Babbie (p. 166) gives examples of how an index and a scale can be used to measure a person’s level of political activism. In this exercise, you’ll use those illustrations as models to develop your own index and scale that measure a person’s level of risk-taking.
A. Index construction
At the top of page 166, Babbie’s index of political activism has six boxes. Each box contains one indicator of political activism. All six indicators represent similar degrees of political activism. Now create your own index of risk-taking that similarly has six boxes, each with one indicator of risk-taking. All six indicators must represent similar degrees of risk-taking. List your six indicators here:
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B. Scale construction
Lower on page 166, Babbie’s scale of political activism has four actions that represent very different degrees of activism. The topmost action represents the highest degree of activism, and the bottommost action represents the lowest degree of activism. Now create your own scale of risk-taking that similarly has four actions, where the first action represents the highest degree of risk-taking and the last action represents the lowest degree of risk-taking.
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Required text:
Chapters 9 and 6 in Earl Babbie, The Basics of Social Research, 6th ed. Wadsworth, 2014. ISBN 113359414X