Question & Answer: What is meant by ‘operational definition’; when is it necessary, and why is it necessary?…..

Operational definition can be explained as a comprehensive and clear, concise definition of a measure when it is applied for the purpose of data collection. There is a basic requirement for the operational definition during the data collection process. This becomes more significant when one has to decide the correctness and incorrectness of something or if there is confusion about something, it can be used for visual confirmation.

It is quite important to explain the process of data collection whenever there is a requirement of collecting data. There will be a greater inconsistency if the data is not well defined and thus it will result in errors. It is quite common to presume that the people who are involved in the process of data collect understand that why and how the data is collected. But in practicality, different individuals have different views. This will definitely affect the data collection. This problem can be overcome and consistent data can be collected when a detailed operational definition is used which overcome different types of ambiguity.