BRM UNIT 3

Scaling and Measurement Technique

 MEASUREMENT IN RESEARCH
In our daily life we are said to measure when we use some
yardstick to determine weight, height, or some other feature of
a physical object. We also measure when we judge how well
we like a song, a painting or the personalities of our friends.
We, thus, measure physical objects as well as abstract concepts.
Measurement is a relatively complex and demanding task,
especially so when it concerns qualitative or abstract
phenomena. By measurement we mean the process of assigning
numbers to objects or observations, the level of measurement
being a function of the rules under which the numbers are
assigned.
Four kinds of scale of measurement are important for
quantifying variables in the behavioral sciences:
1. Nominal Scale
2. Ordinal Scale
 Nominal Scale
This type of scale allows a researcher to classify characteristics of
the persons, places or objects into categories.
It is simply a system of assigning of number symbols to events in
order to label them.
Example: Assignment of numbers to basketball players to identify
them and as such , the numbers have no quantitative value.
Sometimes variables measured on nominal scales are called
categorical or qualitative.
Examples:
Group membership (1 = Experimental, 2=Placebo )
A person’s gender (0 = Female, 1 = Male)
Blood type, marital status, religion
Characteristics of Nominal Scale:
The weakest or least powerful level of measurement
Indicates no order or distance relationship and has no arithmetic
origin
Simply describes differences between things by assigning them
 Ordinal Scale

In this case, the characteristics can be put into

categories and the categories also can be ordered in
some meaningful way. The distance between the
categories, however, is unknown.
A student’s rank in his class involves use of this scale.
Permits the ranking of items from highest to lowest but
the real difference between adjacent ranks may not be
equal.
Implies a statement of ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’
without our being able to state how much greater or
less.
Median can be used as the measure of central
 Interval Scale

Numbers are assigned to objects or events which

can be categorized, ordered and assumed to have an
equal distance between scale values.
It has an arbitrary zero, but it lacks true zero or
absolute zero.
It does not have the capacity to measure the complete
absence of a trait or characteristic.
Example: Fahrenheit or centigrade scale of
temperature
Addition and subtraction are permissible, but not
multiplication and division
Characteristics
More powerful measurement than ordinal scale as
 Ratio Scale
The most precise level of
measurement consists of meaningfully
ordered characteristics with equal
intervals between them and the
presence of a zero point that is not
arbitrary but determined by nature.
For example, the zero point on a
centimeter scale indicates complete
absence of length or height, but
absolute zero of temperature is
Reliability-
Measurement is said to be reliable when it give consistent results. i.e.
when repeated measurements of same things give constant results.
Reliability is the extent to which the same finding will be obtained if the
research is repeated at another time by another researcher. If the same
finding can be obtained again, the instrument is consistent or reliable.
Reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same
individuals when reexamined with test on different occasions, or with
different sets of equivalent items, or under variable examining
conditions.
Methods of estimating reliability coefficient
Test-retest method:
Single form of test is administered twice on the same sample with a
reasonable time gap.
It yields two independent sets of scores and the correlation between
them gives the value of reliability coefficient which is also known
as temporal stability coefficient.
Methods of estimating reliability coefficient
 Test is divided into two halves, say, one set contains odd numbered items
and another contains even numbered items.
A single administration of the two sets of items to a sample of respondents
yields two sets of scores. A positive and significant correlation indicates
that the test is reliable.
The advantage is that data necessary for computation of the reliability
coefficient are obtained in a single administration of the test, and hence
variability produced by two administrations is automatically eliminated.
Validity of measurement
Validity of the measuring instrument is the degree or the extent to which it
measures what it is supposed to measure.
The term validity means truth or fidelity. It can be defined as the accuracy with
which it measures that which is intended to measure.
Validity is epitomized by the question: ‘Are we measuring what we think we
are measuring?’ This is very difficult to assess. The following questions are
typical of those asked to assess validity issues:
Has the researcher gained the full access to the knowledge and
meanings of informants?
Would experienced researcher use the same questions or methods?
A good measure must not only be reliable, but also valid.
A valid measure measures what it is intended to measure.
Content validity
When the content of items individually and as a whole are relevant to
the test, it represents content validity.
It requires both:
Item validity: concerned with whether the test items represent
measurement in the contended area, and
Sampling validity: concerned with the extent to which the test
samples the total content area.
Concurrent validity
In this method, a test is correlated with a criterion which is available at
present time.
It means how well performance on a test estimates current performance
on some valued measure (criterion).
e.g. test of dictionary skills can estimate students’ current skills in the
actual use of dictionary – observation.
e.g. the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is valid to the extent that it
distinguishes between students that do well in college versus those
that do not.
Predictive validity
It is the degree to which a measure predicts a second future measure.
A test is correlated against the criterion to be made available sometimes in
future.
Predictive Criterion Validity = how well performance on a test predicts future
performance on some valued measure (criterion)?
e.g. reading readiness test might be used to predict students’ achievement in
reading.
Predictive validity is needed for tests which include long range forecast of
academic achievement, industrial management etc.
Construct validity
It is the extent to which the test may be said to measure a theoretical construct
or trait.
A construct is a non-observable trait such as intelligence, motivation etc.
Construct validation is a more complex and difficult process than content
validation and criterion validation..
Construct validity is computed only when the scope for investigating criterion
related validity or content validity is bleak.
Practicability
From the operational point of view, the measuring instrument ought have:
 Measurement and Scaling
Measurement means assigning numbers or other symbols to characteristics
of objects according to certain pre-specified rules.
One-to-one correspondence between the numbers and the
characteristics being measured.
The rules for assigning numbers should be standardized and applied
uniformly.
Rules must not change over objects or time.
Scale Characteristics
Description
By description, we mean the unique labels or descriptors that are used to
designate each value of the scale. All scales possess description.
Order
By order, we mean the relative sizes or positions of the descriptors. Order
is denoted by descriptors such as greater than, less than, and equal to.
Scale Characteristics
Distance
The characteristic of distance means that absolute differences between the
scale descriptors are known and may be expressed in units.
A Comparison of Scaling Techniques
Comparative scales involve the direct comparison of
stimulus objects. Comparative scale data must be
interpreted in relative terms and have only ordinal or
rank order properties.

In noncomparative scales, each object is scaled

independently of the others in the stimulus set. The
resulting data are generally assumed to be interval or
ratio scaled.
Relative Advantages of Comparative Scales
Small differences between stimulus objects can be
detected.
 Comparative Scaling Techniques
Rank Order Scaling
Respondents are presented with several objects simultaneously and asked to order or rank them according
to some criterion.
It is possible that the respondent may dislike the brand ranked 1 in an absolute sense.
Furthermore, rank order scaling also results in ordinal data.
 Likert scale
The respondents are given a certain number of items
(statements) on which they are asked to express their
degree of agreement/disagreement.
This is also called a summated scale because the
scores on individual items can be added together to
produce a total score for the respondent.
An assumption of the Likert scale is that each of the
items (statements) measures some aspect of a single
common factor, otherwise the scores on the items
cannot legitimately be summed up.
In a typical research study, there are generally 25 to
30 items on a Likert scale.
Semantic Differential Scale
This scale is widely used to compare the images of
competing brands, companies or services.
Here the respondent is required to rate each attitude or
object on a number of five-or seven-point rating
scales.
This scale is bounded at each end by bipolar
adjectives or phrases.
The difference between Likert and Semantic
differential scale is that in Likert scale, a number of
statements (items) are presented to the respondents to
express their degree of agreement/disagreement.