What is conceptual definition in research? Find the answer here! This paper explains the meaning of operational and conceptual definitions in research with examples.
The conceptual definition is “a working definition specifically assigned to a term or concept”. This method of definition is used in cases of disagreement or confusion on the meaning of a term.
The definition usually presents the reader with an understanding of the term or concept and channels efforts in the development of actual measures. On the other hand, the operational definition describes the operations undertaken to measure the concept or terms in the conceptual definition.
Conceptual research framework constitutes of a researcher’s combination of previous researches and associated work and explains the occurring phenomenon.
It systematically explains the actions needed in the course of the research study based on the knowledge obtained from other ongoing researches and other researchers’ point of view on the subject matter.
In the research, variables should be defined using both ways. The working definition gives the reader the meaning of the terms and concepts used by the researcher. This helps the reader to have a clear understanding as he or she goes through the research.
Also, the conceptual definition is mainly essential in research work as it helps the reader to understand the meaning of the researcher especially on the terms or concepts that may have different meanings or that may be conflicting.
The independent (x) variable (motivational interviewing) and the dependent (y) variable (resident) will be represented in an ordinal level of measurement. There is no true zero for PHQ-9 assessments as it detects signs of depression which can be experienced even in small numbers daily and there is no zero in emotions.
The conceptual definition is the dependent variable being the resident who participate in PHQ-9 assessments and the independent variable is the motivational interviewing that will used during intervention.
The operational definition for this proposal is the number of times PHQ-9 assessment will be conducted (6 times) in 15 minutes sessions to determine the level of depression from a range of 0-15.
The use of working or conceptual definition also helps in increasing the reliability of the research findings as different concepts may cross-serve each other. The definition thus helps the reader in the interpolation of the variables.
On the other hand, the use of operational definition in a research paper to define the variables would help the reader in understanding the operations or steps used by the researcher in measuring the concepts.
The operational definition aims at specifying the exact events or activities that the researcher used in measuring the conceptual definitions that further increase the understanding of the reader of the research.
The two methods of definition thus cannot complement each other in research work.
This paper explained the meaning of operational and conceptual definitions in research. The first section provided a definition of the term. The second section explained why conceptual definition should be used in research and compared it to the operational definition.
