Business Research Methods 9e

Zikmund
Babin
Carr
13
Measurement and
Griffin
Scaling Concepts
Chapter 13
Measurement and Scaling
Concepts

©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May

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 Operational Definitions***
• Operationalization
• The process of identifying scales that correspond to variance in
a concept involved in a research process.
• Scales
• A device providing a range of values that correspond to
different characteristics or amounts of a characteristic
exhibited in observing a concept.
• Correspondence rules
• Indicate the way that a certain value on a scale corresponds to
some true value of a concept.
• Constructs
• Concepts measured with multiple variables.

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 Levels of Scale Measurement***
• Nominal
• Assigns a value to an object for identification or
classification purposes.
• Most elementary level of measurement.
• Ordinal
• Ranking scales allowing things to be arranged
based on how much of some concept they
possible.
• Have nominal properties.

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 Levels of Scale Measurement (cont’d)
• Interval
• Capture information about differences in
quantities of a concept.
• Have both nominal and ordinal properties.
• Ratio
• Highest form of measurement.
• Have all the properties of interval scales with
the additional attribute of representing
absolute quantities.
• Absolute zero.

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 Mathematical and Statistical Analysis of
Scales
• Discrete Measures
• Measures that can take on only one of a
finite number of values.
• Continuous Measures
• Measures that reflect the intensity of a
concept by assigning values that can take on
any value along some scale range.

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 Three Criteria for Good Measurement

Reliability Validity

Good
Measurement

Sensitivity

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 Reliability
• Reliability
• The degree to which measures are free from random
error and therefore yield consistent results.
• An indicator of a measure’s internal consistency.
• Internal Consistency
• Represents a measure’s homogeneity or the extent to
which each indicator of a concept converges on some
common meaning.
• Measured by correlating scores on subsets of items
making up a scale.

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 Internal Consistency
• Split-half Method
• Assessing internal consistency by checking the
results of one-half of a set of scaled items
against the results from the other half.
• Coefficient alpha (α)
=> CRONBACH ALPHA ≥ 0.70
• The most commonly applied estimate of a
multiple item scale’s reliability.
• Represents the average of all possible split-half
reliabilities for a construct.

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 Test-Retest Reliability
• Test-retest Method
• Administering the same scale or measure to
the same respondents at two separate points
in time to test for stability.
• Represents a measure’s repeatability.
• Problems:
• The pre-measure, or first measure, may
sensitize the respondents and subsequently
influence the results of the second measure.
• Time effects that produce changes in attitude
or other maturation of the subjects.

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 Validity
• Validity
• The accuracy of a measure or the extent to which a
score truthfully represents a concept.
◗ Does a scale measure what was intended to be
measured?
• Establishing Validity:
• Is there a consensus that the scale measures what
it is supposed to measure?
• Does the measure correlate with other measures
of the same concept?
• Does the behavior expected from the measure
predict actual observed behavior?

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 Validity (cont’d)
• Face Validity
• A scale’s content logically appears to reflect what was intended to
be measured.
• Content Validity
• The degree that a measure covers the breadth of the domain of
interest.
• Criterion Validity
• The ability of a measure to correlate with other standard
measures of similar constructs or established criteria.
• Construct Validity
• Exists when a measure reliably measures and truthfully represents
a unique concept.

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 Validity (cont’d)
• Convergent Validity
• Another way of expressing internal consistency;
highly reliable scales contain convergent
validity.
• Discriminant Validity
• Represents how unique or distinct is a
measure; a scale should not correlate too
highly with a measure of a different construct.

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 EXHIBIT 13.7 Reliability and Validity on Target

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 Sensitivity
• Sensitivity
• A measurement instrument’s ability to
accurately measure variability in stimuli or
responses.
• Generally increased by adding more response
points or adding scale items.

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