Measurement & Scaling

Techniques
Research Methodology
 Questions
1. Short note on
– Scaling Techniques
– Tests of sound measurement
– Validity of measurements
– Measurement techniques
2. Bring out the importance & utility of Rating & Scaling
techniques in quantifying data with examples
3. What is measurement in research? Explain tests of
sound measurements.

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 What is Measurement in Research?
• Measuring is a process of assigning
numbers to objects or observation.

• Form of quantification expressed in

numbers
e.g. size, height, weight etc easy to
measure
Happiness, satisfaction etc are difficult to
measure.
Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques
 Measurement Scale
• Nominal (name and count)
• Ordinal (rank/order)
• Interval (Score/mark)
• Ratio

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Primary Scales of Measurement
Scale Figure 8.1
Nominal Numbers Finish
Assigned
7 8 3
to Runners

Ordinal Rank Order Finish

of Winners
Third Second First
place place place

Interval Performance
Rating on a 8.2 9.1 9.6

0 to 10 Scale
15.2 14.1 13.4
Ratio Time to
Finish, in
 Measurement Scale
Nominal (name and count)
• Numbers are used to label only, no
numerical sanctity
Male -> 1 & female -> 2 or female ->1 &
male -> 2 (does not make any difference)
• Count is only statistics, Chi-square test can
be used
• Mean, Std deviation can not be used

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Measurement Scale
Ordinal (rank/order)
• Places events in order e.g. in market
research, respondent might rank various
brands as per his/her likings
• Rank 1 means higher than rank 2
• Median, percentile & deciles are the
measure to use
• Mean can not be used

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Measurement Scale
Interval or Rating scale(score/mark)
• Most of the behavioral measurement scales
used to measure attitudes of respondent on
a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 3 or 1 to 10.
• Here we can calculate mean & std dev.
• Pearson corr. of coefficient, t and f test can
be applied
• Difference between 1 & 2 is same as 2 & 3

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Measurement Scale
Ratio Scale
• All statistical techniques are available
• Geom. Mean, Harm. Mean can be used
• Not much use in market research

Note : Researcher has to be careful while choosing the

variable.
Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques
 Sources of Error in Measurement
• Respondent (reluctance, little knowledge
etc)
• Situation (lack of rapport)
• Measurer (change in order, behaviour etc)
• Instrument (difficult words, complicated
questions etc)

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Measurement should be
Valid
Reliable
Practicable

…hence we need tests for a good measurement

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Tests of Validity
• The extent to which an instrument
measures what it supposed to measure
• The extent to which differences found with
a measuring instrument reflect true
difference among those being measured

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Types of Tests of Validity

• Content validity
• Criterion related validity
• Construct validity

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Types of Tests of Validity

• Content validity
– Adequacy of the topic
– No numeric expression is possible
– Primarily intuitive & based on judgement
• Criterion related validity
– Ability to predict outcome, the criterion should
be free of bias, reliable

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Types of Tests of Validity contd

• Content validity
– Adequacy of the topic
– No numeric expression is possible
– Primarily intuitive & based on judgment
• Criterion related validity
– Ability to predict outcome, the criterion should
be free of bias, reliable

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement
Types of Tests of Validity contd.
• Criterion related validity refers to
– Predictive validity
– Concurrent validity.
Predictive validity refers to usefulness of test in predicting
some future performance
Concurrent validity refers to usefulness of a test closely
relating to other measures of known validity. This is
expressed by coeff of corr between test scores and
scores of another measures of known validity

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement
Types of Tests of Validity contd.
• Construct validity
if measurement on our derived scale
correlate in an predefined way with those
other proposition, we can conclude that
there is some construct validity

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement
Tests of Reliability
• Instrument should provide consistent
result
• Contributes to validity
• Takes care of situational factors

Note : reliability can be improved by standardizing the

condition of measurement and by using trained and
motivated researcher

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Tests of Sound Measurement

Tests of Practicability
• Economy
• Convenience
• interpretability

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Techniques of developing Measurement
Tools
• Concept development
• Specification of concept dimension
• Selection of indicator
• Formation of an Index

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Techniques of developing Measurement
Tools
• Concept development
– Major concept pertaining to the study
• Specification of the dimensions of the
concept
– Done by using deduction or intuition e.g.
– Product reputation, customer satisfaction are
the dimensions for the study of Company
Image

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Techniques of developing Measurement
Tools
• Indicator
– Once dimensions have been specified,
indicator for measuring each concept element
has to be developed.
• Index
– Finally combining all the indicators,
researcher create a single index.

