TYBA CORE : 8

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Likert Scale
• Agreement (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly
Agree)
• Likelihood (Very Likely, Likely, Neutral, Unlikely, Very Unlikely)
• Satisfaction (Very unsatisfied, Unsatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very
Satisfied)
• Importance (Very important, Important, Moderately Important, Low
Importance, Not important at all)
• Frequency (Very Frequently, Frequently, Occasionally, Rarely, Never)
• Quality (Very Poor, Below Average, Average, Above Average,
Excellent)
• Thurstone Scale a

• • The Thurstone scale is made up of statements about a particular

• issue.
• • Each statement has numerical value indicating the respondent’s
• attitude about the issue, either favorable or unfavorable.
• • People indicate with which of the statements they agree on an 11-
• point response format (1 very negative to 11 very positive).
• Visual Analogue Scale

• Scadding GK, Smith PK, Blaiss M, Roberts G, Hellings PW, Gevaert P,

Mc Donald M, Sih T, Halken S, Zieglmayer PU, Schmid-Grendelmeier
P,
• Valovirta E, Pawankar R and Wahn U (2021) Allergic Rhinitis in
Childhood and the New EUFOREA Algorithm. Front. Allergy 2:706589.
doi:
 WHAT IS RESEARCH ?

• Research is defined as a diligent search for new knowledge .

• It is a critical examination of a given phenomenon and involves an
exhaustive study, investigation or experimentation following a logical
process.
• Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use
of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate
new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This could include
synthesis and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads
to new and creative outcomes.
 What is Research ?
• Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the
stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization, and
analysis of information to increase understanding of a topic or issue.
A research project may be an expansion on past work in the field.
• Research is defined as careful consideration of study regarding a
particular concern or problem using scientific methods.
• Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and
control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and
deductive methods.
• What's the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning?
• Inductive reasoning is a bottom-up approach, while deductive
reasoning is top-down.
• Inductive reasoning takes you from the specific to the general, while
in deductive reasoning, you make inferences by going from general
premises to specific conclusions.
 • According to Clifford Woody
“ Research comprises defining and refining problems, formulating
hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and
evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions and at
last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit
the formulating hypothesis”.
 Objective of Research
• The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of
scientific procedures.
• The main aim o research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not
been discovered as yet.
• GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to or to achieve new insight into it.
( studies with this object in view are termed as Exploratory or Formulative research
studies).
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group.
( studies with this object in view are known as Descriptive research studies)
3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else ( studies with this object in view are known as Diagnostic
research studied ).
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables ( such studies are
known as Hypothesis –testing research studies )
 CHARACTRISTICS OF RESEARCH
• Good research follows a systematic approach to capture accurate
data. Researchers need to practice ethics and a code of conduct while
making observations or drawing conclusions.
• The analysis is based on logical reasoning and involves both inductive
and deductive methods.
• Real-time data and knowledge is derived from actual observations in
natural settings.
• There is an in-depth analysis of all data collected so that there are no
anomalies associated with it.
• It creates a path for generating new questions. Existing data helps
create more research opportunities.
• It is analytical and uses all the available data so that there is no
ambiguity in inference.
• Accuracy is one of the most critical aspects of research. The
information must be accurate and correct. For example, laboratories
provide a controlled environment to collect data. Accuracy is
measured in the instruments used, the calibrations of instruments or
tools, and the experiment’s final result.
 PURPOSES OF RESEARCH
• Exploratory: As the name suggests, researchers conduct exploratory
studies to explore a group of questions. The answers and analytics may not
offer a conclusion to the perceived problem. It is undertaken to handle new
problem areas that haven’t been explored before. This exploratory process
lays the foundation for more conclusive data collection and analysis.
• Descriptive: It focuses on expanding knowledge on current issues through
a process of data collection. Descriptive studies describe the behavior of a
sample population. Only one variable is required to conduct the study. The
three primary purposes of descriptive studies are describing, explaining,
and validating the findings.
• Explanatory: Causal or explanatory research is conducted to understand
the impact of specific changes in existing standard procedures. Running
experiments is the most popular form.
 STEPS IN RESEARCH
• Problem Identification
• Review of Available Literature
• Problem Formulation
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Deciding the Methodology
• Sample Selection and preparation of tools of data collection
• Collecting the data
• Analyzing and interpreting the data
• Writing the research report
Stages in the Research Process

