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

• PEOPLE’S 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

INVESTIGATED

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

CONTINUUM ON WHICH 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

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

ORIGINA 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 DESCRIPTIONPROPERTY

• 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, AGREE-

DISAGREE

• 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. SONY

II. VIDEOCON

III. SAMSUNG

IV. LG

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT

―Youth prefers branded clothes‖?

AGREE DISAGREE

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING

SUPERMARKETS HAVE YOU SHOPPED IN

THE LAST 30 DAYS?

I. EBONY

II. STAR MALL

III. SAB MALL

IV. SHIPRA

V. SAHARA MALL

DO YOU LIKE OR DISLIKE

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM?

I. LIKE

II. DISLIKE

ORDINAL SCALEAN 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 SCALETHE 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 ONI. SONY

II. VIDEOCON

III. SAMSUNG

IV. LG

V. BPL

VI. 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 RATING (CIRCLE ONE)

• VERY POOR

VERY GOOD

MONT BLANC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

PARKER

CROSS

INDICATE YOUR DEGREE OF AGREEMENT WITH

FOLLOWING STATEMENTS BY CIRCLING THE

APPROPRIATE NUMBER

• STATEMENT STRONGLY STRONGLY

• AGREE DISAGREE

• I ALWAYS LOOK FOR BARGAINS 1 2 3 4 5

• I ENJOY BEING OUT DOORS 1 2 3 4 5

• I LOVE TO COOK 1 2 3 4 5

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 LAWYER’S

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 RESPONDENT’S LIKING OF

SOFTDRINKS WITH SCALES

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOFT DRINKS ON THE

FOLLOWING LIST DO YOU LIKE? CHECK ALL THAT APPLY

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

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 DISLIKE LIKE LIKE A LOT

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

COKE

THUMS UP

MOUNTAIN DEW

PEPSI

SEVEN UP

SPRTIE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCALES AND SCALING PROPERTIES

SCALING PROPERTIES

SCALE DESCRIPTION ORDER DISTANCE ORIGIN

NOMINAL YES NO NO NO

ORDINAL YES YES NO NO

INTERVAL YES YES YES NO

RATIO YES YES YES YES

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)

SCALE AND TYPE OF STATISTICAL

TECHNIQUES SCALE BASIC

CHARACTERISTICS MARKETING

EXAMPLES

PERMISSIBLE STATISTICS

DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

NOMINAL NUMBERS

IDENTIFY AND

CLASSIFY

OBJECTS

BRAND

NUMBERS,

STORE TYPES

PERCENTAGES Chi-SQUARE

MODE BINOMIAL TEST

ORDINAL NUMBERS

INDICATE THE

RELATIVE

POSITIONS OF

THE OBJECTS

BUT NOT THE

MAGNITUDE OF

DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN THEM

PREFERENCE

RANKINGS,

MARKET

POSITION,

SOCIAL

CLASS

PREFERENCE

FOR BRANDS

DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

PERCENTILE, RANK ORDER

CORRELATION

FRIEDMAN

ANOVA

MEDIAN

INTERVAL DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN THE

OBJECTS CAN

BE COMPARED;

ZERO POINT IS

ARBITRARY

ATTITUDES, OPTIONS,

INDEX NUMBERS

ATTITUDES TOWARDS

BRANDS

GRADE POINT

AVERAGE

DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

RANGE PRODUCT

MOMENT-

CORRELATIONS

MEAN t TESTS

STANDARD

DEVIATIONS ANOVA

REGRESSION

ANALYSIS

FACTOR ANALYSIS

RATIO ZERO POINT IS FIXED;

RATIOS OF SCALE VALUES

CAN BE COMPUTED

AGE,

INCOME,

COSTS,

SALES,

MARKET

SHARES

NO. OF

PURCHASES

PROBABILITY

OF PURCHASE

DESCRIPTIVE INFERENTIAL

GEOMETRIC

MEAN COEFFICIENT

OF VARIATION

HARMONIC MEAN

THE SCALING TECHNIQUES

• THE COMPARATIVE SCALES

• THE NON – COMPARATIVE SCALES

THE COMPARATIVE SCALESCOMPARATIVE 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 PRE-

SELECTED 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 SALESPERSON’S 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 b. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

a. TRUST b. PERSONAL SOCIAL SKILLS

a. COMPETENCE b. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

a. COMPETENCE 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 RANK ORDER

COLGATE ________

CREST ________

AIM ________

CLOSE-UP ________

PEPSODENT ________

ULTRA BRITE ________

PLUS WHITE ________

STRIPE ________

GLEEM ________

MACLEANS ________

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. LIKERT SCALE

II. SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE

III. STAPEL SCALE

IV. 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

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

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

VERSION 3

VERY BAD NEITHER VERY GOOD

GOOD NOR

BAD

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

PERSON’S 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

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 UNKNOWLEDGEABLE

EXPERT NOT AN EXPERT

SKILLED UNSKILLED

QUALIFIED UNQUALIFIED

EXPERIENCED INEXPERIENCED

TRUST WORTHINESS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

RELIABLE UNRELIABLE

SINCERE INSINCERE

TRUSTWORTHY UNTRUSTWORTHY

DEPENDABLE UNDEPENDABLE

HONEST DISHONEST

ATTRACTIVENESS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SEXY NOT SEXY

BEAUTIFUL UGLY

ATTRACTIVE UNATTRACTIVE

CLASSY NOT CLASSY

ELEGANT PLAIN

EXAMPLE:

A SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE

FOR MEASURING

• SELF CONCEPTS

• PERSON CONCEPTS

• PRODUCT CONCEPTS

RUGGED DELICATE

EXCITABLE CALM

UNCOMFORTABLE COMFORTABLE

DOMINATING SUBMISSIVE

THRIFTY INDULGENT

PLEASANT UNPLEASANT

CONTEMPORARY NON-CONTEMPORARY

ORGANIZED NO-ORGANIZED

RATIONAL EMOTIONAL

YOUTHFUL MATURE

FORMAL INFORMAL

ORTHODOX LIBERAL

COMPLEX SIMPLE

COLORLESS COLORFUL

MODEST VAIN

EXAMPLE Contd…

INDICATE YOUR IMPRESSION OF

BUKHARA RESTAURANT BY

CHECKING THE LINE

CORRESPONDING TO YOUR OPINION

FOR EACH PAIR OF DESCRIPTORS

Convenient location inconvenient location

High prices low prices

For me not for me

Warm atmosphere cold atmosphere

Wide menu limited menu

Fast service slow service

High quality food low quality food

A special place 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 IA’S FLYERS

EXAMPLE:

THE QUALITY OF FOOD

CHECK IN FACILITIES

CABIN CREW’S 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 IA’S 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 Store’s 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. 80–87. Reprinted by permission of the American Marketing Association.

EXAMPLE:

APPLICATION OF STAPEL SCALE FOR THE RETAIL STORE

IMAGE STUDY

+5 +5 +5

+4 +4 +4

+3 +3 +3

+2 +2 +2

+1 +1 +1

WIDE LESSER HIGH

SELECTION 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_____