I. PRE-EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

These are the steps done prior to collecting data.

A. CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS: analyzing the meaning and uses of the concepts in the research. The methods are philosophical, linguistic, etymological, etc.. This may answer some questions or lead to a better operational definition.

B. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS: defining concepts in terms of the procedures (operations) used to observe them. Example: anxiety may be operationalized as a score on a scale measuring anxiety; sociability may be operationalized as the number of social contacts one makes within a certain time frame, physical fitness may be operationalized in terms of levels of muscle tone, flexibility, strength, and aerobic capacity.

C. METHODOLOGY: determining how will we conduct the research and how will ethical standards be maintained.