Define
Problem

Planning a Conclusions
Research Design and Report

Sampli
Planning ng Processing and
a Sample Analysing the Data

Gathering
the Data
 Collecting the data

❖ The task of data collection begins after a research problem has been
defined and research design/plan chalked out.
❖ While deciding about the method of data collection to be used for study,
the researcher should keep in mind two types of data, primary and
secondary data.
❖ The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first
time, and thus happen to be original in character.
❖ The secondary data, on the other hand, are those which have been
collected by someone else and which have been passed through the
statistical process.
❖ The researcher would have to decide which sort of data he would be using
for his study and accordingly he will have to select one or the other method
of data collection.
Importance of data collection
• Data collection is a scientific process.
• It is useful in social sciences for comparative study.
• It can be useful and helpful to solve research problems in social
sciences scientifically.
• It gives an opportunity to observe human behavior and social
behavior.
• It helps to suggest some ways of behavior modifications.
 UNIT III TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION-
Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
QUANTITATIVE METHODS :
•Rating Scales
•Tests
•Questionnaires
•Inventories
•Interview techniques
•Observation techniques
•Checklists
 RATING SCALES
• Rating scale is a technique to assess both actual behavior as well as
remembered behavior.
• A rating scale is defined as a technique through which the observer or rater
categorizes the objects, events, or persons on a continuum, represented
by a series of continuous numerals.
• The purpose of a rating scale is to know what kind of impressions the
objects or persons have made upon the raters.
• A rating scale usually has two, three, five, seven ,nine or elven points on a
line with descriptive categories at both the ends followed sometimes with
a descriptive category in the middle of the continuum, too.
• Rating scale is a scale based on personal judgements, seeks to obtain an
evaluation or a Quantitative judgement of personality, group, or
institutional characteristics.
• Rating scales can be structured or unstructured. Structured rating
scales have specific criteria or descriptions for each rating level.
z
Unstructured rating scales allow the rater to provide their own
descriptions or criteria for each level.
• The choice of rating scale depends on the purpose of the evaluation
and the information needed from the evaluation.
• The rating scale can be customized for performance evaluations or
customer satisfaction surveys, to feet the needs of the assessment.
• Rating scales are widely used in research studies to measure people’s
attitudes toward a variety of subject, including political issues, social
problems, health behaviors, and consumer products.
• The data collected from rating scales can provide valuable insights
into people’s beliefs,perceptios and intentions and can be used to
develop effective interventions or communication strategies.
• The rating scale has two components, namely , the stimulus variable and the response
options.
• The stimulus variable consists of trait or qualities to be rated and the response options
consist of numerical or descriptive categories.
• Rating may be either retrospective or concurrent.
• The rating scale are very easy to construct and use.
• Three precautions should be taken in the construction of rating scales.
• First, each trait to be rated should be clearly defined and explained with specific
instances.
• Second, various interval or points on the scale should be clearly defined.
• Third, since overt traits like leadership, honesty, punctuality etc. are more reliably rated
than covert traits such as ego-strength, job-satisfaction, emotional stability, SELF-RESPECT
etc., attempt should be made to ensure that rating scale should, as far as possible, be
concerned exclusively with objectively observable traits.
 Characteristics or applications of rating
scales
❖ Ease of use: Rating scales are generally easy to use, understand and
administer. They are often presented as a series of questions or
