Measurement Instruments

Individual set goals and direct their action accordingly with the help of social capital are classified into taking instrumental actions to gain resources. While investigating other social capital questions as in many other dimensions of life, actions taken are classified as expressive to maintain resources and support. To measure managing resources for concrete results mostly economic results, access to higher occupational prestiges and access to diverse networks are indicators of assessment. While in expressive actions, benefits of rich social capital are measured by the amount and depth of support, attention, care, or accompaniment, one expects to receive or to mobilise. The other measurement instrument for social capital which is widely used - the single core-network reflected in the answer to question "with whom do you talk about personal matters?"which can provide detailed social network and social capital information. Each instrument emphasises different aspects of social capital. Measures from each instrument have distinctive account on specific outcomes, hence, need to be carefully chosen to match the value of social capital that we intend to measure.

Source: Dept of Research Methods in Social Sciences, Oxford Univ.,
Social Capital Measures, http://Remiss.politics.ox.ac.uk


Measuring ıntentions

"But the annual revenue of every society is always precisely equal to the exchangeable value of the whole annual produce of its indistry or rather is precisely the same thing with that exchangeable value. As every individual therefore endeavors as much as he can both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce may be of the greatest value, every individual necessarily labours to rend the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generaly indeed neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By prefering the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain and he is in this, as in many othe rcases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was so part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently than when he really intends to promote it, I have known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affection, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in disuading them from it."

Adam Smith, Wealth of the Nation