Composite concepts decompose into a two-level structure of necessary and substitutable dimensions

Evidence

It is worth noting that the concept of “political relevance” has the typical three-level concept structure. At the secondary level one says that states have the possibility of having a military conflict if they have either the opportunity OR the willingness. These secondary-level dimensions must receive operationalization at the data/indicator level. For example, opportunity is normally operationalized as either major power status OR geographical contiguity. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 177

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names the three-level structure of concepts: basic level, secondary dimensions, and data/indicator level.
• XREF: Connects to Sartori’s work on concept formation and to ladder-of-abstraction debates in comparative politics. — connects to: Philosophical interpretation reorganizes minute scientific details without exceeding their range