MEASUREMENT AND SCALING

THE CONCEPT OF MEASUREMENT AND SCALING

MEASUREMENT CAN BE DEFINED AS A STANDARDIZED PROCESS OF ASSIGNING NUMBERS OR OTHER SYMBOLS TO CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OBJECTS OF INTEREST

RESEARCHERS ENGAGE IN USING THE MEASUREMENT PROCESS BY ASSIGNING EITHER NUMBERS

OR LABELS TO

PEOPLES THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, BEHAVIORS, AND CHARACTERISTICS THE FEATURES OR ATTRIBUTES OF OBJECTS THE ASPECTS OF CONCEPTS / IDEAS ANY TYPE OF PHENOMENON OR EVENT USING SPECIFIC RULES TO REPRESENT QUANTITIES AND QUALITIES OF THE FACTORS BEING

MEASUREMENT PROCESS
CONSISTS OF 1. CONSTRUCT DEVELOPMENT TO PRECISELY IDENTIFY WHAT IS TO BE MEASURED, INCLUDING ANY DIMENSIONALITY TRAITS 2. SCALE MEASUREMENT DETERMINE HOW TO PRECISELY MEASURE EACH CONSTRUCT

SCALE MEASUREMENT
SCALING IS THE PROCESS OF CREATING A OBJECTS ARE LOCATED ACCORDING TO THE AMOUNT OF THE MEASURED CHARACTERISTIC THEY POSSESS SCALE DEVELOPMENT IS DESIGNING QUESTIONS TO MEASURE THE SUBJECTIVE PROPERTIES OF AN OBJECT
ON WHICH

CONTINUUM

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCALES

DESCRIPTION ORDER DISTANCE ORIGIN

DESCRIPTION
DESCRIPTION REFERS TO USE OF A UNIQUE DESCRIPTOR, OR LABEL, TO STAND FOR EACH DESIGNATION IN THE SCALE.THIS PROPERTY ALLOWS A RESEARCHER TO TAKE THE RESPONSES AND CATEGORIZE THEM INTO MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE GROUPS EACH WITH ITS OWN IDENTITY

ORDER
ORDER REFERS TO THE RELATIVE SIZES OF THE DESCRIPTORS OR RELATIVE MAGNITUDE BETWEEN THE DESCRIPTORS, OR LABELS, USED AS SCALE POINTS. HERE THE KEY WORD IS RELATIVE AND INCLUDES SUCH DESCRIPTORS AS GREATER THAN LESS THAN AND EQUAL TO

WHEN ORDER CHARACTERISTIC IS INCORPORATED INTO SET OF SCALE POINTS,

IT ALLOWS THE RESEARCHER TO ESTABLISH EITHER

HIGHEST TO LOWEST OR LOWEST TO HIGHEST RANK ORDER AMONG THE NEW

RESPONSES ORDER IDENTIFIES ONLY THE RELATIVE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE RESPONSES AND NOT THE ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES

DISTANCE
A SCALE HAS THE CHARACTERISTIC OF DISTANCE WHEN ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DESCRIPTORS ARE KNOWN AND MAY BE EXPRESSED IN UNITS WHEN THE CHARACTERISTIC OF DISTANCE EXISTS WE ARE ALSO GIVEN THE ORDER

ORIGIN
A SCALE IS SAID TO HAVE CHARACTERISTIC OF ORIGIN IF THERE IS A UNIQUE BEGINNING OR TRUE ZERO POINT FOR THE SCALE THE ORIGIN PROPERTY RELATES TO A NUMBERING SYSTEM WHERE ZERO IS DISPLAYED OR REFERENCED STARTING POINT IN A SET OF POSSIBLE RESPONSES

EACH SCALING PROPERTY BUILDS ON THE PREVIOUS ONE

THIS IMPLIES:

ANY SCALE WILL HAVE DESCRIPTION PROPERTY A SCALE THAT INCLUDES ORDER PROPERTY AUTOMATICALLY POSSESSES DESCRIPTION PROPERTY A SCALE HAVING DISTANCE PROPERTY, HAS ORDER AND DESCRIPTION PROPERTIES THE SCALE THAT IS BUILD ON ORIGIN PROPERTY ALSO HAVE DESCRIPTION, ORDER, AND DISTANCE PROPERTIES

NOMINAL SCALE
NOMINAL SCALES ARE DEFINED AS THOSE THAT USE ONLY LABEL; THAT IS, THEY POSSESS ONLY THE CHARACTERISTIC OF DESCRIPTION THE RESPONSE DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY LEVEL OF INTENSITY

EXAMPLES

DESIGNATIONS AS TO RACE, RELIGION, TYPE OF DWELLING GENDER BRAND LAST PURCHASED ANSWERS THAT INVOLVE YES-NO, AGREEDISAGREE OR ANY OTHER INSTANCE IN WHICH DESCRIPTORS CAN NOT BE DIFFERENTIATED EXCEPT QUALITATIVELY

NOMINAL- SCALED QUESTIONS

CHECK ALL THE BRANDS YOU WOULD CONSIDER PURCHASING

I.
II. III. IV.

SONY VIDEOCON SAMSUNG LG

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT Youth prefers branded clothes? AGREE DISAGREE

I. II. III. IV. V.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SUPERMARKETS HAVE YOU SHOPPED IN THE LAST 30 DAYS? EBONY STAR MALL SAB MALL SHIPRA SAHARA MALL

DO YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM?

