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Module – 2: Measurement and Scaling
techniques
Measurement in research; measurement scales: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales; measurement errors and their sources; scaling: meaning – attitude; scaling techniques: Likert scale - Thurstone scale; Summated rating scale.
Measurement in research
- In our daily life we are said to measure when we use some yardstick to determine weight, height, or some other feature of a physical object.
- We also measure when we judge how well we like a song, a painting or the personalities of our friends.
- We, thus, measure physical objects as well as abstract concepts. Measurement is a relatively complex and demanding task, specially so when it concerns qualitative or abstract phenomena.
- By measurement we mean the process of assigning numbers to objects or observations, the level of measurement being a function of the rules under which the numbers are assigned.
Why Measurement?
- “When you can measure what you are talking about and express it in numbers, you know something about it” LordKelvin
Measurement methods
Meaning of Scaling
Scaling describes the procedures of assigning numbers to various degrees of opinion, attitude and other concepts. Scales are devised for measuring variable in social science research. Scaling is the procedure for determining the quantitative measure of abstract concepts like leadership style, brand image of product etc. It may be stated here that a scale is a continuum, consisting of the highest point (in terms of some characteristic e.g., preference, favorableness, etc.) and the lowest point along with several intermediate points between these two extreme points.
- Strongly Agree [5] Agree [4] Neutral [3]
- Disagree [2] Strongly Disagree [1]
Meaning of Scaling
- These scale-point positions are so related to each other that when the first point happens to be the highest point, the second point indicates a higher degree in terms of a given characteristic as compared to the third point and the third point indicates a higher degree as compared to the fourth and so on.
- Hence the term ‘scaling’ is applied to the procedures for attempting to determine quantitative measures of subjective abstract concepts.
- Scaling has been defined as a “procedure for the assignment of numbers (or other symbols) to a property of objects in order to impart some of the characteristics of numbers to the properties in question.”
Nominal scale
Nominal scale
- Nominal scale is simply a system of assigning number symbols to events in order to label them. The usual example of this is the assignment of numbers of basketball players in order to identify them. Such numbers cannot be considered to be associated with an ordered scale for their order is of no consequence; the numbers are just convenient labels for the particular class of events and as such have no quantitative value.
- Nominal scales provide convenient ways of keeping track of people, objects and events. One cannot do much with the numbers involved. For example, one cannot usefully average the numbers on the back of a group of football players and come up with a meaningful value.
- Neither can one usefully compare the numbers assigned to one group with the numbers assigned to another.
Nominal scale…cont..
- Nominal scale is the least powerful level of measurement. It indicates no order or distance relationship and has no arithmetic origin. 10F+11M
- A nominal scale simply describes differences between things by assigning them to categories. Nominal data are, thus, counted data.
- In spite of all this, nominal scales are still very useful and are widely used in surveys and other ex-post-facto research when data are being classified by major sub-groups of the population.
Ordinal Scale
- Ordinal scales are the simplest attitude measuring scale used in Marketing Research. It is more powerful than a nominal scale in that the numbers possess the property of rank order.
- The ranking of certain product attributes/benefits as deemed important by the respondents is obtained through the scale. Example 1: Rank the following attributes (1 - 5), on their importance in a microwave oven.
- Company Name
- Functions
- Price
- Comfort
- Design
Interval Scale
- Characteristics of nominal and ordinal scales plus the concept of equality of interval.
- Equal distance exists between numbers
Interval Scale
- Herein the distance between the various categories unlike in Nominal, or numbers unlike in Ordinal, are equal in case of Interval Scales.
- Examples of interval variables include: temperature (Farenheit), temperature (Celcius), SAT score (200-800), credit score (300- 850 ).
- The Interval Scales are also termed as Rating Scales. An Interval Scale has an arbitrary Zero point with further numbers placed at equal intervals.
- Such a scale permits the researcher to say that position 5 on the scale is above position 4 and also the distance from 5 to 4 is same as distance from 4 to 3.
- The data obtained from the Interval Scale can be used to calculate the Mean scores of each attributes over all respondents.
- The Standard Deviation (a measure of dispersion) can also be calculated.
Scale…cont,,,
