Measurement and Scaling:

Fundamentals and Comparative

Scaling
 8-2

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.

 
 8-3

Measurement and Scaling

Scaling involves creating a continuum upon which
measured objects are located.

Consider an attitude scale from 1 to 100.

 Each respondent is assigned a number from 1 to 100,
with 1 = Extremely Unfavorable, and 100 = Extremely
Favorable.
 Measurement is the actual assignment of a number from
1 to 100 to each respondent.
 Scaling is the process of placing the respondents on a
continuum with respect to their attitude toward
department stores.
 8-4

Primary Scales of Measurement

Scale Figure 8.1
Nominal Numbers Finish
Assigned
7 8 3
to Runners

Ordinal Rank Order Finish

of Winners
Third Second First
place place place

Interval Performance
Rating on a 8.2 9.1 9.6

0 to 10 Scale
15.2 14.1 13.4
Ratio Time to
Finish, in
 Primary Scales of Measurement 8-5

Nominal Scale
 The numbers serve only as labels or tags for
identifying and classifying objects.
 When used for identification, there is a strict one-
to-one correspondence between the numbers and
the objects.
 The numbers do not reflect the amount of the
characteristic possessed by the objects.
 The only permissible operation on the numbers in
a nominal scale is counting.
 Only a limited number of statistics, all of which are
based on frequency counts, are permissible,
 e.g., percentages, and mode.
 8-6

Illustration of Primary Scales of Measurement

Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

Scale Scale Scale Scale
Preference Preference $ spent last
No. Store Rankings Ratings
3 months 1-7 11-17
7 79 5 15 0
1. Lord & Taylor 2 25 7 17 200
2. Macy’s 8 82 4 14 0
3. Kmart 3 30 6 16 100
4. Rich’s 1 10 7 17 250
5. J.C. Penney 5 53 5 15 35
6. Neiman Marcus 9 95 4 14 0
7. Target 6 61 5 15 100
8. Saks Fifth Avenue 4 45 6 16 0
9. Sears 10 115 2 12 10
10.Wal-Mart
 Primary Scales of Measurement 8-7

Ordinal Scale
 A ranking scale in which numbers are assigned to
objects to indicate the relative extent to which the
objects possess some characteristic.
 Can determine whether an object has more or less
of a characteristic than some other object, but not
how much more or less.
 Any series of numbers can be assigned that
preserves the ordered relationships between the
objects.
 In addition to the counting operation allowable for
nominal scale data, ordinal scales permit the use of
statistics based on centiles, e.g., percentile,
quartile, median.
 Primary Scales of Measurement 8-8

Interval Scale
 Numerically equal distances on the scale represent equal
values in the characteristic being measured.
 It permits comparison of the differences between objects.
 The location of the zero point is not fixed. Both the zero
point and the units of measurement are arbitrary.
 Any positive linear transformation of the form y = a + bx
will preserve the properties of the scale.
 It is meaningful to take ratios of scale values.
 Statistical techniques that may be used include all of those
that can be applied to nominal and ordinal data, and in
addition the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and
other statistics commonly used in marketing research.
 Primary Scales of Measurement 8-9

Ratio Scale
 Possesses all the properties of the nominal, ordinal, and
interval scales.
 It has an absolute zero point.
 It is meaningful to compute ratios of scale values.
 Only proportionate transformations of the form y = bx,
where b is a positive constant, are allowed.
 All statistical techniques can be applied to ratio data.
 8-10

Primary Scales of Measurement

Table 8.1

Sca le Ba sic Com m on Ma rke ting Pe rmissible Sta tistics

Cha ra cte ristics Ex a m ple s Ex a m ple s Descriptive Inferential
Nom ina l Numbers identify Social Security Brand nos., store Percentages, Chi-square,
& classify objects nos., numbering types mode binomial test
of football players
Ordina l Nos. indicate the Quality rankings, Preference Percentile, Rank-order
relative positions rankings of teams rankings, market median correlation,
of objects but not in a tournament position, social Friedman
the magnitude of class ANOVA
differences
between them
Inte rva l Differences Temperature Attitudes, Range, mean, Product-
between objects (Fahrenheit) opinions, index standard moment
Ra tio Zero point is fixed, Length, weight Age, sales, Geometric Coefficient of
ratios of scale income, costs mean, harmonic variation
values can be mean
compared
 8-11

A Classification of Scaling Techniques

Figure 8.2

Scaling Techniques

Comparative Non comparative

Scales Scales

Paired Rank Constant Q-Sort and Continuous Itemized

Comparison Order Sum Other Rating Scales Rating Scales
Procedures

Semantic Stapel
Likert
Differential
 8-12

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 non comparative 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.
 8-13

