research methodology lecture no : 10 ( measurement of variables/scales ) 1

Research Methodology

Lecture No : 10

(Measurement of Variables/Scales)

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Recap

• Measurement is necessary to give answers or to the research question , or to test our hypotheses.

• The opeationalizing of certain subjective variables are necessary for measurement.

• The abstract concepts are broken down to dimensions and its elements.

• Questions are formulated on them• Not to confuse dimensions with antecedents

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Scales and Measurement

• We have operationalized the concepts and converted them into dimensions and elements

• We also have attached questions with these elements against which we would collect some data.

• Each question needs to measured

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• Measurement is the process of assigning numbers or labels to objects, persons, states of nature, or events.

• Done according to set of rules that reflect qualities or quantities of what is being measured.

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• Measurement means that scales are used.

• Scales are a set of symbols or numbers, assigned by rule to individuals, their behaviors, or attributes associated with them

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Types of Scales

• Four types of scales are used in research, each with specific applications and properties. The scales are

• Nominal• Ordinal• Interval• Ratio

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• Nominal Scale:• Simply the Nominal scale is count of the objects

belonging to different categories.

• Ordinal Scale:• The ordinal scale positions objects in some order

• ( such as it indicates that pineapples are juicer then apples and oranges are even more juicer than pineapples)

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• Interval Scale:• It can gives us information as to what extent(level) one is

juicer than the other.

• How much better is the pineapple than the apple and orange is better than the pine apple.

• Is pine apple only marginally better than the apple .

• Ratio Scale:• It is most comprehensive scale, has all characteristics of

other scales. 8

Nominal Scales

• Nominal scales are used to classify objects, individuals, groups, or even phenomena.

• Examples of nominal variables:– Gender– State of residence– Country – Ethnicity

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• Nominal scales are mutually exclusive• (meaning that those items being classified will fit

into one classification).

• These scales are also collectively exhaustive, (meaning that every element being classified can fit into the scale).

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• As it might appear on a questionnaire, examples of nominally scaled questions included:

– What is your class rank at CIIT? 1. Freshman 3. Junior2. Sophomore 4. Senior

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– The numbers themselves do not have meaning (we could have used letters, too),

– They are used just to identify the possible responses to the question.

– Thus, in evaluating responses to this you cannot use the mean.

– Permitted statistics; frequencies (% and counts, modes )

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Nominal scale is always used for obtaining personal data such as gender or department in which one works, where grouping of individuals or objects is useful, as shown below.

1. Your gender 2. Your department___Male ___Production

___Female ___Sales___Accounting___Finance___Personnel___R & D

___Other (specify)

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Ordinal Scales

• These scales allow for labeling (or categorization) as in nominal scales, but they also allow for ranking.

• Example: Rate these vacation destinations in terms of how much you would like to visit from one to five with one your most preferred and five your least preferred.1. Bermuda2. Florida3. Hawaii4. Aspen5. London

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• This type of scale can provide information about some item having more or less of an attribute than others, but no information on the degree of this.

• Permitted statistics: Frequencies, median, mode

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Ordinal scale is used to rank the preferences or usage of various brands of a product by the individuals and to ranks order individuals, objects, or events as per the examples below.

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• Rank the following personnel computers with respect their usage in your office, assigning the number 1 to the most used system, 2 to the next most used, and so on. If a particular system is not used at all, in your office, put a 0 next to it.

____Apple ____Hewlett Packard

____Compaq ____IBM____Comp USA ____Packard Bell____Dell Computer

____Sony____Gateway ____Toshiba

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Interval Scales

• Contains the information available in ordinal scales (ranking) but with the added benefit of magnitude of ranking.

• Interval scales have equal distances between the points of a scale.

• These scales can contain a zero point, but they are subjective and are not meaningful (0° C = 32° F). Temperature is an example of a interval scale

• Permitted statistics; mean, median, mode, as well as more advanced tests.

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On a scale of one to five, with five meaning you strongly agree, and one meaning you strongly disagree consider this statement ‘I believe my college education has prepared me well to begin my career’.

1 2 3 4 5

Strongly disagree

Somewhat

disagree

NeitherSomewhat

agreeStrongly

agree

Ratio Scale

• The most comprehensive scale• Has all of the characteristics of the other three with the

additional benefit of an absolute, meaningful zero point.• Examples include:

– Weight– Sales volume– Income– Age

• Permitted statistics same as with interval data.

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• A ratio variable, has all the properties of an interval variable, and also has a clear definition of 0.0. When the variable equals 0.0, there is none of that variable. Variables like height, weight, enzyme activity are ratio variables.

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• Temperature, expressed in F or C, is not a ratio variable. A temperature of 0.0 on either of those scales does not mean 'no temperature'.

• However, temperature in Kelvin is a ratio variable, as 0.0 Kelvin really does mean 'no temperature'.

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• Ratio scales are usually used in organization research when exact numbers on objective as opposed to subjective factors are called for, as in

the following question:

• How many other organizations did you work for before Date joining this system?

• Please indicate the number of children you have in each of the following categories?

---- below 3 years---- between 3 and 6---- over 6 years but under 12---- 12 years and over

• How many retail outlets do you operate?

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Comparison between scales

• The researcher would like to know what is the percentage of people who like Pepsi, 7up, Coke, Miranda?

• Choose the soft Drink you want to order.Pepsi7UpCokeMarinda

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• The researcher would like to know among the 4 soft dinks which they prefer the most ,assigning 1 to most and 4 to the least

Pepsi7UpCokeMarinda

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• The researcher would like to know what extent the 4 drinks are liked

• On a scale of one to five, with five meaning you strongly like, and one meaning you strongly dislike consider this statement ‘I like/dislike this soft drink ’.

• Pepsi 1 2 3 4 5• Coke 1 2 3 4 5• 7up 1 2 3 4 5• Marinda 1 2 3 4 5

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• The researcher would like to know how many Pepsi , Mrindia , etc you consume in a month

Pepsi: _____7Up: _____Coke: _____Marinda:_____

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Very badBadNeither good nor badGoodVery good

PoorFairGoodVery goodExcellent

How good a car is Honda?

Balanced or Unbalanced

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Very badBadNeither good nor badGoodVery good

Very badBadNeither good nor badGoodVery goodNo opinionDon’t know

Forced or Unforced Choices

How good a car is Honda?

Rating Scales

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I plan to purchase a laptop in the 12 months.

YesNo

Simple Category (Dichotomous) Scale

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What newspaper do you read most often for financial news?

East City GazetteWest City TribuneRegional newspaperNational newspaperOther (specify:_____________)

Multiple-Choice, Single Response Scale

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What sources did you use when designing your new home? Please check all that apply.

Online planning servicesMagazinesIndependent contractor/builderDesignerArchitectOther (specify:_____________)

Multiple-Choice, Multiple Response Scale

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The Internet is superior to traditional libraries for comprehensive searches.

Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeither agree nor disagreeAgreeStrongly agree

Likert Scale

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Semantic Differential

A measure of attitudes that consists of a series of seven-point rating scales that use bipolar adjectives to anchor the beginning and end of

each scale.

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Numerical Scale

An attitude rating scale similar to a semantic differential except that it uses numbers, instead of verbal descriptions, as response options to identify

response positions.

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Stapel Scales

A measure of attitudes that consists of a single adjective in the center of an even number of numerical values.

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Constant-Sum Scales

A measure of attitudes in which respondents are asked to divide a constant sum to indicate the relative importance of attributes; respondents often sort

cards, but the task may also be a rating task.

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Graphic Rating Scales

A measure of attitude that allows respondents to rate an object by choosing any point along a graphic continuum.