I. II.

LIKE DISLIKE

ORDINAL SCALE
AN ORDINAL SCALE IS OBTAINED BY RANKING OBJECTS OR ARRANGING THEM IN ORDER WITH REGARD TO SOME COMMON VARIABLE THE QUESTION IS SIMPLY WHETHER EACH OBJECT HAS MORE OR LESS THAN SOME OTHER OBJECT IT PERMITS THE RESEARCHER TO RANK ORDER THE RESPONDENTS OR THEIR RESPONSES

ORDINAL SCALE
THE RESEARCHER CAN RANK ORDER THE RESPONSES INTO HIERARCHICAL PATTERN THIS SCALE DOES NOT ALLOW A RESEARCHER TO DETERMINE THE ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCE IN ANY OF THE ORDINAL RELATIONSHIPS

ORDINAL- SCALED QUESTIONS

PLEASE RANK EACH BRAND IN TERMS OF YOUR PREFERENCE PLEASE PLACE 1 BY YOUR FIRST CHOICE, A 2 BY YOUR SECOND CHOICE, AND SO ON
I. II. III. IV. V. VI.

SONY VIDEOCON SAMSUNG LG BPL PHILLIPS

INTERVAL SCALE
INTERVAL SCALES ARE THOSE IN WHICH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN EACH DESCRIPTOR IS KNOWN IT DEMONSTRATES ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EACH SCALE POINT THE DISTANCE IS NORMALLY DEFINED AS ONE SCALE UNIT

INTERVAL SCALE
IN AN INTERVAL SCALE THE NUMBERS USED TO RANK THE OBJECTS ALSO REPRESENT EQUAL INCREMENTS OF THE ATTRIBUTE BEING MEASURED THIS MEANS THAT DIFFERENCES CAN BE COMPARED THE LOCATION OF ZERO POINT IS NOT FIXED, SINCE ZERO DOES NOT DENOTE THE ABSENCE OF THE ATTRIBUTE BOTH ZERO POINT AND UNITS OF MEASUREMENT ARE ARBITRARY

INTERVAL SCALED QUESTIONS

PLEASE RATE EACH BRAND IN TERMS OF ITS OVERALL PERFORMANCE

BRAND VERY POOR

RATING (CIRCLE ONE) VERY GOOD

MONT BLANC

10

PARKER

CROSS

INDICATE YOUR DEGREE OF AGREEMENT WITH FOLLOWING STATEMENTS BY CIRCLING THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER

STATEMENT

STRONGLY AGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5

I ALWAYS LOOK FOR BARGAINS I ENJOY BEING OUT DOORS I LOVE TO COOK

IN A TYPICAL WEEK (7 DAY PERIOD), HOW OFTEN YOU ACCESS INTERNET FROM A HOME COMPUTER?

___ MORE THAN 20 TIMES ___16 TO 20 TIMES ___11 TO 15 TIMES ___6 TO 10 TIMES ___1 TO 5 TIMES ___DO NOT ACCESS IT

RATIO SCALE
RATIO SCALES ARE THE ONES IN WHICH TRUE ZERO ORIGIN EXISTS
SUCH AS -ACTUAL NUMBER OF PURCHASES IN A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD, -RUPEES SPENT, MILES TRAVELED ETC. THIS CHARACTERISTIC ALLOW US TO CONSTRUCT RATIOS WHEN COMPARING THE RESULTS OF MEASUREMENT

RATIO SCALE
A RATIO SCALE TENDS TO BE MOST SOPHISTICATED SCALE IN THE SENSE THAT IT ALLOWS THE RESEARCHER NOT ONLY TO IDENTIFY THE ABSOLUTE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EACH SCALE POINT BUT ALSO TO MAKE ABSOLUTE COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE RESPONSES

RATIO-SCALED QUESTIONS

PLEASE INDICATE YOUR AGE --- YEARS

APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY TIMES IN THE LAST MONTH HAVE YOU PURCHASED ANY THING OVER Rs.1000 IN VALUE AT NANZ STORE?
0 1 2 3 4 5 MORE ( SPECIFY_ )

HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK A TYPICAL PURCHASER OF A Rs. 5 LAKH TERM LIFE INSURANCE POLICY PAYS PER MONTH THAT POLICY? Rs.__________

WHAT IS THE PROBABILITY THAT YOU WILL USE A LAWYERS SERVICES WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MAKE A WILL? ______PERCENT

TYPICALLY THE ISSUES LIKE QUANTITY SOLD NUMBER OF CONSUMERS PROBABILITY OF PURCHASE ETC. FORM RATIO SCALE MEASUREMENT

ASSESSING A RESPONDENTS LIKING OF SOFTDRINKS WITH SCALES

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOFT DRINKS ON THE FOLLOWING LIST DO YOU LIKE? CHECK ALL THAT APPLY
q q q q q q

COKE THUMS UP MOUNTAIN DEW PEPSI SEVEN UP SPRTIE

PLEASE RANK THE SOFT DRINKS ON THE FOLLOWING LIST ACCORDING TO YOUR DEGREE OF LIKING FOR EACH, ASSIGNINIG MOST PREFERRED DRINK RANK=1 AND YOUR LEAST PREFERRED DRINK RANK=6
q q q q q q

COKE THUMS UP MOUNTAIN DEW PEPSI SEVEN UP SPRTIE

PLEASE INDICATE YOUR DEGREE OF LIKING OF EACH OF THE SOFTDRINKS ON THE FOLLOWING LIST BY CHECKING THE APPROPRIATE POSITION ON THE SCALE
DISLIKE A LOT DISLIKE LIKE LIKE A LOT

COKE THUMS UP MOUNTAIN DEW PEPSI SEVEN UP SPRTIE

PLEASE DIVIDE 100 POINTS AMONG EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SOFT DRINKS ACCORDING TO YOUR DEGREE OF LIKING FOR EACH
q q q q q q

COKE THUMS UP MOUNTAIN DEW PEPSI SEVEN UP SPRTIE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCALES AND SCALING PROPERTIES

SCALING PROPERTIES

SCALE

DESCRIPTION

ORDER

DISTANCE

ORIGIN

NOMINAL ORDINAL INTERVAL RATIO

YES YES YES YES

NO YES YES YES

NO NO YES YES

NO NO NO YES

SCALE AND TYPE OF STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES

SCALE
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS

MARKETING PERMISSIBLE STATISTICS EXAMPLES DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

NOMINAL

NUMBERS IDENTIFY AND CLASSIFY OBJECTS

BRAND NUMBERS, STORE TYPES

PERCENTAGES MODE

Chi-SQUARE BINOMIAL TEST

DESCRIPTIVE ORDINAL

INFERENTIAL

NUMBERS INDICATE THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE OBJECTS BUT NOT THE MAGNITUDE OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM

PREFERENCE PERCENTILE, RANK ORDER RANKINGS, CORRELATION MARKET POSITION, SOCIAL FRIEDMAN CLASS ANOVA PREFERENCE MEDIAN FOR BRANDS

DESCRIPTIVE INTERVAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OBJECTS CAN BE COMPARED; ZERO POINT IS ARBITRARY ATTITUDES, OPTIONS, INDEX NUMBERS ATTITUDES TOWARDS BRANDS GRADE POINT AVERAGE RANGE

INFERENTIAL

PRODUCT MOMENTCORRELATIONS MEAN t TESTS STANDARD DEVIATIONS ANOVA REGRESSION ANALYSIS FACTOR ANALYSIS

DESCRIPTIVE RATIO ZERO POINT IS FIXED; RATIOS OF SCALE VALUES CAN BE COMPUTED AGE, INCOME, COSTS, SALES, MARKET SHARES NO. OF PURCHASES PROBABILITY OF PURCHASE GEOMETRIC MEAN

INFERENTIAL

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION

HARMONIC MEAN

THE SCALING TECHNIQUES

THE COMPARATIVE SCALES THE NON COMPARATIVE SCALES

THE COMPARATIVE SCALES

COMPARATIVE SCALES INVOLVE THE DIRECT COMPARISON OF STIMULUS OBJECT IT IS A SCALE FORMAT THAT REQUIRES A JUDGMENT COMPARING ONE OBJECT, PERSON, OR CONCEPT AGAINST ANOTHER ON THE SCALE COMPARATIVE SCALE DATA MUST BE INTERPRETED IN RELATIVE TERMS AND HAVE ONLY ORDINAL OR RANK ORDER PROPERTIES FOR THIS REASON, COMPARATIVE SCALING IS REFERRED TO AS NON-METRIC SCALING

TYPES OF COMPARATIVE SCALES

PAIRED COMPARISON RANK ORDER CONSTANT SUM Q-SORT

PAIRED COMPARISON RATING SCALE

THIS FORMAT CREATES A PRESELECTED GROUP OF TRAITS, PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS OR FEATURES THAT ARE PAIRED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER INTO TWO GROUPS RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED TO SELECT WHICH IN EACH PAIR IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THEM