Relative Advantages of Comparative Scales

 Small differences between stimulus objects can be
detected.
 Same known reference points for all respondents.
 Easily understood and can be applied.
 Involve fewer theoretical assumptions.
 Tend to reduce halo or carryover effects from one
judgment to another.
 8-14

Relative Disadvantages of Comparative Scales

 Ordinal nature of the data
 Inability to generalize beyond the stimulus objects
scaled.
Comparative Scaling Techniques 8-15

Paired Comparison Scaling

 A respondent is presented with two objects and
asked to select one according to some criterion.
 The data obtained are ordinal in nature.
 Paired comparison scaling is the most widely used
comparative scaling technique.
 With n brands, [n(n - 1) /2] paired comparisons are
required
 Under the assumption of transitivity, it is possible to
convert paired comparison data to a rank order.
 Obtaining Shampoo Preferences
8-16

Using Paired Comparisons

Figure 8.3
Instructions: We are going to present you with ten pairs of
shampoo brands. For each pair, please indicate which one of the
two brands of shampoo you would prefer for personal use.
Jhirmack Finesse Vidal Head & Pert
Sassoon Shoulders
Recording
Jhirmack
Form: 0 0 1 0
Finesse 1a 0 1 0
Vidal Sassoon 1 1 1 1
Head & Shoulders 0 0 0 0
Pert 1 1 0 1
Number of Times 3 2 0 4 1
Preferredb
a
A 1 in a particular box means that the brand in that column was preferred
over the brand in the corresponding row. A 0 means that the row brand was
preferred over the column brand. bThe number of times a brand was preferred
is obtained by summing the 1s in each column.
 8-17

Paired Comparison Selling

The most common method of taste testing is paired comparison. The

consumer is asked to sample two different products and select the one
with the most appealing taste. The test is done in private and a
minimum of 1,000 responses is considered an adequate sample. A blind
taste test for a soft drink, where imagery, self-perception and brand
reputation are very important factors in the consumer’s purchasing
decision, may not be a good indicator of performance in the
marketplace. The introduction of New Coke illustrates this point. New
Coke was heavily favored in blind paired comparison taste tests, but its
introduction was less than successful, because image plays a major role
in the purchase of Coke.

A paired comparison
taste test
Comparative Scaling Techniques 8-18

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.
 Only (n - 1) scaling decisions need be made in rank
order scaling.
 Preference for Toothpaste Brands
8-19

Using Rank Order Scaling

Instructions: Rank the various brands of toothpaste in order

of preference. Begin by picking out the one brand that you like
most and assign it a number 1. Then find the second most
preferred brand and assign it a number 2. Continue this
procedure until you have ranked all the brands of toothpaste
in order of preference. The least preferred brand should be
assigned a rank of 10.
No two brands should receive the same rank number.
The criterion of preference is entirely up to you. There is no
right or wrong answer. Just try to be consistent.
Preference for Toothpaste Brands
8-20

Using Rank Order Scaling

Figure 8.4 cont.

Form
Brand Rank Order
1. Crest _________
2. Colgate _________
3. Aim _________
4. Gleem _________
5. Macleans _________

6. Ultra Brite _________

7. Close Up _________
8. Pepsodent _________
9. Plus White _________
10. Stripe _________
Comparative Scaling Techniques 8-21

Constant Sum Scaling

 Respondents allocate a constant sum of units, such
as 100 points to attributes of a product to reflect
their importance.
 If an attribute is unimportant, the respondent assigns
it zero points.
 If an attribute is twice as important as some other
attribute, it receives twice as many points.
 The sum of all the points is 100. Hence, the name of
the scale.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
8-22

Using a Constant Sum Scale

Instructions
On the next slide, there are eight attributes of
bathing soaps. Please allocate 100 points among
the attributes so that your allocation reflects the
relative importance you attach to each attribute.
The more points an attribute receives, the more
important the attribute is. If an attribute is not at
all important, assign it zero points. If an attribute is
twice as important as some other attribute, it
should receive twice as many points.
 Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
8-23

Using a Constant Sum Scale

Figure 8.5 cont.

Form
Average Responses of Three Segments
Attribute
Segment I 8Segment II 2Segment III 4
1. Mildness 2 4 17
2. Lather 3 9 7
3. Shrinkage 53 17 9
4. Price 9 0 19
5. Fragrance 7 5 9
6. Packaging 5 3 20
7. Moisturizing 13 60 15
Sum 100 100 100
8. Cleaning Power