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 Scaling Techniques

What is Scaling?
• Scaling describes the procedure of
assigning numbers to various degrees of
opinion, attitude and other concepts
• Scaling provides a mechanism for
measuring abstract concepts

Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques

 A Classification of Scaling
Figure 8.2
Techniques
Scaling Techniques

Comparative Noncomparative
Scales Scales

Paired Rank Constant Q-Sort and Continuous Itemized

Comparison Order Sum Other Rating Scales Rating Scales
Procedures

Semantic Stapel
Likert
Differential
 Important Scaling Techniques
Comparative scales involve the direct
comparison of stimulus objects.
Comparative scale data must be interpreted
in relative terms and have only ordinal or
rank order properties.
 
In noncomparative scales, each object is
scaled independently of the others in the
stimulus set. The resulting data are
generally assumed to be interval or ratio
scaled.
Sep 2009 Measurement & Scaling Techniques
 Comparative Scaling Techniques
Paired Comparison Scaling
• A respondent is presented with two objects and asked to
select one according to some criterion.
• The data obtained are ordinal in nature.
• Paired comparison scaling is the most widely used
comparative scaling technique.
• With n brands, [n(n - 1) /2] paired comparisons are
required
• Under the assumption of transitivity, it is possible to
convert paired comparison data to a rank order.
 Obtaining Shampoo Preferences
Figure 8.3 Using Paired Comparisons
Instructions: We are going to present you with ten pairs of
shampoo brands. For each pair, please indicate which one of the
two brands of shampoo you would prefer for personal use.
Jhirmack Finesse Vidal Head & Pert
Sassoon Shoulders
Recording
Jhirmack
Form: 0 0 1 0
Finesse 1a 0 1 0
Vidal Sassoon 1 1 1 1
Head & Shoulders 0 0 0 0
Pert 1 1 0 1
Number of Times 3 2 0 4 1
Preferredb
a
A 1 in a particular box means that the brand in that column was preferred
over the brand in the corresponding row. A 0 means that the row brand was
preferred over the column brand. bThe number of times a brand was preferred
is obtained by summing the 1s in each column.
 Comparative Scaling Techniques
Rank Order Scaling
• Respondents are presented with several objects
simultaneously and asked to order or rank them
according to some criterion.
• It is possible that the respondent may dislike the brand
ranked 1 in an absolute sense.
• Furthermore, rank order scaling also results in ordinal
data.
• Only (n - 1) scaling decisions need be made in rank
order scaling.
 Preference for Toothpaste Brands
Figure 8.4 Using Rank Order Scaling
Instructions: Rank the various brands of toothpaste in order
of preference. Begin by picking out the one brand that you like
most and assign it a number 1. Then find the second most
preferred brand and assign it a number 2. Continue this
procedure until you have ranked all the brands of toothpaste
in order of preference. The least preferred brand should be
assigned a rank of 10.
No two brands should receive the same rank number.
The criterion of preference is entirely up to you. There is no
right or wrong answer. Just try to be consistent.
 Preference for Toothpaste Brands
Using Rank Order Scaling
Figure 8.4 cont.

Form
Brand Rank Order
1. Crest _________
2. Colgate _________
3. Aim _________
4. Gleem _________
5. Macleans _________

6. Ultra Brite _________

7. Close Up _________
8. Pepsodent _________
9. Plus White _________
10. Stripe _________
 Comparative Scaling Techniques
Constant Sum Scaling
• Respondents allocate a constant sum of units, such as
100 points to attributes of a product to reflect their
importance.
• If an attribute is unimportant, the respondent assigns it
zero points.
• If an attribute is twice as important as some other
attribute, it receives twice as many points.
• The sum of all the points is 100. Hence, the name of the
scale.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
Figure 8.5 Using a Constant Sum Scale

Instructions
On the next slide, there are eight attributes of
bathing soaps. Please allocate 100 points among
the attributes so that your allocation reflects the
relative importance you attach to each attribute.
The more points an attribute receives, the more
important the attribute is. If an attribute is not at
all important, assign it zero points. If an attribute is
twice as important as some other attribute, it
should receive twice as many points.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
Using
Figure 8.5 cont.
a Constant Sum Scale
Form
Average Responses of Three Segments
Attribute
Segment I Segment
8 II Segment
2 III 4
1. Mildness 2 4 17
2. Lather 3 9 7
3. Shrinkage 53 17 9
4. Price 9 0 19
5. Fragrance 7 5 9
6. Packaging 5 3 20
13 60 15
7. Moisturizing
Sum 100 100 100
8. Cleaning Power