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 SCALES ARE FREQUENTLY USED WHEN STIMULUS OBJECTS ARE PHYSICAL PRODUCTS

EXAMPLE:
WE GOING TO PRESENT YOU WITH SEVERAL PAIRS OF TRAITS ASSOCIATED WITH A SALESPERSONS ON-THE-JOB ACTIVITIES
FOR EACH PAIR, PLEASE INDICATE WHICH TRAIT YOU FEEL IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR BEING A SALES PERSON

a. TRUST

b. COMPETENCE

a. TRUST a. TRUST a. COMPETENCE a. COMPETENCE

b. COMMUNICATION SKILLS b. PERSONAL SOCIAL SKILLS b. COMMUNICATION SKILLS b. PERSONAL SOCIAL SKILLS

a. COMMUNICATION SKILLS b. PERSONAL SOCIAL SKILLS

CONSTANT SUM SCALE:

THIS SCALE PROVIDES A BETTER PERSPECTIVE OF DISTANCE BETWEEN THE POINTS ON A CONTINUUM WITH THIS TYPE OF SCALE, THE RESPONDENT IS ASKED TO DIVIDE OR ALLOCATE A NUMBER OF POINTS, PERCENTAGES, OR RUPEES, USUALLY A TOTAL SUM OF 100, TO INDICATE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE ATTITUDE BEING STUDIED

CONSTANT SUM SCALE:

THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE ALLOCATED TO EACH ALTERNATIVE INDICATES THE RANKS ASSIGNED TO THEM BY THE RESPONDENTS, BUT IT ALSO INDICATES THE AMOUNT OF DIFFERENCE THE RESPONDENTS SET BETWEEN EACH ALTERNATIVE

IMPORTANCE OF BATHING SOAP ATTRIBUTES USING A CONSTANT SUM SCALE

INSTRUCTIONS BELOW ARE THE 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 ATTRIBUTES RECEIVES, THE MORE IMPORTANT IT 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 SHALL RECEIVE TWICE AS MANY POINTS

AVERAGE RESPONSES OF THREE SEGMENTS ATTRIBUTE SEGMENT I SEGMENT II SEGMENT III MILDNESS 8 2 4 LATHER 2 4 17 SHRINKAGE 3 9 7 PRICE 53 17 9 FRAGRANCE 9 0 19 PACKAGING 7 5 9 MOISTURIZING 5 3 20 CLEANING POWDER 13 60 15 SUM 100 100 100

EXAMPLE:
IF YOU HAD Rs. 1000 TO ALLOCATE TO THE FOLLOWING CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS, HOW WOULD YOU ALLOCATE YOUR MONEY? YOU MAY GIVE ALL YOUR RUPEES TO ANY ONE ORGANIZATION, BUT YOUR TOTAL MUST ADD UP TO Rs. 1000 INDIAN RED CROSS ____________

INDIAN CANCER FOUNDATION____________ INDIAN SPASTIC SOCIETY ____________ CRY ____________ HEART CARE FOUNDATION OLD AGE HOME ____________ ____________

RANK ORDER SCALE:

IN THIS SCALE OF MEASUREMENT THE RESEARCHER USES RANKING QUESTIONS AS THESE ARE CONSTRUED TO BE A FORM OF OPINION QUESTIONS IN WHICH RESPONDENT IS ASKED TO RANK COMPARATIVELY THE ITEMS LISTED THESE ALLOW THE RESPONDENTS TO COMPARE THEIR OWN RESPONSES BY INDICATING THEIR FIRST CHOICE, SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH PREFERENCES AND SO FORTH, UNTIL ALL THE RESPONSES ARE PLACED IN A RANK ORDER

RANK ORDER SCALING IS COMMONLY USED TO MEASURE PREFERENCES FOR BRANDS AS WELL AS ATTRIBUTES RANK ORDER DATA ARE FREQUENTLY OBTAINED FROM RESPONDENTS IN CONJOINT ANALYSIS BECAUSE RANK ORDER SCALING FORCES THE RESPONDENT TO DISCRIMINATE AMONG THE STIMULUS OBJECTS

EXAMPLE: QUESTIONNAIRE SEEKING DATA FOR A STAFF EXECUTIVE JOB DESCRIPTION

IN YOUR JOB YOU MAY PERFORM ANY OF THE SEVEN ROLES LISTED HERE. CONSIDER HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND IN EACH ROLE. THEN RANK THE ROLES FROM 1 TO 7 IN TIME SPENT ON EACH. WRITE A '1' AFTER THAT GIVEN THE MOST TIME-- AND A '7' AFTER THE LEAST TIME. COORDINATOR _______________________ ENTREPRENEUR ________________________ EXPEDITER _______________________ EXPERT _______________________ FORECASTER _______________________ INNOVATOR _______________________ INTEGRATOR

