Scaling in research

 Objectives
 Introduction
 Measurement andScaling
 Issues inAttitude Measurement
 Levels of MeasurementScales
Types of ScalingTechniques
#Comparative Scales
# Non-comparative Scales
 Selection of anAppropriate ScalingTechnique
 Conclusion
 KeyWords

The Measurement & ScalingTechnique helps us to :
 explain the concepts of measurement and scaling,
 discuss four levels of measurement scales,
 classify and discuss different scaling techniques, and
select an appropriate attitude measurement scale for
our research problem.

As we discussed earlier, the data consists of quantitative
variables, like price, income, sales etc., and qualitative
variables like knowledge, performance , character etc.The
qualitative information must be converted into numerical
form for further analysis.This is possible through
measurement and scaling techniques.A common feature of
survey based research is to have respondent’s
feelings, attitudes, opinions, etc. in some measurable
form.

a)Measurement: Measurement is the process of observing and
recording the observations that are collected as part of research.The
recording of the observations may be in terms of numbers or other
symbols to characteristics of objects according to certain prescribed rules.
The respondent’s, characteristics are feelings, attitudes, opinions etc.
The most important aspect of measurement is the specification of rules
for assigning numbers to characteristics.The rules for assigning numbers
should be standardized and applied uniformly.This must not change over
time or objects.
b)Scaling: Scaling is the assignment of objects to numbers or semantics
according to a rule. In scaling, the objects are text statements, usually
statements of attitude, opinion, or feeling.

When a researcher is interested in measuring the
attitudes, feelings or opinions of respondents he/she should
be clear about the following:
a)What is to be measured?
b)Who is to be measured?
c)The choices available in data collection techniques

The level of measurement refers to the relationship among
the values that are assigned to the attributes, feelings or
opinions for a variable.
Typically, there are four levels of measurement scales or
methods of assigning numbers:
(a) Nominal scale,
(b)Ordinal scale,
(c) Interval scale, and
(d) Ratio scale.

Nominal Scale is the crudest among all measurement
scales but it is also the simplest scale. In this scale the different
scores on a measurement simply indicate different categories.
The nominal scale does not express any values or relationships
between variables.
The nominal scale is often referred to as a categorical scale.
The assigned numbers have no arithmetic properties and act
only as labels.The only statistical operation that can be
performed on nominal scales is a frequency count.We cannot
determine an average except mode.
For example: labeling men as ‘1’ and women as ‘2’ which is the
most common way of labeling gender for data recording
purpose does not mean women are ‘twice something or other’
than men. Nor it suggests that men are somehow ‘better’ than
women.

Ordinal Scale involves the ranking of items along the
continuum of the characteristic being scaled. In this scale, the
items are classified according to whether they have more or
less of a characteristic.
The main characteristic of the ordinal scale is that the
categories have a logical or ordered relationship.This type of
scale permits the measurement of degrees of
difference, (i.e. ‘more’ or ‘less’) but not the specific amount
of differences (i.e. how much ‘more’ or ‘less’).This scale is
very common
in marketing, satisfaction and attitudinal research.
Using ordinal scale data, we can perform statistical analysis
like Median and Mode, but not the Mean.
For example, a fast food home delivery shop may wish to ask
its customers:
How would you rate the service of our staff?
(1) Excellent • (2)VeryGood • (3)Good • (4) Poor • (5)Worst •

Interval Scale is a scale in which the numbers are used to
rank attributes such that numerically equal distances on the scale
represent equal distance in the characteristic being measured.An
interval scale contains all the information of an ordinal scale, but it
also one allows to compare the difference/distance between
attributes. Interval scales may be either in numeric or semantic
formats.
The interval scales allow the calculation of averages like
Mean, Median and Mode and dispersion like Range andStandard
Deviation.
For example, the difference between ‘1’ and ‘2’ is equal to
the difference between ‘3’ and ‘4’. Further, the difference between
‘2’ and ‘4’ is twice the difference between ‘1’ and ‘2’.
Measuring temperature is an example of interval scale. But, we
cannot say 40°C is twice as hot as 20°C.

Ratio Scale is the highest level of measurement scales.This
has the properties of an interval scale together with a fixed (absolute)
zero point.The absolute zero point allows us to construct a
meaningful ratio.
Ratio scales permit the researcher to compare both differences in
scores and relative magnitude of scores. Examples of ratio scales
include weights, lengths and times.
For example, the number of customers of a bank’s ATM in the last
three months is a ratio scale. This is because you can compare this
with previous three months.
For example, the difference between 10 and 15 minutes is the same as
the difference between 25 and 30 minutes and 30 minutes is twice as
long as 15 minutes

In comparative scaling, the respondent is asked to
compare one object with another.
The comparative scales can further be divided into the
following four types of scaling techniques:
(a) PairedComparisonScale,
(b) RankOrderScale,
(c) ConstantSumScale, and
(d) Q-sortScale.

This is a comparative scaling technique in which a
respondent is presented with two objects at a time and
asked to select one object according to some criterion.The
data obtained are ordinal in nature.
For example, there are four types of cold drinks -
Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, and Limca.The respondents can prefer
Pepsi toCoke orCoke toSprite, etc.

This is another type of comparative scaling technique in
which respondents are presented with several items
simultaneously and asked to rank them in the order of
priority.This is an ordinal scale that describes the
favoured and unfavoured objects, but does not reveal
the distance between the objects.
The resultant data in rank order is ordinal data.This
yields better results when direct comparison are
required between the given objects.
The major disadvantage of this technique is that only
ordinal data can be generated.

