Measurement: Scaling,

Reliability, Validity
Measurement
• Measurement is the assignment of numbers or other symbols to
characteristics (or attributes) of objects according to a pre-specified
set of rules.
• Objects include persons, SBUs, companies, countries, restaurants, shampoos,
and so on.
• Characteristics include arousal-seeking tendency, achievement motivation,
organizational effectiveness, shopping behavior, ethnic diversity, service
quality etc.
• It is important to realize that you cannot measure objects (for instance a
company); you measure characteristics or attributes of objects (e.g.
organizational effectiveness of company, service quality of restaurant,
shopping behavior of consumer etc.)
Measurement
• Measurement means gathering data in the form of numbers.

• To be able to assign numbers to attributes of objects we need a scale.

• A scale is a tool or mechanism by which individuals are distinguished as

to how they differ from one another on the variables of interest to our
study.

• Four different types of scales

• Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio
Nominal Scale
• A nominal scale is one that allows the researcher to assign subjects (a
single member of the sample) to certain categories or groups. e.g.
• With respect to the variable of gender, respondents can be grouped into two categories
– male and female and they can be assigned code numbers 1 and 2.

• Assign numbers to objects where different numbers indicate different

objects.

• The number has no real meaning other than differentiating between

objects.
Nominal Scale
• Nominal scale categorize individuals or objects into mutually exclusive and
collectively exhaustive groups.
• MECE Principle
 Mutually Exclusive: (This means that each group is completely distinct and there’s
no overlap between groups)
 Collective Exhaustive: (This means that the sum of all your groups covers all possible
options)
• More examples
• Base ball uniform numbers
• Hair color
• Professions
• Nominal Scale used for labeling objects
Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive
Nominal Scale
Ordinal Scale
• An ordinal scale not only categorizes the variables in such a way as to
denote differences among the various categories, it also rank-orders
the categories in some meaningful way.
• Assign numbers to objects (like) nominal, but here numbers also have
meaningful order.
• Place finished in a race: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
• Place finished in an election: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.
• Number indicates placement or order: 1st is better than 2nd, and so on.
• The preference would be ranked (e.g. from best to worst; first to last)
and numbered 1,2, and so on.
Ordinal Scale
• Ordinal scale provides more information than the nominal scale.
• The ordinal scale goes beyond differentiating the categories to
providing information on how respondents distinguish them by rank-
ordering them.
• The ordinal scale does not give any indication of the magnitude of the
differences among the ranks.
• In ordinal scaling, differences in the ranking of objects, persons, or
events investigated are clearly known, we do not know their magnitude.
• The difference between two is really not known.
• Very Unhappy – Very Happy
• Strongly agree – Strongly Disagree
Ordinal Scale
Interval Scale
• An interval scale allows us to perform certain arithmetical operations
on the data collected from the respondents.
• Nominal data allows us only to qualitatively distinguish groups by categorizing them into
mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive sets.
• Ordinal scale to rank - order the preferences.
• The interval scale lets us measure the distance between any two point
of the scale.
• This helps us to compute the means and the standard deviations of the
responses on the variables.
• Interval scale not only group individuals according to certain categories
and taps the orders of these groups, it also measures the magnitude of
the differences in the preferences among the individuals.
Interval Scale
Ratio Scale
• The ratio scale has an absolute zero point.
• It is the most powerful because it has a unique zero origin (not an
arbitrary origin).
• The weighing balance is a good example of a ratio scale.
The four scales
Some More Examples
Some More Examples
Review of scales
• The nominal scale highlights the differences by classifying objects or
persons into groups, and provides the least amount of information on
the variable.
• The ordinal scale provides some additional information by rank-
ordering the categories of the nominal scale.
• The interval scale not only ranks, but also provides us with
information on the magnitude of the differences in the variable.
• The ratio scale indicates not only the magnitude of the differences
but also their proportion.
• The specific scaling techniques commonly used in business research
can be classified into rating scales and the ranking scales.
Rating and Ranking Scales

• Rating Scales have several response categories and are used to elicit
responses with regard to the object, event, or person studied.

• Ranking scales make comparisons between or among objects,

events, or persons and elicit the preferred choices and ranking among
them.
Rating Scales
• The following rating scales are often being used in business research.
• Dichotomous scale
• Category scale
• Semantic differential scale
• Numerical scale
• Itemized rating scale
• Likert scale
• Fixed or constant sum rating scale
• Stapel scale
• Graphic rating scale
• Consensus scale
Rating Scales
• Dichotomous Scale is used to elicit a Yes or No answer.
• Note that a nominal scale is used to elicit the response

• Category scale uses multiple items to elicit a single response.