EXAMPLE:
INSTRUCTIONS:

RANK THE VARIOUS BRANDS OF TOOTHPASTES IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE BEGIN BY PICKING OUT THE ONE BRAND THAT YOU LIKE MOST ASSIGN IT A NUMBER 1 THEN FIND THE SECOND MOST PREFERRED BRAND AND ASSIGN IT A NUMBER 2 CONTINUE THE PROCEDURE UNTIL YOU HAVE RANKED ALL 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 THE CRITERION OF PREFERENCE IS ENTIRELY UP TO YOU. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER. JUST TRY TO BE CONSISTENT

BRAND COLGATE CREST AIM CLOSE-UP PEPSODENT ULTRA BRITE PLUS WHITE STRIPE GLEEM MACLEANS

RANK ORDER ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________

NON COMPARATIVE SCALES

NON-COMPARATIVE SCALES REFER TO A SCALE FORMAT THAT REQUIRES A JUDGMENT WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ANOTHER OBJECT, PERSON, OR CONCEPT THESE SCALES ARE ALSO REFERRED TO AS MONADIC OR METRIC SCALES THE RESULTING DATA ARE GENERALLY ASSUMED TO BE INTERVAL OR RATIO SCALED

TYPES OF NON- COMPARATIVE SCALES

CONTINUOUS RATING SCALES ITEMIZED RATING SCALES

I. II. III. IV.

LIKERT SCALE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE STAPEL SCALE THURSTONE SCALE

CONTINUOUS RATING SCALE:

A SCALE MEASURE THAT USES A SCALE POINT FORMAT THAT PRESENTS THE RESPONDENT WITH SOME TYPE OF GRAPHIC CONTINUUM AS THE SET OF POSSIBLE RESPONSES TO A GIVEN QUESTION IT IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS GRAPHIC RATING SCALES

RESPONDENTS RATE THE OBJECTS BY PLACING A MARK AT THE APPROPRIATE POSITION ON A LINE THAT RUNS FROM ONE EXTREME OF THE CRITERION VARIABLE TO THE OTHER THE RESPONDENTS ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO SELECTING FROM MARKS PREVIOUSLY SET BY THE RESEARCHER

THE FORM OF THE CONTINUOUS SCALE MAY VARY CONSIDERABLY: THE LINES MAY BE VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL SCALE POINTS IN THE FORM OF NUMBERS OR BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS MAY BE PROVIDED AND IF PROVIDED, SCALE POINTS MAY BE FEW OR MANY

ONCE THE RESPONDENT HAS PROVIDED THE RATINGS, THE RESEARCHER DIVIDES THE LINE INTO AS MANY CATEGORIES AS DESIRED AND ASSIGNS SCORES BASED ON CATEGORIES INTO WHICH THE RATINGS FALL THESE SCORES ARE TREATED AS INTERVAL DATA

EXAMPLE:
HOW WOULD YOU RATE RELIANCE RETAIL AS A DEPARTMENT STORE?
VERSION 1
PROBABLY THE WORST---------------I---------------------------------------PROBABLY THE BEST

VERSION

2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

PROBABLY THE WORST---------------I---------------------------------------PROBABLY THE BEST

VERSION

3
VERY BAD NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD VERY GOOD

PROBABLY THE WORST---------------I---------------------------------------PROBABLY THE BEST 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

ITEMIZED RATING SCALE:

THE ITEMIZED RATING SCALE IS, PERHAPS, THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED IN MARKETING RESEARCH BECAUSE OF ITS SIMPLICITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO MOST MEASUREMENT SITUATIONS

THIS FORM OF RATING SCALE REQUIRES A RESPONDENT TO INDICATE HIS OR HER ATTITUDE BY SELECTING A POSITION ON A CONTINUUM THAT REFLECTS A RANGE OF POSSIBLE VIEWS REGARDING AN OBJECT

THE VARIOUS POSITIONS ON THE CONTINUUM ARE SET UP IN A SEQUENTIAL ORDER IN TERMS OF THE SCALE POSITIONS (IN OTHER WORDS, REPRESENTING THE DEGREE OF ATTITUDE HELD) THE SCALE POSITIONS ARE CLEARLY MARKED WITH A DESCRIPTIVE STATEMENT OF SOME KIND

TYPES OF ITEMIZED SCALES:

SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE LIKERT SCALE STAPEL SCALE THURSTONE SCALE

SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE:

A UNIQUE BIPOLAR ORDINAL SCALE FORMAT THAT CAPTURES A PERSONS ATTITUDES OR FEELINGS ABOUT A GIVEN OBJECT THIS TYPE OF SCALE IS UNIQUE IN ITS USE OF BIPOLAR ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS (GOOD/BAD, LIKE/DISLIKE, COMPETITIVE/NONCOMPETITIVE, HELPFUL/UNHELPFUL, ETC.)