 In this scale, the respondents are asked to allocate a constant
sum of units such as points, rupees, or chips among a set of
stimulus objects with respect to some criterion.
 For example, you may wish to determine how important the
attributes of price, fragrance, packaging, cleaning power, and
lather of a detergent are to consumers. Respondents might be
asked to divide a constant sum to indicate the relative importance
of the attributes.
 The advantage of this technique is saving time. However,
main disadvantages are the respondents may allocate more
or fewer points than those specified. The second problem is
respondents might be confused.

This is a comparative scale that uses a rank order procedure to sort
objects based on similarity with respect to some criterion.The
important characteristic of this methodology is that it is more
important to make comparisons among different responses of a
respondent than the responses between different respondents.
Therefore, it is a comparative method of scaling rather than an
absolute rating scale. In this method the respondent is given
statements in a large number for describing the characteristics of a
product or a large number of brands of a product.

In non-comparative scaling respondents need only
evaluate a single object.Their evaluation is independent
of the other object which the researcher is studying.
The non-comparative scaling techniques can be further
divided into:
(a)Continuous Rating Scale, and
(b)Itemized RatingScale.

It is very simple and highly useful. In continuous rating scale, the
respondent’s rate the objects by placing a mark at the
appropriate position on a continuous line that runs from one
extreme of the criterion variable to the other.
Example :
Question: How would you rate theTV advertisement as a guide
for buying?

Itemised rating scales is further divided into three parts, namely
(a) Likert scale,
(b) Semantic Differential Scale, and
(c) StapelScale.

Likert, is extremely popular for measuring attitudes, because, the
method is simple to administer.With the Likert scale, the respondents
indicate their own attitudes by checking how strongly they agree or
disagree with carefully worded statements that range from very positive
to very negative towards the attitudinal
object. Respondents generally choose from five alternatives (say strongly
agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree).
A Likert scale may include a number of items or statements.
Disadvantage of Likert Scale is that it takes longer time to complete than
other itemised rating scales because respondents have to read each
statement.
Despite the above disadvantages, this scale has several advantages.
It is easy to construct, administer and use.

This is a seven point rating scale with end points associated with
bipolar labels (such as good and bad, complex and simple) that
have semantic meaning. It can be used to find whether a
respondent has a positive or negative attitude towards an object.
It has been widely used in comparing brands, products and
company images. It has also been used to develop advertising and
promotion strategies and in a new product development study.

The Stapel scale was originally developed to measure the
direction and intensity of an attitude simultaneously. Modern
versions of the Stapel scale place a single adjective as a substitute
for the Semantic differential when it is difficult to create pairs of
bipolar adjectives.The modified Stapel scale places a single
adjective in the centre of an even number of numericalValues.

A number of issues decide the choice of scaling technique. Some
significant issues are:
1) Problem Definition and StatisticalAnalysis,
2) The Choice between Comparative and Non-comparative
Scales,
3) Type ofCategory Labels,
4) Number ofCategories,
5) Balanced versusUnbalanced Scale, and
6) Forced versus Non-forcedCategories

There are four levels of measurements:
nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.
The measurement scales, commonly used in marketing
research, can be divided into two types; comparative and
non-comparative scales.
A number of scaling techniques are available for
measurement of attitudes.There is no unique way that you
can use to select a particular scaling technique for your
research study.

Ranking Scales vs. Rating Scales
Rating scales and ranking scales are important tools that, while seemingly
similar, serve very different learning outcomes. Here is how they work,
how they differ, and where they belong in your survey to get the best
feedback from your consumers.

What is a Rating Scale?
Rating scale questions are a variation of multiple choice. They
ask the respondent to assign a value to a particular object or
subject. Rating scales are close-ended questions that can help
you gain quantitative data – information you can measure, hard
facts. Rating scales allow you to collect data in a way that is
easier to analyze and use.
A Rating scale question is one that seeks respondent feedback in
a comparative form for specific features, products or service –
“on a scale of 1 to 7 where one means ‘not at all likely’ and seven
means ‘extremely likely,’ how likely are you to purchase the
product in the next 3 months?"

What is a Ranking Scale?
Ranking scales offer a different approach to gathering data—these
questions ask respondents to compare items to one another, rather than
rating them on a common scale. When trying to negotiate which items to
remove from your dessert menu, for example, you might ask customers
to rank the seven desserts you offer from their most favorite to least
favorite, giving you insight into customer preferences.

Ranking vs Rating: Which is better?
Ranking and rating scales each have their advantages. They also both have a
significant role in a survey. Neither question style can produce the best
results on its own.
The most accurate surveys combine both styles of questions, along with
open-ended questions. But getting the most out of your survey isn’t just
about knowing which type of question to use. It also requires knowing when
each style of question is appropriate.

Rating Pros and Cons
Rating scales are one of the most commonly used survey questions,
and for good reason; because rating questions are a variant of
multiple-choice, they are often clearer and simpler for respondents
to understand.
Rating scales are best to use when you want to measure the
performance of something or someone. Questions can vary widely.
How likely are you to recommend our products to a friend or colleague?
Rate your level of satisfaction with our customer service.
To what degree did our onboarding process positively impact your success
as an employee?

Ranking Pros and Cons
The weakness of the ranking scale is also its strength: It forces consumers to place
more importance on one item over another. There may be multiple items, however,
that consumers value equally. Ranking does not disclose that information.
If you are trying to determine how certain products compare alongside one
another, ranking is the perfect way to pose your question. Instead of only gauging
the level of satisfaction a consumer has in a single item, ranking allows you to see
the unique value of several different items together.

Scaling in research

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Scaling in research (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Scaling in research