Concept definitions relax required attributes as the number of attributes grows.

Evidence

There is one rule of thumb that often seems to connect the number of defining features to the choice of a family resemblance rule on the substitutability continuum. It seems in practice that when the number of constituting dimensions is small, e.g., 2–5, then one uses the strict weakest link rule: one must have all n attributes present. But as the number of constituting features increases, one is more likely to allow some modest level of substitutability. One can see the logic of this. A rule with many dimensions and using the strict weakest link rule may end up excluding “too many” cases from the population. One relaxes this by allowing modest substitutability: the Marks et al. (2017) 6-of-7 rule for authoritative IGOs illustrates this. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 1002

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how threshold-setting in concept definition parallels quorum rules, hiring criteria, and diagnostic checklists — every field trades rigor for population coverage.