MEASUREMENT AND

SCALING
MEASUREMENT AND SCALING
 In business research, measurement of variables is
a vital requirement
 Problem – Defining what is to be measured and
- how it is to be accurately and
reliably measured
 Some things (or concepts) which are naturally
intangible in their nature (e.g. job satisfaction,
employee morale, brand loyalty of consumers)
are more difficult to measure than concepts
which can be assigned numerical values (e.g.
sales volume for employees X, Y and Z)
MEASUREMENT AND SCALING
 In order for a concept to have the quality of being
measurable, it must first be made operational

 An operation definition may be defined as a

definition that gives meaning to concept by
specifying the activities or operations which are
necessary in order to measure it

 Example – A satisfied consumer will make at least

five purchases of Product A from Shop T over a
three-month period of time

 Note that sometimes – depending on the context

of the research study - it may be difficult to make
operational definitions
MEASUREMENT AND SCALING
 A scale is basically a continuous spectrum or
series of categories and has been defined as any
series of items that are arranged progressively
according to value or magnitude, into which an
item can be placed according to its
quantification
 Four popular scales in business research are:
 Nominal scales
 Ordinal scales
 Interval scales
 Ratio scales
NOMINAL SCALE
 A nominal scale is the simplest of the four scale
types and in which the numbers or letters
assigned to objects serve as labels for
identification or classification
 Example:
 Males = 1, Females = 2
 Sales Zone A =Delhi, Sales Zone B =Chennai
 Drink A = Pepsi Cola, Drink B = 7-Up, Drink C = Miranda
ORDINAL SCALE
 An ordinal scale is one that arranges objects or
alternatives according to their magnitude
 Examples:
 Career Opportunities = Moderate, Good, Excellent
 Investment Climate = Bad, inadequate, fair, good, very
good
 Merit = A grade, B grade, C grade, D grade
A problem with ordinal scales is that the difference
between categories on the scale is hard to quantify,
I,e., excellent is better than good but how much is
excellent better?
INTERVAL SCALE
 An interval scale is a scale that not only arranges
objects or alternatives according to their
respective magnitudes, but also distinguishes this
ordered arrangement in units of equal intervals
(i.e. interval scales indicate order (as in ordinal
scales) and also the distance in the order)
 Examples:
 Temperature Scale
Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences of
magnitude (e.g. of attitudes) but do not allow
determinations of the actual strength of the magnitude
RATIO SCALE
 A ratio scale is a scale that possesses absolute
rather than relative qualities and has an absolute
zero.
 Examples:
 Money
 Weight
 Distance
Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences of
magnitude (e.g. of attitudes) as well as determinations
of the actual strength of the magnitude
COMPARISON OF 4 SCALES
Type of Scale Numerical Operation

Nominal Counting

Ordinal Rank Ordering

Interval Arithmetic Operations on

Intervals between numbers

Ratio Arithmetic Operations on actual

quantities
INDEX MEASURES
 If a concept is simple, it can be measured easily
usually with one question or observation
 Example: To what extent do consumers of Product X like
the product’s packaging material? (very much,
somewhat, not at all)
 If, however, the concept to be measured is
complex and abstract, two or more questions or
observations may be required in order to get
accurate data
 Example: The level of a salesperson’s motivation
depends on (1) job satisfaction (2) workplace
environment (3) family life
Indexes (or composite measures) are meant to deal with
the issue of multidimensionality (e.g. an index of social
class may be the variables residence, occupation and
education)
CRITERIA FOR GOOD MEASUREMENT
 Reliability – Reliability is the degree to which
measurements are without error and therefore in the
position to yield consistent results, also over
repeated attempts over time
 Validity – Validity is the ability of a scale or
measuring instrument to measure what it is intended
to measure (e.g. is absenteeism from work a valid
measure of job satisfaction)
 Sensitivity – Sensitivity is the ability of a
measurement instrument to accurately measure
variability in stimuli or responses (e.g. on a scale, the
choices very strongly agree, strongly agree, agree,
don’t agree offer more choices than a scale with just
two choices - agree and don’t agree – and first e.g.,
is thus more sensitive)
ATTITUDE
 Measuring Attitude is a frequent undertaking in
business research

 Attitude may be defined as an enduring

disposition to consistently respond in a given
manner to various aspects

 Attitude has three dimensions:

Affective
Affective Cognitive
Cognitive Behavioral
Behavioral
Component
Component Component
Component Component
Component
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE
 Affective
Component – Reflective of a
person’s general feelings or emotions
towards an object or subject (like,
dislike)

