Concept structure alone determines how many cases count as members

Evidence

Using exactly the same data, if one uses a weakest link structure there will be fewer empirical cases, while using the best shot will generate more empirical cases. Thus the empirical description of the world can vary dramatically depending on concept structure. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 1039

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: ‘The Same Data, Two Different Worlds’ — how a hidden modeling choice, not the evidence, decides which cases exist.
• XREF: Parallels the measurement-validity debates in social capital and trust literature, where the chosen operationalization silently fixes the population under study.