Professor Foxdire has been working with the concept of stress for several years and has seriously worked at developing a precise measure of stress. He then works harder at discovering the real meaning of stress and finally decides that stress is real and his measure genuinely reflects it. Operational definitions are more problematic for descriptive research than for explanatory research because interpretations of descriptive statements directly depend on operational definitions used. Precision is more important in descriptive than in explanatory research. Precision is less important than validity.
Precision parallels validity.
Operationalization enhances precision. A measure can be precise without being accurate. Professor Garcia decides to employ 60 interviewers in his study of teacher mili tancy. Personnel Director Putler develops a measure of job satisfaction. She shows it to a couple of other personnel directors to make sure her scale measures what it purports to measure.