statements that respondents can rate on a numerical scale or with
descriptions such as “ strongly agree” or “strongly disagree”.
❖ Flexibility: Rating scales can be used in a variety of contexts, including
research, customer feedback, employee surveys, and academic
research.
❖ Cost-effective: Rating scales generally cost-effective and efficient as
they can be administered to large numbers of people quickly and
easily. This makes them a popular choice for research and evaluation
projects with limited budgets or tight timelines.
• Standardization: Rating scales provide standardized measures that
allow researchers to compare attitudes across different groups of
people.
• Accuracy : Rating scales provide a more accurate and reliable
measurement of attitudes compared to other methods such as
interviews or observations.
• Precision: Rating scales can capture even subtle differences in
measurement of responses that might be missed through other
means of measurement.
• Objectivity: Rating scales are less prone to subjective interpretation
by researchers, which can lead to more objective and unbiased data.
• Efficiency: Rating scales are a quick and efficient way to gather data
from large numbers of participants.
• Predictive power: Rating scales like attitude scales can be used to
predict behavior as attitudes are often a good predictor of future
behavior.
• Over all rating scales are useful tools for researchers to better
understand individual’s attitudes towards different objects or issues
and to gain insights into potential behavior or decision making
processes.
Predecessors of the Rating Scale
• Francis Galton has been attributed with the honor of being the first psychometrician
(Ludlow, 1998). Galton (1879) conducted “psychometric experiments” where he
employed the emerging methods of psychometry, “the art of imposing measurement and
numbers upon operations of the mind” (p. 149).
• Galton likely was reflecting on the work of German psychophysicists working on the
science of psychometry in the mid-to-late 1800s (Ludlow).
• Ludlow reported that the term psychometrics first appeared in the work of J.R. Buchanan,
who was investigating psychological properties of persons. This was in opposition to
craniology (or craniometry, associated with anthropometry), the approach of measuring
cranium features to make inferences about intelligence, temperament, and other
human characteristics. J.R. Buchanan (1854) lectured on psychometry in the 1840s, as
published in his lecture outlines (not the contemporary psychometrics of psychology and
education).
• He lectured on the role of psychometry in the investigation of the neurological system,
the placement of professionals, arranging marriages, the functioning of the brain, and in
selecting and forming friendships
• Karl Pearson (1906), Galton’s protege, published a 6- point rating scale to rate mental ability in
his investigations of correlates of intelligence, including the classification categories of (1) very
dull, (2) slow-dull, (3) slow, (4) slow-intelligent, (5) intelligent, and (6) quick intelligent. He also
used a 7-point scale dividing “quick intelligent” into two categories, including the following
definitions (p. 107; actual labels with adapted descriptions):
• 1. Very dull. A mind capable of holding only the simplest facts, incapable of reasoning about
relationships between facts.
• 2. Slow dull. A mind capable of perceiving relationships between facts with continuous effort.
• 3. Slow. A mind advancing in general, but very slowly, with time and effort.
• 4. Slow intelligent. A mind slow generally, possibly more rapid in some fields.
• 5. Intelligent. A mind ready to grasp and capable of perceiving facts in most fields.
• 6. Capable. A mind less likely than the specially able to originate inquiry, quick in perception.
• 7. Specially able. A mind especially bright and quick both in perception and reasoning, including
regarding novel facts.
 TYPES OF RATING SCALE
• According to Guilford (1954), rating scales are divided into six
categories.
• Numerical scales
• Graphic scales
• Percentage rating
• Standard scales
• Cumulative points scale
• Forced choice-scales
What is difference between Questionnaire and Rating Scale ?

