counterpart to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), were unveiled in 2018 after 4 years of government-funded research and validation. One vital component of the CSE is the descriptor-referenced interpreting competence scales. This article provides a systematic account of the design, development, and validation of the interpreting competence scales in China. Within the CSE, the construct of interpreting competence was defined according to an interactionist approach. It not only encompasses cognitive abilities, interpreting strategies, and subject-matter knowledge but also considers performance in typical communicative settings. Based on the construct definition, a corpus of relevant descriptors was built from three main sources, including: (a) interpreting training syllabuses, curricular frameworks, rating scales, and professional codes of conduct; (b) previous literature on interpreting performance assessment, competence development, and interpreter training and education; and (c) exemplar-generation data on assessing interpreting competence and typical interpreting activities, which were collected from interpreting professionals, trainers, and trainees. The corpus contains 9,208 descriptors of interpreting competence. A mixed-method survey was then conducted to analyze, scale, and validate the descriptors among 30,682 students, 5,787 teachers, and 139 interpreting professionals from 28 provinces, municipalities, and regions in China. The finalized set included 369 descriptors that reference interpreting competence. The CSE—Interpreting Competence Scales with theoretically and empirically based descriptors represent a major effort in research on interpreting competence and its assessment, and they have significant potential to be applied widely in interpreting training, research, and assessment.

A review of supply chain integration constructs and a framework for future research

The purpose of this study is to assess the consistency of construct definition and measurement in the survey-based supply chain integration literature. A lack of consistency has been widely recognised and has contributed to a certain indiscernibility concerning the relationship between supply chain integration and performance. This study includes a comprehensive and systematic review of integration constructs and their measurement items, as well as on-site interviews with vice presidents responsible for overseeing supply chain operations in global corporations. Our analysis reveals the inconsistencies within the existing integration constructs and demonstrates how this may have contributed to a lack of consensus across the findings of existing empirical studies. To address this problem, we present the dimensions of supply chain integration and their interrelationships in a logical framework revealing the multiplicity of the integration dynamics. The framework will enable future researchers to consistently define and operationalise integration in supply chain research studies.

Conjunctionitis: a call for clarity in construct definitions

Purpose This study aims to determine the extent to which the use of coordinating conjunctions enhances or impairs definitional clarity. Design/methodology/approach In two studies, a sample of 736 construct definitions from the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Consumer Research over a 30-year period was judged for ambiguity and vagueness by both academic and lay judges. Findings The authors demonstrate that constructing definitions using both “and” and “or” increases the ambiguity and vagueness of the construct’s meaning. The most frequently used conjunction is “and” which appeared in 42 per cent of the definitions. A significant percentage (26 per cent) contain the conjunction “or.” Research limitations/implications A framework for understanding alternative interpretations of “and” or “or” is developed. Five recommendations are proposed for evaluating the use of “and” and “or” in construct definitions. Theorists in all academic fields should not use both “and” and “or” in the same construct definition. Practical implications A five-step process is proposed for evaluating the use of “and” and “or” in construct definitions. Theorists should not use both “and” and “or” in the same construct definition. Originality/value This is the first exploration of how specific wording patterns used in construct definitions in academic research affect the clarity of the definition.

From expectancy-value theory to situated expectancy-value theory: A developmental, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspective on motivation

Eccles and colleagues’ expectancy-value theory of achievement choice has guided much research over the last 40+ years. In this article, we discuss five “macro” level issues concerning the theory. Our broad purposes in taking this approach are to clarify some issues regarding the current status of the theory, make suggestions for next steps for research based in the theory, and justify our decision to call the theory Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT). First, we note how visual representations of the model make it appear static, linear, and monolithic, something that was not intended from its inception. Second, we discuss definitions of the major psychological constructs in the model, focusing on our and others’ elaboration of the task value component, particularly the “cost” component. In this section we also discuss research on the development of expectancies and values. Third, we discuss the often-neglected middle part of the model focused on how individuals understand and interpret their own performance as well as the many messages they receive from different socializers regarding their activity participation and performance. In the fourth section we discuss the situative and culturally-focused aspects of the model, stressing the impact of the situation and cultural background on children’s developing expectancy and value hierarchies. The fifth issue (one that we mention in several of the previous sections) concerns the importance of understanding the development of individuals’ hierarchies of expectancies of success and subjective task values and how they relate to performance, choice, and engagement.

