scaling and attitude

8/7/2019 scaling and attitude

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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 1

RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

(Business Research Methods)

Week 9


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Measurement and Scaling (1) In business research, measurement of variables is aindispensable requirement

Problem Defining what is to be measured, and how it isto be accurately and reliably measured

Some things (or concepts) which are inherently abstractin their nature (e.g. job satisfaction, employee morale,

brand loyalty of consumers) are more difficult to measurethan concepts which can be assigned numerical values(e.g. sales volume for employees X, Y and Z)


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Measurement and Scaling (2) In order for a concept to have the quality of beingmeasurable, it must first be made operational

An operation definition may be defined as a definition

that gives meaning to concept by specifying the activitiesor operations which are necessary in order to measure it

Example A satisfied consumer will make at least fivepurchases of Product A from Shop T over a three-month

period of time

Note that sometimes depending on the context of theresearch study - it may be difficult to make operationaldefinitions


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Measurement and Scaling (3) A scale is basically a continuous spectrum or series of

categories and has been defined as any series of items

that are arranged progressively according to value or

magnitude, into which an item can be placed accordingto its quantification

Four popular scales in business research are:

Nominal scales

Ordinal scales

Interval scales

Ratio scales


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Measurement and Scaling (4) A nominal scale is the simplest of the four scale types

and in which the numbers or letters assigned to objects

serve as labels for identification or classification

Example:

Males = 1, Females = 2

Sales Zone A =Islamabad, Sales Zone B = Rawalpindi

Drink A = Pepsi Cola, Drink B = 7-Up, Drink C = Miranda


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Measurement and Scaling (6) An interval scale is a scale that not only arranges objectsor alternatives according to their respective magnitudes,but also distinguishes this ordered arrangement in unitsof equal intervals (i.e. interval scales indicate order (as inordinal scales) and also the distance in the order)

Examples:

Consumer Price Index

Temperature Scale in Fahrenheit

Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences ofmagnitude (e.g. of attitudes) but do not allow determinations ofthe actual strength of the magnitude


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Measurement and Scaling (7) A ratio scale is a scale that possesses absolute ratherthan relative qualities and has an absolute zero.

Examples: Money

Weight

Distance

Temperature on the Kelvin Scale

Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences ofmagnitude (e.g. of attitudes) as well as determinations of theactual strength of the magnitude


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Measurement and Scaling (8)

Type of Scale Numerical Operation Descriptive Statistics

Nominal Counting Frequency in each

category, percentage ineach category, mode

Ordinal Rank Ordering Median, range,

percentile ranking

Interval Arithmetic Operations on

Intervals between

numbers

Mean, standard

deviation, variance

Ratio Arithmetic Operations on

actual quantities

Geometric mean,

coefficient of variation


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Index Measures If a concept is simple, it can be measured easily usually

with one question or observation

Example: To what extent do consumers of Product X like theproducts packaging material? (very much, somewhat, not at all)

If, however, the concept to be measured is complex andabstract, two or more questions or observations may berequired in order to get accurate data

Example: The level of a salespersons motivation depends on (1)job satisfaction (2) workplace environment (3) family life

Indexes (or composite measures) are meant to deal with the issue

of multidimensionalty (e.g. an index of social class may be the

variables residence, occupation and education)


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Criteria for Good Measurement (1)

Reliability Reliability is the degree to whichmeasurements are devoid of error and therefore in theposition to yield consistent results, also over repeatedattempts over time (ordinal measures always yield thesame order, interval measurements always yield the

same order and same distance between the measureditems)

Validity Validity is the ability of a scale or measuringinstrument to measure what it is intended to measure(e.g. is absenteeism from work a valid measure of jobsatisfaction or are there other influences like a fluepidemic which is keeping employees from work)


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Criteria for Good Measurement (2)

Sensitivity Sensitivity is the ability of a measurementinstrument to accurately measure variability in stimuli orresponses (e.g. on a scale, the choices very stronglyagree, strongly agree, agree, dont agree offer morechoices than a scale with just two choices - agree and

dont agree and is thus more sensitive)


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Attitude Measuring Attitude is a frequent undertaking in business

research

Attitude may be defined as an enduring disposition toconsistently respond in a given manner to variousaspects

Attitude has three dimensions:

Affective

Component

Cognitive

Component

Behavioural

Component


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Components of Attitude

Affective Component Reflective of a personsgeneral feelings or emotions towards an objector subject (like, dislike, love, hate)

Cognitive Component Reflective of a personsawareness of and knowledge about an object orsubject (know, believe)

Behavioural Component Reflective of apersons intentions and behaviouralexpectations, and predisposition to action


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Measuring Attitude

It can be difficult to measure attitude, therefore,indicators such as verbal expression,physiological measurement techniques and

overt behaviour are used for this purpose. Thethree different components of attitude mayrequire different measuring techniques

Common techniques used in business researchto determine attitude include rating, ranking,sorting and the choice technique


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Rating Techniques to Measure

Attitude Rating Scales are frequently employed in business research for

measuring attitude, and many scales have been developed for thispurpose, including:

Simple Attitude Scales

Category Scales

Likert Scale

Semantic Differential

Numerical Scales Constant-Sum Scale

Stapel Scale

Graphic Scales


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Simple Attitude Scales

In attitude scaling, individuals are typically asked

whether they agree or disagree with a question (or

questions) put to them, or they are asked to respond to a

question or questions

Simple attitude scales have the properties of a nominal

scale and the disadvantages that go with it, also, they do

not permit fine distinctions in the respondents answers

because their choice of answers is limited, but they canbe useful in instances where the respondents education

level is low and questionnaires lengthy


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Category Scales

A category scale consists of severalresponse categories to provide therespondent with alternative ratings

Category scales are more sensitive thanrating scales which allow only two answer

categories (because of the larger numberof choices), and thus provides more dataand information (see text example)


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The Likert Scale

A likert Scale is a measure of attitudes designed to allowrespondents to indicate how strongly they agree ordisagree with carefully constructed statements thatrange from very positive to very negative towards an

object or subject

The number of alternatives on the Likert scale can vary,often five alternatives are foreseen (see text bookexamples)

A Likert Scale may include a number of question items,each covering some aspect of the respondents attitude,and these items collectively form an an index


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The Semantic Differential

The semantic differential is an attitudemeasuring technique that which consists of aseries of seven bi-polar rating scales whichallow response to a concept (e.g. organization,

product, service, job)

See text book example

An advantage of the semantic differential is itsversatility, on the other hand, it uses extremeswhich may influence respondents answers


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Other Scales

Numerical Scales

Constant-Sum Scals

Stapel Scales

Graphic Rating Scales

For practical examples, see text book


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Measuring Behavioral Intentions

Behavioural intentions relate to will, shall or mayquestions:

Examples:

Iwill purchase Product X I shall change my job from 1st January 2006

I may participate in Training Workshop Z

The Behavioural Differential: This is an instrument formeasuring the behavioural intentions of subjects towards anobject or category of objects. Example:

A Housewife

Would ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ Would Not

Purchase this laundry detergent

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