• A rating scale is a type of survey question that uses closed questions,

when gaining information from a respondent. The closed questions
provide answers in the form of a range of choices from one theme.
These themes can include: Satisfaction level.
 Numerical Rating Scale
• In numerical scale the observer or the rater is supplied with a
sequence of defined numbers on the basis of his impression.
• Nominal scale is simply a system of assigning number symbols to
events in order to label them.
• Numerical rating scales are the easiest to construct and apply to the
objects, persons, events etc.
• Sometimes, it is found that numerical scales have only a description
of the categories and no numbers are provided. After the rating by
the observer, the investigator assigns numerals to certain categories.
E.g. 5 to Strongly agree, 4 to agree etc.
• Scales with Numerical Anchors :
Numerical anchors Meaning
1 Extremely disagree
2 Strongly disagree
3 Moderately disagree
4 Mildly disagree
5 Indifferent
6 Mildly agree
7 Moderately agree
8 Strongly agree
9 Extremely agree
• Usually , the above numerical anchors along with their meanings are
printed on the first page with appropriate instructions and
• on the subsequent pages, a number of statements revealing various
impressions, attitudes, etc. regarding the objects , persons and events
are pointed.
• Opposite each statement is provided a blank space where the rater
writes simply that number which he thinks to be the most
appropriate one.
• Some of the numerical scales are assigned a rating of “0” to the neutral
point , +3, +2 +1 for the different categories towards the positive ends and
-3, -2, -1 towards the negative. E.g.
• +3 Strongly agree
• +2 Mildly agree
• +1 Agree
•0 Indifferent
• -1 Disagree
• -2 Mildly disagree
• -3 Strongly disagree
 Limitations
• A Nominal scale is the least powerful level of measurements. A
nominal scale simply describes differences between things by
assigning them to categories.
• The scale gives information that may have about varying degrees of
attitudes, skills , understandings etc.
• In spite of all this, nominal scales are still very useful and are widely
used in surveys and other ex-post-facto research when data is being
classified by major sub-groups of the population.
 GRAPHIC RATING SCALE
• The graphic rating scale is the most popular and widely used rating
scale.
• In one way the graphic scale may be considered as an improvement
over the numerical scale because it tends to overcome some of the
difficulties faced with the numerical scale.
• On the graphical scale the scales are presented graphically in which
descriptive cues corresponding to the different scale steps are given.
• Items or statements here have no BLANK BOX and the rater simply
puts either a tick mark or a cross mark on any of the descriptive cues
to indicate his or her view.
• Graphic rating scales.
• A popular, simple technique for evaluating employees is to use a
graphic rating scale. Table 1 shows a typical rating scale for a
manager. Note that the scale lists a number of important work
dimensions (such as leadership and management) and a
performance range for each one. For each work dimension, the
evaluation scheme is typically used to assess the important work
dimensions:
• (1) unacceptable, (2) needs improvement, (3) acceptable, (4)
commendable, and (5) outstanding. The assigned values for each
dimension are then added up and totaled.
Example of Graphic scale
• The first example illustrates the scale point in a horizontal manner.
• The second example illustrates a vertical manner .
• Graphic scales having scale points arranged horizontally have one
important limitation , that they provide space for only the shorter
descriptive cues.
• In vertical scale points this limitation is automatically overcome as the
investigator can put as many descriptive cues as possible because there is
no limitation of space.
• The Fels Behavior Rating scale is a good example of the vertical graphic
scale though it has some nongraphic scales too.
• Graphical rating scales are simple, easily administered and quickly
completed by the raters. Disadvantage is that graphic scales generally take
time and labor in scoring.
Percentage Rating
• Percentage rating is done whenever the investigator wants a quick rating with maximum
uniformity from rater to rater.
• The technique requires the rater to place the rates among different specified percentage
groups or into different percentiles or quartiles such as given below.
Highest 5 percentage
Second highest 5 percentage
Highest 25 percentage excluding the top ten percent.
Top half but not the top 25 per cent
Lower half
• Percentage ratings are common among teachers who are asked to rate their students in
the class-room in terms of overall performance.
• One of the serious limitations of percentage rating is that the rater may be quite generous
and therefore , the rating may be influenced by the individual differences in generosity
among the raters.
 standard scale
• A standard scale is one in which the rater is presented with some standards
with pre-established scale values.
• Man-to-Man Scale and Portrait Matching scale are the examples of this scale.
• The Man-to-Man was developed during World War I and used men instead of
numbers and adjectives or other descriptive cues to represent the various scale
points.
• The rater may be asked to give the name of a person who is well-known to him
and who is “very high” on the trait being rated.
• The person’s name is then noted down to define the “very high” point on the
scale.
• Likewise, the rater may then be asked to give the names of four other persons
who are known to him and who are high, average, low, and very low on the trait
rated.
• Thorndike (1920) referenced a 1915 study of employees of the
General Electric Company and Westinghouse Electric Company – a
rating study of relevant traits of success.
• He noted the possibility of a halo effect creating a high degree of
correlation among the independent ratings of multiple traits.
• He provided a method of creating a rating scale where the anchor
