Vague geographic framing in discrimination items produces ambiguous, uninterpretable responses.

Evidence

An item about vandalism of mosques (“A mosque is vandalized [e.g., graffiti, dead animals left on grounds].”) was critiqued for whether it referred to a mosque in a participant’s community or a mosque anywhere in the world. Based on reviewer suggestions this item was reworded as, “A mosque in your community is attacked (e.g., vandalism, burglary, arson).” — Naheed Ahmed, Measurement of Perceived Interpersonal…, 53

Categorization

• DEFINE: Illustrates the concrete stakes of referent ambiguity: a global versus local mosque changes what the item actually measures.