CYBERSPACE HAS GREATLY HELPED ENTREPRENEURS TO FLOURISH

The invasion of technology is to such an extent that any brand new digital technologies, including social media, enterprise analytics, the Cyberspace of factors, large facts, advanced manufacturing, don’t spare any organization and pervade every non-public and public agency. Even though the concept of technology has been analyzed in detail with reference to entrepreneurship but its impact on entrepreneurship still remains a question that is unanswered. With the intent of filling this hole, this paper proposes a novel contribution concerning the rising concept of virtual instructional Entrepreneurship. Based on a qualitative literature assessment, an interpretative framework for digital academic Entrepreneurship is deductively proposed this is composed of the following additives: the cause for the adoption of virtual technology for instructional entrepreneurship (why), the emerging forms of virtual instructional entrepreneurship (what), the stakeholders concerned through the virtual technology to gain the instructional entrepreneurship purpose (who), and the techniques of academic entrepreneurship supported by means of digital technology (how). This paper presents a based literature review of digital entrepreneurship to generate insights into current trends in the discipline, critique the studies thus far, and identify opportunities for future studies. We have implemented the three components of critical research – insight, critique, and transformative redefinition – to analyze and synthesize the literature. We distil the definitions of the key constructs and perceive three studies development levels similar to exercise development.

An item‐level investigation of conceptual and empirical distinctiveness of proactivity constructs

AbstractBeyond the prior investigations that took scale‐level approaches to determining discriminant validity in proactivity constructs, the current study contributes a much‐needed interrogation of the items used to measure the behaviors in this domain. The substantive validity (SV) assessments (Study 1) showed that many of the items were judged to be inconsistent with the definition of the construct they assess or, alternatively, more consistent with the definition of a different construct in the domain. Further, exploratory factor analysis revealed the difficulty in empirically separating the four behaviors, while BiM results also advocated against the unique variance of them after accounting for a general factor (Study 2). Altogether, our results show that the items are partly to blame for the empirical redundancy issue.

Sorting Out Definitions

Students need opportunities to construct definitions in mathematics. We describe a sorting activity that can help students construct and refine definitions through discussion and argumentation. We include examples from our own work of planning and implementing this sorting activity to support constructing a definition of linear function.

Talent quotient: development and validation of a measurement scale

PurposeThe aim of the current study was to develop and validate a measure for identifying talent in the workplace. This is a gap long identified by researchers in this field.Design/methodology/approachHinkins methodology was adopted for the establishment of a psychometrically sound measure. A 16-item scale for assessing the construct was developed. The reliability and validity were established by analyzing content adequacy, convergent validity, divergent validity and external validity. Primary data were collected from employees signaled as talent by their organization.FindingsThe study yielded a six-factor structure scale for the construct. These factors accounted for 66.8 percent of observed variance. All six dimensions, namely, calling orientation, critical insight, continuous learning, collaboration, cohesiveness and challenge drive established acceptable reliability and validity.Social implicationsThe research provides a precise definition of the talent construct. Identification and retention of individuals with a high talent quotient is a critical challenge to organizations. Identifying talent is made possible through this measurement scale.Originality/valueThis research made an attempt to develop a reliable and valid measurement scale for the talent construct. The scale provides a precise definition of the talent construct. This simple sound scale could be useful at both the individual and organizational levels. It helps individuals to identify and focus on critical areas for achieving talent status. Organizations benefit through better human resource management practice. Identification and retention of talent are essential to career management. Overall, it also satisfies the urgent need in talent management research for a clear definition of the talent construct.