points along the rating scale included the names of men (officers).
This method became known as the man-to-man comparison scale,
which Rugg (1921a) claimed moved rating methods toward an
objective science
• All these names are entered to define the four scale points – “high”,
“average”, “low”, and “very low". Thus scale with its five points is
complete.
• The rater is then given only those key names with pre-established
five-point scale values to rate other persons.
• The value of rating corresponds to the value of that key-person whom he
resembles.
• For example, if a person is being rated on the trait of Intelligence and if the
rater assigns him the name Isaac Newton the value of the rater on the
5-point scale will fall in high on the trait of intelligence.
• A hypothetical example to illustrate the Man-To-Man Scale is given below
scale values Name
Very high Isaac Newton
High Aryabhata
Average Galileo
Low Thomas Alva Edison
Very low Leonardo da Vinci
 • Advantages :
1. This scale avoids the confusion arising out of abstract numerical
anchors assigned to the traits to be rated.
2. If all the raters use the same key-man in their ratings , their ratings
can be comparable both in absolute terms as well as relative
terms.
3. Since the scale values of all the key-men are pre-established and
fixed , raters can’t shift over day-to day’s ratings.
 • Disadvantages :
1. The distance between the key-men of the scale is not equal
2. Actual practice has demonstrated that no two raters are alike in
rating persons who are well known to them and this naturally
endangers the second advantage mentioned above.
3. Deliberate overestimation and underestimation of persons by the
raters are not controlled by the scale.
 Think of famous people, past and present who exemplify your
understanding of a wise person – a study on college students by Paulus,
whhr, harms and Strasser, 2002
• Portrait matching scale is also based upon the principle of standard
scale which was developed by Hartshrone & May in 1929 in the
course of their study on character.
• In this technique a set of standards (verbal sketches or portraits) for
any given trait on which rating to be done, is prepared .
 Cumulated Point Scale
• Rating scales based upon cumulated or summated points are the
most common .
• In this scale person’s total score is the sum of individual ratings or
points assigned to all items of the scale and such points may be
weighted or unweighted.
• Psychological test items are answered by the persons themselves
whereas the rating scales items are answered by raters or observers.
• This scale is classified into two types, the Checklist and the
Guess-who technique.
• The Checklist method is one where the rater is supplied with a large
number of specific behavioral statements (stimuli) and he is asked
to check these statements, which describe the person in question.
• One very convenient way of scoring the checked statements is to
score each favorable statement as +1, each unfavorable statement as
-1 and neutral item as 0.
• The person’s total score on the check list is equal to the sum of the
scores for the items checked for him.
• The purpose of the behavior checklist is to know whether certain
specified traits or behaviors are present or absent are in individual
being rated.
• A good example of the behavior checklist is the Vineland Social Maturity
Scale, which consists of items relate to self direction, self-help,
communication, socialization, etc.
• The checklist is filled in by the rater who knows well the children being
rated.
• There are several variations of behavior checklists. The items of the
checklist may be in the form of two-point responses( Yes-No, True –False)
or in the multiple-choice form.
• Sample item of a two-point response:
The class was interactive Yes No
The movie was boring Yes No
 Sample item of a multiple –choice response :
The teacher was
_____ Intelligent
_____ Smart
_____ Thinker
_____ Good orator
• Such behavior checklist also known as the adjective checklist.
• On either of the above two types of behavior checklists, each positive rating is given a score of +1 and each
negative rating is given a score of -1 .
• In order to get a total score, all the positive scores are summed together and form them the sum of all the
negative scores together, is subtracted.
• This total score represents the positiveness of the rater’s attitude.
• One of the serious drawbacks of the checklist is that the rating is influenced by various kinds of response
biases of the rater who is simply asked to check the items in an all or none fashion (Guilford, 1954)
• The Guess-who technique also known as Casting Characters is
another Type of rating scale where the total score is based upon the
cumulated points.
• The technique consists of verbal descriptions of the various roles
played by children in a group.
• The verbal descriptions are usually in the form of one or two
sentences.
• The child raters are asked to name the other children (or their peers)
who fit or match certain verbal descriptions, mentioning the same
child as many times as they think appropriate.
 • Each favorable description is given a point and all such points are summed
to get a total score.
• Sample Items :
• Here is one who is always worried.
Here is one who is always happy
Here is one who is always discouraging others.
Here is one who is always helping others.
Here is one who never likes to do a task.
* The technique requires that the rater be supplied with names of all the
individuals or children to be rated. And the rater should not be left to
depend upon his ability to memorize the names of the individuals.
 Forced-Choice Rating Scale
• Forced-Choice Rating Scale is different from all other rating scales
discussed so far or mentioned above.
• All the above techniques consider one attribute at a time and place the
rates in any one of a set of categories.
• In the forced –choice rating scale the rater is given a set of attributes in
terms of verbal statements for a single item and he decides which one ,
represent the individual being rated most appropriately and accurately.
• The items of the forced –choice scale may have several alternatives –two,