IN SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE, THE RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT WHATEVER BEING EVALUATED BY RECORDING THEIR RESPONSES ON A SCALE OF ADJECTIVES (SUCH AS STRONG -- MILD), WHICH ARE PAIRED POLAR OPPOSITES THIS SCALE TYPE IS BEST FOR IDENTIFYING A PERCEPTUAL IMAGE PROFILE ABOUT THE OBJECT OR BEHAVIOR OF CONCERN

THE RESULTING DATA ARE COMMONLY ANALYZED THROUGH PROFILE ANALYSIS MEANS OR MEDIAN VALUES ON EACH RATING SCALE ARE CALCULATED AND COMPARED BY PLOTTING STATISTICAL ANALYSIS THIS HELPS DETERMINE OVERALL DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES AMONG THE OBJECTS

TO ASSESS THE DIFFERENCES ACROSS THE SEGMENTS, THE RESEARCHER CAN COMPARE MEAN RESPONSES OF DIFFERENT SEGMENTS

IN CASES WHERE THE RESEARCHER REQUIRES AN OVERALL COMPARISON OF OBJECTS, SUCH AS TO DETERMINE STORE PREFERENCES, THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS ARE SUMMED TO ARRIVE AT TOTAL SCORE

IT IS WIDELY USED IN COMPARING BRANDS PRODUCTS COMPANY IMAGES DEVELOP ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

EXAMPLE:
THIS PART OF THE STUDY MEASURES WHAT CERTAIN DEPARTMENT STORES MEAN TO YOU
BY HAVING YOU JUDGE THEM ON A SERIES OF DESCRIPTIVE SCALES BOUNDED AT EACH END BY ONE OF TWO BIPOLAR ADJECTIVES

PLEASE MARK (X) THE BLANK THAT BEST INDICATE HOW ACCURATELY ONE OR THE OTHER ADJECTIVE DESCRIBES WHAT THE STORE MEANS TO YOU PLEASE BE SURE TO MARK EVERY SCALE, DO NOT OMIT ANY SCALE

FORM HARRODS IS: POWERFUL -- -- -- -- -- -- --WEAK UNRELIABLE -- -- -- -- -- -- --RELIABLE MODERN -- -- -- -- -- -- --OLD FASHIONED COLD -- -- -- -- -- -- --WARM CAREFUL -- -- -- -- -- -- --CARELESS

THE ACTUAL DESIGN OF A SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE CAN VARY FROM SITUATION TO SITUATION

IF A RESEARCHER IS INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING A CREDIBILITY SCALE THAT COULD BE USED BY REVLON TO ASSESS THE CREDIBILITY OF SUSHMITA SEN AS A SPOKESPERSON IN TV OR PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS FOR REVLON BRANDS OF GROOMING PRODUCTS

THE RESEARCHER DETERMINES THAT THE CREDIBILITY CONSTRUCT CONSISTS OF THREE FACTORS

EXPERTISE TRUSTWORTHINESS ATTRACTIVENESS

WITH EACH FACTOR MEASURED USING A SPECIFIC SET OF FIVE BIPOLAR SCALES

EXAMPLE OF SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE FORMAT FOR SUSHMITA SEN AS A CREDIBILITY SPOKESPERSON

NOW WITH RESPECT TO SUSHMITA SEN AS THE SPOKESPERSON FOR REVLON GROOMING PRODUCTS, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE
q q q

EXPERTISE, TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND ATTRACTIVENESS THAT YOU BELIEVE SHE BRINGS TO THE ADVERTISEMENT

EACH DIMENSION HAS FIVE FACTORS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT YOUR OPINION

FOR EACH LISTED FACTOR, PLEASE CHECK THE POINT THAT BEST EXPRESSES YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE FACTOR

