Social science often deals with complex and intangible concepts such as attitudes, emotions, beliefs, and behaviors. To make these concepts measurable and conducive to empirical research, they need to be translated into observable and quantifiable indicators (or variables). Operationalization in social science refers to the process of defining and quantifying abstract concepts in a way that allows researchers to measure and analyze them.

In simpler terms, operationalization is the process of turning a concept into a variable.