three, four or five. Of these two alternative and the four alternatives are
the most common.
• In the two alternative form, both the statements regarding the attribute
are either favorable or unfavorable.
 • An example of the four-alternative forced-choice rating scale is given below. The rater may be
asked to select any two statements which are most descriptive and represented of the persons
being rated.
• Mr. XYZ,
a. Lectures with confidence
b. Keeps the students interested and motivated
c. Cares a great deal for the slow learner
d. Entertains suggestions from students to improve his lecture.
In this above four statements (all favorable) the most discriminating statement is (c) and the least
discriminating statement is (a) .
The most discriminating statement may be assigned a score of 2 and the least discriminating
statement a score of 0.
A ratee’s total score would be the sum of such scores assigned to the most discriminating statements
in each set.
 • Advantages:
1. The forced –choice rating scale minimizes the generosity error.
Since the items of the scale are equally favorable or unfavorable, a
rater who may be kind and generous to the ratees, is not given any
opportunity to choose one rather than other and thus, his tendency
to rate generously is automatically controlled.
2. If the rater willfully wants to bias the score in any one direction he
is least allowed to do so because in the forced –choice scale the
rater is usually unable to identify the favorable choice or
unfavorable choice as options appear equally favorable or
unfavorable.
 • Disadvantages :
1. Raters are critical and hesitant to do ratings on the forced –choice
scale because this gives them limited freedom in ratings and
imposes too many restrictions upon them.
2. Sometimes, the raters believe that none of the statements actually
describes the person appropriately even though they have to give
their judgement.
Although the forced-choice scale has acquired much prominence in
past years, its importance today has been considerably reduced partly
due to the rater’s hesitant and critical attitude and partly due to the
difficulties involved in constructing the scale.
 Errors in Ratings
• What is “rater error”? Rater errors are errors in judgment that occur
in a systematic manner when an individual observes and evaluates
another. Personal perceptions and biases may influence how we
evaluate an individual's performance Halo effect
• Error of Severity
• Error of Leniency
• Error of central Tendency
• Contrast Error
• Proximity Error
• Logical Error
Limitations of Rating Scales
• Rating scales have several limitations. Some of them are discussed as
under:
• i) Error of leniency. There is a constant tendency among the raters to rate
those whom they know well, higher than they should. Such raters are
called 'easy raters'. Some raters become aware of their easy rating and
consciously rate individuals lower than they should. Such raters are called
'hard raters'. 'The leniency error refers to a general and consistent
tendency for a rater to rate too high or too low for whatever reasons.
• ii) Error of central tendency: Most of the raters hesitate to rate the
individuals on the extremes of the scales, instead they tend to rate the
iridividuals on the middle of the scale. Obviously, the results get distorted.
• iii) Halo-effect. Halo-effect is an error which obscures the clusters of traits
within an individual. The rater forms a general opinion about the person's
merit and his or her ratings on specific traits are greatly influenced by this
general impression. It results in a spurious positive correlation among the
traits which are rated. He a learner likes a tutor, he or she will rate the
tutor high on all traits without considering the meaning attached to a
particular trait.
• iv) The logical error. The logical error is due to the fact that judges are
likely to give similar ratings for traits which they feel are logically
related to each other.
• v) contrast error. The contrast error is due to a tendency of a rater
to rate others in the opposite direction (contrasting) from himself or
herself in a trait.
• vi) The proximity error. It has been seen that adjacent traits on a
rating scale tend to inter-correlate higher than the remote ones, their
degree of actual similarity being approximately equal.
• Central tendency. Clustering everyone in the middle performance
categories to avoid extremes of good or bad performance; it’s easy, but it’s
wrong. This isn’t fair to employees who are really making an effort, and it
can be demoralizing.
• Favoritism. Overlooking the flaws of favored or “nice” employees,
especially those whom everyone likes.
• Grouping. Excusing below-standard performance because it is widespread;
“Everyone does it.”
• Guilt by association. Rating someone on the basis of the company they
keep, rather than on the work they do.
• The halo effect. Letting one positive work factor you like affect your overall
assessment of performance.
• Holding a grudge. A dangerous luxury that may result in your ending up in court. Never try to make
employees pay for past behavior.
• The horns effect. The opposite of the halo effect—letting one negative work factor or behavior you
dislike color your opinion of other factors.
• Bias. Allowing your bias to influence the rating. Bias can come from attitudes and opinions about
race, national origin, sex, religion, age, veterans’ status, disability, hair color, weight, height,
intelligence, etc.
• Recency. Rating only recent performance, good or bad. Data should be representative of the entire
review period. If you’re not keeping good notes, you may not remember the whole period.
Armstrong noted that “you want to make sure, again, that you’re keeping records so that you can
adequately describe performance over an entire performance period.”
• The sunflower effect. Rating everyone high, regardless of performance, to make yourself look good
or to be able to give more compensation.
• https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2014/03/18/performance-appraisals-the-10-most-common-rating-er
rors/