EXPERTISE:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

KNOWLEDGEABLE EXPERT SKILLED QUALIFIED EXPERIENCED

UNKNOWLEDGEABLE NOT AN EXPERT UNSKILLED UNQUALIFIED INEXPERIENCED

TRUST WORTHINESS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

RELIABLE SINCERE TRUSTWORTHY DEPENDABLE HONEST

UNRELIABLE INSINCERE UNTRUSTWORTHY UNDEPENDABLE DISHONEST

ATTRACTIVENESS

SEXY BEAUTIFUL ATTRACTIVE CLASSY ELEGANT

NOT SEXY UGLY UNATTRACTIVE NOT CLASSY PLAIN

EXAMPLE:
A SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE FOR MEASURING

SELF CONCEPTS PERSON CONCEPTS PRODUCT CONCEPTS

RUGGED EXCITABLE UNCOMFORTABLE DOMINATING THRIFTY PLEASANT CONTEMPORARY

DELICATE CALM COMFORTABLE SUBMISSIVE INDULGENT UNPLEASANT NON-CONTEMPORARY

ORGANIZED RATIONAL YOUTHFUL FORMAL ORTHODOX COMPLEX COLORLESS MODEST

NO-ORGANIZED EMOTIONAL MATURE INFORMAL LIBERAL SIMPLE COLORFUL VAIN

EXAMPLE Contd
INDICATE YOUR IMPRESSION OF BUKHARA RESTAURANT BY CHECKING THE LINE CORRESPONDING TO YOUR OPINION FOR EACH PAIR OF DESCRIPTORS

Convenient location High prices For me Warm atmosphere Wide menu Fast service High quality food A special place

inconvenient location low prices not for me cold atmosphere limited menu slow service low quality food an every day place

A SURVEY CAN BE ORGANIZED WHERE IN RESPONDENTS COULD BE ASKED TO GIVE THEIR OPINION ON THESE PARAMETERS FOR A SET OF RESTAURANTS LET US SAY FRONTIER TO BE COMPARED WITH BUKHARA

A PERCEPTUAL DIAGRAM CAN BE CONSTRUCTED THAT COULD GIVE US AS TO HOW THE TWO RESTAURANTS ARE PERCEIVED BY THE RESPONDENTS

Image Profile of Commuter Airlines versus Major Airlines

Source: J. Richard Jones and Sheila I. Cocke, A Performance Evaluation of Commuter Airlines: The Passengers View, Proceedings: Transportation Research Forum 22 (1981), p. 524. Reprinted with permission.

BRAND PROFILING CAR CARE

A SIMILAR STUDY COULD BE DESIGNED FOR IA AND TRACKING

COULD BE UNDERTAKEN ON A REGULAR INTERVAL - SAY AFTER EVERY THREE MONTHS- TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE IAS FLYERS

EXAMPLE:
q q q

THE QUALITY OF FOOD CHECK IN FACILITIES CABIN CREWS RESPONSE TIME ETC.

CAN BE EVALUATED USING THIS TECHNIQUE

A SAMPLE OF FLIERS CAN BE REQUESTED TO RATE THE FOOD QUALITY ON A SCALE OF 1 (EXTREMELY POOR) TO 7 (EXTREMELY GOOD) THIS CAN BE COMPARED WITH THEIR PERCEPTION OF IAS COMPETITOR

THIS COULD BECOME A RELEVANT INPUT IN DECISION MAKING PROCESS FOR THE IA MANAGEMENT TO IMPROVE ITS BRAND IMAGE

LIKERT SCALE
AN ORDINAL SCALE FORMAT THAT ASKS THE RESPONDENTS TO INDICATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH A SERIES OF MENTAL BELIEF OR BEHAVIORAL BELIEF STATEMENTS ABOUT A GIVEN OBJECT

THIS SCALE WAS DEVELOPED BY RENSIS LIKERT AND IS WIDELY USED RATING SCALE

IN THE LIKERT SCALE, THE MATTER OF CHOOSING OPPOSITE ADJECTIVES IS AVOIDED

RATHER, IT MAKES A STATEMENT OR POSES ONE DESCRIPTION (OR ADJECTIVE) FOR WHATEVER IS BEING EVALUATED

THE RESPONDENT IS THEN GIVEN A SCALE WHOSE POSITION RANGE FROM STRONGLY AGREE" TO STRONGLY DISAGREE"

THEY ARE ALSO CALLED SUMMATED SCALES BECAUSE THE SCORES ON THE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS ARE SUMMED TO PRODUCE A TOTAL SCORE FOR THE RESPONDENT

A LIKERT SCALE USUALLY CONSISTS OF TWO PARTS:

ITEM PART EVALUATIVE PART

THE ITEM PART IS ESSENTIALLY A STATEMENT ABOUT A CERTAIN PRODUCT EVENT OR ATTITUDE

THE EVALUATIVE PART IS A LIST OF RESPONSE CATEGORIES RANGING FROM STRONGLY AGREE TO STRONGLY DISAGREE

AN IMPORTANT ASSUMPTION OF THIS METHOD IS THAT EACH OF THE ITEMS (STATEMENTS) MEASURES SOME ASPECT OF SINGLE COMMON FACTOR

