ОПЕРАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЕ ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ

Operational Definitions

Definitions which indicate experimentally reproduced operations, the objective results of which are accessible to direct empirical observation or measurement. Most often operational definitions are used as a means for partial empirical interpretation of scientific concepts. Here is a simple example: "If a litmus-paper is placed in a liquid, that liquid is an alkali only if the paper turns blue." One and the same scientific concept can be given several operational definitions, indicating different empirical situations of applying the given concept (see Hypothetico-Deductive Theory). An exaggeration of the role of operational definitions and their elevation into an absolute are characteristic of operationism.