 CognitiveComponent – Reflective of a
person’s awareness of and knowledge
about an object or subject (know,
believe)

 BehavioralComponent – Reflective of a
person’s intentions and behavioral
expectations, and predisposition to action
MEASURING ATTITUDE
 It can be difficult to measure attitude,
therefore, indicators such as verbal
expression, physiological measurement
techniques and overt behavior are used
for this purpose. The three different
components of attitude may require
different measuring techniques

 Common techniques used in business

research to determine attitude include
rating, ranking, sorting and the choice
technique
RATING TECHNIQUES TO MEASURE ATTITUDE
 Rating Scales are frequently employed in business research
for measuring attitude, and many scales have been
developed for this purpose, including:
1. Dichotomous scale
2. Category Scales
3. Likert Scale
4. Semantic Differential
5. Numerical Scales
6. Constant-Sum Scale
7. Stapel Scale
8. Graphic rating Scales
9. Consensus scale
10. Itemized rating scale
1. Dichotomous scale

 This is used to elicit a Yes or No answer, as

in the following example:

 Do you own a car? Yes No

2. Category Scales

 Where do you reside?

North Coimbatore
South Coimbatore
East Coimbatore
West Coimbatore
3. Likert Scale
 It is designed to examine how strongly
subjects agree or disagree with statements
on a 5 point scale

1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly
Disagree agree nor agree
disagree
4. THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL
 The semantic differential is an attitude measuring
technique that which consists of a series of seven bi-
polar rating scales which allow response to a concept
(e.g. organization, product, service, job)
 An advantage of the semantic differential is its

flexibility, on the other hand, it uses extremes which

may influence respondents’ answers
 The following example illustrates semantic differential

scales
 Pleasant unpleasant
 Aggressive submissive
5. Numerical Scales

 This is similar to the semantic differential

scale, with the difference that numbers on a
5 point or 7 point scale are provided, with
bipolar adjectives at both ends

Extremely 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Extremely
Satisfied Dissatisfied
6. Constant-Sum Scale
 The respondents are here asked to
distribute a given number of points across
various items as per the example below.
 In choosing a smart phone, indicate the
importance you attach to each of the
following five aspects by allotting points to
reach total 100
Brand name ---
Price ---
Innovation ---
Features ---
Appearance ---
---------------------------------------------------
Total Points 100
---------------------------------------------------
7. Stapel Scale
 This scale simultaneously measures both the
direction and intensity of the attitude toward
the items under study
State how you would rate your smart phone with respect to each
of the characteristics mentioned below, by circling the
appropriate number:
+3 +3 +3
+2 +2 +2
+1 +1 +1
Price Product innovation Appearance
-1 -1 -1
-2 -2 -2
-3 -3 -3
8. Graphic rating Scales

 A graphical representation helps the

respondents to indicate their answers on this
scale, by placing a mark at the appropriate
point on the line.
 Example: on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you
rate your job. ( Faces scale – smiling to sad)
10

1
9. Consensus scale

 A panel of judges selects certain items which

in its view measure the relevant concept.
Consensus scale is developed after the
selected items are examined and tested for
their validity and reliability. E.g. – Thurstone
Equal appearing interval scale
 10. Itemized rating scale
 A 5-point or 7 –point scale with anchors, is provided for
each item and the respondent states the appropriate
number on the side of each item or circle it.
 Respond to each item using the scale below, and
indicate your response number on the line by each item.

1. very 2. unlikely 3. Neither 4. Likely 5. Very

unlikely unlikely Likely
nor likely
1. I will be changing the brand in the future. ---
2. I will be referring this brand to my known ones. ---
3. I will share my experience with this brand to others. ---
RANKING SCALES
 Ranking scales are used to tap preferences
between two or among more number of items.
 Methods :
 Paired comparison – for small number of
objects
 Forced choice – Rank the newspapers from
1 to 5
 Comparative scale – provides a benchmark
or a point of reference to assess attitudes
toward the current object, event or situation
( more useful 1……least useful 5)
GOODNESS OF MEASURES
 Item Analysis
 Reliability
 Validity

 Item analysis: to check the items in the

instrument for its ability to discriminate
between those subjects.
 t-test is done to detect the significant
difference between these items
 Items with high ‘t’ values are included
 RELIABILITY & VALIDITY
 Reliability is an indication of the stability and
consistency with which the instrument
measures the concept and helps to assess the
‘goodness’ of a measure.
 Validity :

 Internal validity – authenticity of the cause

and effect relationship
 External validity – generalisability to the
external environment