Concept formation logically precedes any measurement or ranking of a variable.

Evidence

[B]efore we can investigate the presence or absence of some attribute … or before we can rank objects or measure them in terms of some variable, we must form the concept of that variable. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 62

Categorization

• QUESTION: If concepts precede measurement, how do already-existing measures constrain which concepts researchers can even imagine? Worth chasing into the operationalization literature.