• This also uses the Nominal scale.
Rating Scales
• Semantic Differential Scale
• Several bipolar attributes are identified at the extremes of the scale, and
respondents are asked to indicate their attitudes, on what may be called a
semantic space, toward a particular individual, object, or event on each of the
attribute.
• The bipolar adjectives used might employ such terms as Good-Bad; Strong-Weak;
Hot –Cold.
• The Semantic Differential Scale is used to assess respondents’ attitudes toward a
particular brand, advertisement, object, or individual.
• This treated as an interval scale.
Rating Scales
• Numerical Scale is similar to the semantic differential scale, with the difference
that numbers on a five point or seven point scale are provided, with bi-polar
adjectives at both ends.
• This is also and interval scale.

• Likert scale is designed to examine how strongly subjects agree or disagree with
the statements on a five point scale with the following anchors.
Rating Scales
• Itemized Rating Scale: A five point or seven point scale with anchors, as needed,
is provided for each item and the respondent states the appropriate response
against each. This uses an interval scale.
Rating Scales
• Fixed or constant sum scale
• The respondents are here asked to distribute a given number points
across various items as per the example below.
• This is more in the nature of an ordinal scale.
Rating Scales
• Stapel Scale
• This scale is simultaneously measures the direction and intensity of
the attitude toward the item under study.
• Since this does not have an absolute zero point, this is an interval
scale.
Rating Scales
• Graphic Rating Scale
• A graphical representation helps the respondents to indicate on this
scale their answers to a particular question by placing a mark at the
appropriate point on the line.
• This is an ordinal scale.
Ranking Scales
• Ranking scales are used to tap preferences between two or among
more objects or items (ordinal in nature).
• Suppose there are four product lines,
• Manager seeks information that would help decide which product get the
most attention.
• Assume that 35% respondents choose first product,
• 25% the second, 20% choose each of the category.
• Manager cannot conclude that the first product is the most preferred, since
65% of the respondents did not choose the product.
• Alternative methods used are paired comparison, forced choice, and
the comparative scale.
Ranking Scales
• Paired Comparison scale is used when, among a small number of
objects, respondents are asked to choose between two objects at a
time.
• Force Choice enables respondents to rank objects relative to one
another, among the alternative provided.
Ranking Scales
• Comparative Scale provides a benchmark or a point of reference to
assess attitudes towards the current object, event, situation under
study.
Goodness of Measures
• It is important to make sure that the instrument that we develop to
measure a particular concept is indeed accurately measuring the variable,
and that, in fact, we are actually measuring the concept that we set out to
measure.

• In some way, we need to assess the “goodness” of the measures

developed.

• First, an item analysis of the responses to the questions tapping the variable is
carried out.

• Second, the reliability and validity of the measures are established.

Reliability and Validity

• Reliability is a test of how consistently a measuring instrument

measures whatever concept it is measuring.

• Validity is a test of how well an instrument that is developed

measures the particular concept it is intended to measure.
Reliability and Validity
Reliability
• The reliability of a measure indicates the extent to
which it is without bias (error free) and hence ensures
consistent measurement across time and across
various items in the instrument.

• In other words the reliability of a measure is an

indication of the stability and consistency with which
the instrument measures the concept.
Reliability (Stability)
Stability of measures: The ability of the a measure to remain
the same over time.

• Test-retest reliability: the reliability coefficient obtained

by repetition of the same measure on a second occasion.

• Parallel form reliability: when responses on two

comparable sets of measures tapping the same
construct are highly correlated.
Reliability (Internal Consistency)
Internal consistency of measures is indicative of the
homogeneity of the items in the measure that taps the
construct.
• Inter-item consistency reliability is a test of the
consistency of respondents' answers to all the items in
a measure.
• Split-half reliability reflects the correlation between
two halves of an instrument.
Validity
Validity is a test of how well an instrument
that is developed measures the particular
concept it is intended to measure.
Validity Types
1. Content Validity ensures that the measure includes an adequate
and representative set of items that tap the concept.

2. Criterion Validity is established when the measure differentiates

individuals on a criterion it is expected to predict.
• Concurrent validity is established when the scale discriminates individuals
who are known to be different; that is, they should score differently on the
instrument.
• Predictive Validity indicates the ability of the measuring instrument to
differentiate among individuals with reference to a future criterion.
Concurrent Validity

Predicative Validity
Validity Types
3. Construct Validity testifies how well the results obtained from the
use of the measures fit the theories around which the test is designed.

• Convergent Validity is established when the scores obtained with

two different instruments measuring the same concept are highly
correlated.

• Discriminant Validity is established when, based on theory, two

variables are predicted to be uncorrelated, and the scores
obtained by measuring them are indeed empirically found to be
so.