 Measurement is the process of assigning

numbers or labels to objects, persons, states,

or events in accordance with specific rules to
represent quantities or qualities of attributes.
 We do not measure specific objects, persons,
etc., we measure attributes or features that
define them.
 Ex., What defines the person Mr. Aniket?
What is a student’s level of education? How
customer oriented is our company?
 Overriding Goal: To provide a valid and
reliable description or enumeration of the
person, objects, issue, etc.
 Why do scores on a measurement scale differ?
◦ A true difference in the characteristic being
measured.
◦ Short-term personal factors (e.g., moods, time
constraints)
◦ Situational factors (e.g., surroundings)
◦ Variations in method of administering survey.
◦ Sampling of items included in the
questionnaire.
◦ Lack of clarity in the measurement instrument.
◦ Mechanical or instrument factors causing
completion errors.
1. Define concepts to be measured
2. Define attributes of the concepts
3. Select scale of measurement (data type)
4. Generate Items/Questions
◦ Wording
◦ Response format
5. Layout and design questionnaire
6. Pretest and refine
 Concept or Construct
◦ A generalized idea about a class of objects,
attributes, occurrences, or processes
◦ Concrete – demographics, traffic patterns,
purchase quantity
◦ Abstract – loyalty, personality, satisfaction,
leadership
 Attribute
◦ A single characteristic or fundamental feature of
an object, person, situation, or issue
◦ Often measure multiple attributes
Nominal Scales

Ordinal Scales

Interval Scales

Ratio Scales
•Nominal scales focus on only requiring a
respondent to provide some type of
descriptor as the raw response
•It is a system of assigning numbers
symbols to events in order to label them

Example.
Please indicate your current martial status.
__Married __ Single __ Single, never married __ Widowed
•Ordinal scales allow the respondent to
express “relative magnitude” between the raw
responses to a question.
•The Ordinal Scale Places events or objects in
order.
•Rank order represents ordinal scale.
Example.
Which one statement best describes your opinion of an Intel PC processor?
__ Higher than AMD’s PC processor
__ About the same as AMD’s PC processor
__ Lower than AMD’s PC processor
•Interval scales demonstrate the absolute
differences between each scale point.
•This is Rating Scale

Example.
How likely are you to recommend the Seminar to a friend?
Definitely will not Definitely will
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
 Ratio scales allow for the identification of
absolute differences between each scale point,
and absolute comparisons between raw
responses

Example 1.
Please circle the number of children under 18 years of age currently living in your
household.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (if more than 7, please specify ___.)
 Understanding of the questions
 Discriminatory power of scale descriptors
 Balanced versus unbalanced scales
 Forced or nonforced choice scales
 Desired measure of central tendency and
dispersion
 If a nominal scale is used, analysis of raw data can
only be done using modes and frequency
distributions
 If ordinal scales are used, analysis of raw data can
be done using medians and ranges (plus modes and
frequency distributions)
 If interval or ratio scales are used, analysis of raw
data can be done through the use of sample means
and estimated standard deviations as the sample
statistic (plus the above)
 Items are basically questions
 Need to ensure that enough questions are
asked to generate information necessary to
address research problems.
 Likely will have a mix of question types
and scales of measurement
 Multi-item, Composite or Index Measures
◦ A measurement scale containing multiple
questions addressing same construct or
attribute
 Likert Scale
 Likert-Type Scale
 Semantic Differential Scale
 Behavioral Intention Scale
 Noncomparative Scales
 Comparative Scales
 A likert scale is
an ordinal scale format
that asks respondents
to indicate the extent to which
they agree or disagree with a series of
mental or behavioral belief
statements about a given object
A semantic differential scale is
unique bipolar ordinal scale format
that captures a person’s attitudes
and/or feelings about a given object
 A behavioral intention scale is
a special type of rating scale designed
to capture the likelihood that people
will demonstrate some type of
predictable behavior intent
toward purchasing an object or service
in a future time frame
 Noncomparative Rating Scales
◦ format that requires a judgment without reference
to another object, person, or concept
 Comparative Rating Scales
◦ format that requires a judgment comparing one
object, person, or concept against another on the
scale