How do i create an operational definition in a science experiment?

Question

say you had to write an operational defintion about this idea:

on a cold day, let the water in the pan freeze outdoors

would an operational defintion be:

test the cold temperature for an exact reference for the experiment

i dont understand this, and if you dont agree with my operational definition, please help me revise it and make it better!!!

thanks sooo much

Answer 1

An operational definition is a clear, concise definition of a measure.

Your operational definition could describe how cold a "cold day" is (example: 30 to 34 degrees F) or it could describe what you mean by "frozen" (does the water in the pan need to freeze completely, or is it considered frozen if the is ice covering the top, etc.).  

Basically your results are meaningless unless you specify how as many variables as possible are going to be measured.  

But the good news is, if you are designing the experiment, you get to decide how you are going to measure the variables (you determine the operational definitions for your experiment).

One of these may help:

http://www.spcforexcel.com/ezine/march20...

http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/bbpsy/modules/o...