OTHERWISE, THE ITEMS CANNOT LEGITIMATELY BE SUMMED IN OTHER WORDS, THE RESULTING SCALE IS UNI DIMENSIONAL

TO CONDUCT THE ANALYSIS, EACH STATEMENT IS ASSIGNED A NUMERICAL SCORE, RANGING EITHER FROM -2 TO +2 OR 1 TO 5

THE ANALYSIS CAN BE CONDUCTED ON: AN ITEM BY ITEM BASIS (PROFILE ANALYSIS) OR A TOTAL (SUMMATED) SCORE CAN BE CALCULATED FOR EACH RESPONDENT BY SUMMING UP ACROSS ITEMS

EXAMPLE:
LET US LOOK AT A SET OF TEN STATEMENTS WHICH REFLECT THE ATTITUDE OF AN INDIAN AIRLINES FLYER WE LIKE TO EVALUATE THESE STATEMENTS IN TERMS OF FLYER PERCEPTION ABOUT INDIAN AIRLINES

EACH STATEMENT SHALL BE EVALUATED ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5 1-STRONGLY DISAGREE 2-DISAGREE 3-NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE 4-SOMEWHAT AGREE 5-STRONGLY AGREE

IA IS ALWAYS ON TIME THE SEATS ARE VERY COMFORTABLE I LOVE THE FOOD THEY PROVIDE THEIR AIR HOSTESSES ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL MY BOSS/FRIEND FLIES WITH IA

IA HAS YOUNGER AIRCRAFTS I GET ADVANTAGE OF FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAM IT(THE FLIGHT TIMING) SUITS MY SCHEDULE MY WIFE/MOM FEELS SAFE WHEN I FLY IA FLYING IA COMPLEMENTS MY LIFE STYLE AND SOCIAL STANDING IN THE SOCIETY

A SAMPLE OF FLYERS CAN BE REQUESTED TO BE A PART OF SURVEY WHERE IN EACH OF THE FLYER SHALL EVALUATE EACH STATEMENT AND ASSIGN A VALUE RANGING FROM 1 TO 5 DEPENDING UPON HIS AGREEING OR DISAGREEING WITH THE STATEMENT

THEN A SCORE CAN BE ARRIVED AT FOR

-

EACH INDIVIDUAL AND TOTAL SCORE GIVEN TO EACH STATEMENT BY FLIERS

AND THE STATEMENTS HAVING LOWER/ HIGHER SCORE REFLECT THE PERCEPTION OF THE FLYER ABOUT THE IA ACCORDINGLY IA CAN REPOSITION IT SELF VIS A VIS ITS COMETITORS

STAPEL SCALE:
THE STAPEL SCALE IS A SIMPLIFICATION OF THE SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL DEVELOPED BY JAN STAPEL

UNIPOLAR SCALE WITH 10 CATEGORIES NUMBERED FROM - 5 TO +5, WITHOUT A NEUTRAL POINT (ZERO), WITH VALUES PROGRESSIONS RANGING FROM POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE WHICH MEASURE DIRECTION AND INTENSITY SIMULTANEOUSLY

USUALLY PRESENTED VERTICALLY RESPONDENTS ARE ASKED TO INDICATE THE OBJECT BY SELECTING A NUMERICAL RESPONSE CATEGORY

THE HIGHER THE POSITIVE SCORE, THE BETTER THE ADJECTIVE DESCRIBES THE OBJECT

THE MAIN VIRTUE OF THIS SCALE IS THAT IT IS EASY TO ADMINISTER AND CONSTRUCT BECAUSE THERE IS NO NEED TO PROVIDE ADJECTIVES OR PHRASES TO ASSURE BI-POLARITY

A Stapel Scale for Measuring a Stores Image

Source: Dennis Menezes and Norbert F. Elbert, Alternative Semantic Scaling Formats for Measuring Store Image: An Evaluation, Journal of Marketing Research, February 1979, pp. 8087. Reprinted by permission of the American Marketing Association.

EXAMPLE: APPLICATION OF STAPEL SCALE FOR THE RETAIL STORE IMAGE STUDY +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 WIDE SELECTION +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1

LESSER HIGH KNOWN QUALITY BRAND -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 -4 -4 -4 -5 -5 -5 _____________________________________________

EXAMPLE : BANK STUDY

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
SERVICE IS COURTEOUS

LOCATION IS CONVENIENT

HOURS ARE CONVENIENT

LOAN INTERSET RATES ARE HIGH

Summary of Advantages and Disadvantages of Rating Scales

SORTING

Sorting Tasks Require that respondents indicate their attitudes or beliefs by arranging items on the basis of perceived similarity or some other attribute. Example:
Here is a sheet that lists several airlines. Next to the name of each airline is a pocket. Here are ten cards. I would like you to put these cards in the pockets next to the airlines you would prefer to fly on your next trip. Assume that all of the airlines fly to wherever you would choose to travel. You can put as many cards as you want next to an airline, or you can put no cards next to an airline. Cards American Airlines_____ Delta Airlines United Airlines _____ _____

Southwest Airlines_____ Northwest Airlines_____