Which term is used for using historical records to measure a variable?

Which term is used for using historical records to measure a variable?

• A. Archives (unobtrusive)
• B. Concept
• C. Indicator
• D. Operationalization

Answer: (A)

Using historical records to measure a variable is an archival, unobtrusive approach. This means you rely on records kept in the past rather than collecting new data from or about people today. Archival data provide objective traces of behavior or conditions that you can quantify without direct interaction, making the measurement unobtrusive. This is the best fit because it explicitly identifies the data source and the noninvasive nature of the method. Concepts are the ideas you want to study, not the data source or method. An indicator is a specific sign or measure you use to represent a concept, but it doesn’t specify where the data come from. Operationalization is the process of defining exactly how a concept will be measured, not the data source itself. So, the term for using historical records to measure a variable is archival data, described here as archives (unobtrusive). For example, studying changes in crime rates by examining police records from previous years uses archival data and is unobtrusive because it doesn’t require contacting or influencing the subjects involved.

Using historical records to measure a variable is an archival, unobtrusive approach. This means you rely on records kept in the past rather than collecting new data from or about people today. Archival data provide objective traces of behavior or conditions that you can quantify without direct interaction, making the measurement unobtrusive.

This is the best fit because it explicitly identifies the data source and the noninvasive nature of the method. Concepts are the ideas you want to study, not the data source or method. An indicator is a specific sign or measure you use to represent a concept, but it doesn’t specify where the data come from. Operationalization is the process of defining exactly how a concept will be measured, not the data source itself.

So, the term for using historical records to measure a variable is archival data, described here as archives (unobtrusive). For example, studying changes in crime rates by examining police records from previous years uses archival data and is unobtrusive because it doesn’t require contacting or influencing the subjects involved.