Marketing Research

Chapter – 4
Measurement and Scaling:
Statistical data collected by various techniques is
just raw data is in unorganized form. Before
analysis, the data need to be arranged in proper
form. When data is organized in proper form, all
the errors are removed and data becomes eligible
for analysis and interpretation. The data collected
can be organized, arranged and processed to get
fruitful results by the following techniques before
testing it for further statistical investigation.
• Editing of data
• Coding of data
• Classification of data
• Tabulation
Editing of Data: It means proper scrutiny of data for
removal of unambiguous, unwanted and redundant
information from the collected data. Editing brings
consistency, accuracy and uniformity in data. It is
necessary for increasing the degree of accuracy, reducing
the number of errors and refining the raw material for its
proper utilization.
Aims and purpose of editing is:
• For uniformity
• For consistency
• For completeness
• For accuracy
• For coding
Coding of data:
It refers to process of assigning numbers and
symbols to the responses so that these responses
could be put into a limited number of classes. This
kind of coding is essential for efficient analysis. It
has four steps:
• Developing a coding book (Rules)
• Pre-testing the code book (Testing to avoid error)
• Coding the data
• Verifying the coded data
Classification of Data: it is process of arranging the
collected data in some suitable manner so that one
can understand its various characteristics without
any difficulty.
Objectives of the classification:
• To condense the huge data
• To clearly elaborate similarities & dissimilarities
• To bring out relationship
• To facilitate comparison
• To prepare the basis for tabulation
• Simplification of data
Basis of classification:
• Geographic classification
• Chronological classification
• Qualitative classification
• Quantitative classification

Presentation of Data:
Tabular form of information, Diagrammatic and
graphic presentation of data are most commonly
used devices in research.
Types of scales: there are four types of scales namely
Nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.
Nominal scales: This scale is widely used than any other
scale for research in social sciences. In such scales
number serves as labels for person, objects & events. The
number may be assigned to students in a class, patients in
a hospital, even for counting attributes and characteristics.
Ex: Plane No, Bus No, Train No etc,.
Ordinal scales: It means ranking. Besides having the
unique characteristics of nominal scale, these also indicate
order. This is possible when numbers can be differentiated
on the basis of a single direction. It indicates only order
but not the difference. Ex: Gate No, Door No, Plot No,
House No etc.,
Interval scale: It possess not only the characteristics of nominal
and ordinal scales but also additional strength which is the
differentiation of equality of difference.
Ex: Measurement of temperature. Both Fº and Cº. One can say
on the basis of this scale that temp of 100 degree is 20º is
warmer than 80º and 20º cooler than 120º .
* It may be noted that diff b/w two values on temp scale are
multiples of each other.
Cº =5/9(Fº -32) and Fº =9/5(Cº -32) Ex: Temperature

Ratio scale: It possesses the power of preceding three scales and

also the concept of absolute zero or origin.
Ex: ratio scales are commonly used for physical dimensions such
as height, weight, distance, money value, population counts.
Ex: Purchasing Book
Ex: 9 lbs & 45 lbs are in the ratio of 1:5. if we convert
pounds into ounces, the same ratio will be obtained. Thus
144 ounces & 720 ounces have the same ratio of 1:5.
* One can change over from one unit to another by using the
relevant conversion factor. The facility of conversion
from one unit to another is available in the case of the
ratio scale alone.

Attitude scales: Meaning of attitude scale is settled behr as

indicating opinion, implies that in a given situation a
person will act automatically in a certain manner
depending on his attitude. It is subjective & personal
affair. The term opinion symbolizes an attitude.
 Components of Attitude: There are three main
components of attitude a) Cognitive component b)
affective component c) Behavioral component

• Cognitive Component: indicates that respondent is aware

of & know about a given object or phenomenon

• Affective component: indicates the respondent liking and

preference for an object or phenomena

• Behavioral component: indicate that the respondent s

intention to buy and his actual purchase behavior.
Thurstone scale: it’s a method of equal appearing interval
which is one of the best known technique in attitude
measurement. First statement pertaining to subject of
enquiry are collected from literature and knowledgeable
people. Statement should range from one extreme of
favorable attitude to the other extreme of unfavorable
attitude.

• Five criteria for selecting statements:

- stmt should be brief, without fatigue
- it can be accepted or rejected in accordance with the
attitude of respondents
-acceptance or rejection should indicate something related to
the question
 -Ambiguous statements should be avoided
-the statements should include attitude variable that is to
be measured

Summated rating scale: or Likerts scale

first a large number of statements are collected and then
ambiguous, irrelevant or deficient statements are
eliminated. Remaining stmts are given to the respondents
who are asked to indicate their reactions using a five point
rating system. Ex: strongly agree, agree, undecided,
disagree, strongly disagree.
-Stereotyped responses are avoided
-Neutral statements do not work in likert scale.
Scalogram Analysis or Guttmans scale:
Guttman held that items can be arranged in such an order
that a respondent who positively answer to particular item
also responds positively to all other items having a lower
rank. It is based on the assumption that the ordering of
certain stimuli is possible.

“If an individual dominate a particular stimulus, he will

also dominate all the stimuli ordered below that stimulus.
Also if he fails to dominate any particular stimulus, he
will fail to dominate stimulus above that stimulus in
order.”
Semantic Differential: Osgood has developed a scaling
procedure known as the semantic differential that has
been receiving increasing attention which actually
indicates emergence of three dominant factors
• Evaluation factor- scales like good-bad, kind-cruel
• Potency factor- strong-weak, hard-soft, heavy-light
• Activity factor- fast-slow, hot-cold

Semantic scales are bipolar one confirming to the basic

concept of motivation, that of attraction to or repulsion
from an object.
Validity of Research design:
Validity refers to the strength, accuracy and authenticity of
research design. There are two forms of validity of
research design like:

Internal validity: It is extent to which one can precisely

state that the independent variable is responsible for the
observed effect in the dependent variable and no other
variable is responsible for the effect.

External Validity: it is degree to which the conclusions in

the study for a given population could be made applicable
to other situations.
Reliability is one of the important characteristics of
any test.
• It refer to the precision or accuracy of the
measurement of score.
• Reliability refers to the stability of a test measure
or protocol.
Rosenthal (1991): Reliability is a major concern
when a psychological test is used to measure
some attribute or behaviour.

Anastasi (1968): Reliability refers to the

consistency of scores obtained by the same
individuals when re- examined with test on
different occasions, or with different sets of
equivalent items, or under other variable
examining conditions.
Three important types
◦ Test –Retest Reliability
◦ Split – half or Internal Consistency Reliability
◦ Parallel forms reliability or Equivalent - forms 

In test –retest reliability the single form of the test is

administered twice on the same sample with a
reasonable time gap.
• In this way two administration of the same form
of the two independent sets of scores.
• The two sets, when correlated, give the value of
the reliability coefficient.
 Measure instrument at two times for multiple
persons.
• Compute correlation between the two measures.
• Assumes there is no change in the underlying trait
between time 1 and time 2. 
Contributing factors:
(1)Clear instructions for administrators, research
participants and raters
(2)Tasks/questions in participants’ first language or
target language at appropriate level of difficulty
(3)Unambiguously phrased tasks/questions
Other name Internal Consistency reliability
• It indicates the homogeneity of the test
• This method the test is divided into two equal or
nearly halves
• Common way of this test is the odd-even method
Split Half or Internal Consistency Reliability
Indicates that subjects’ scores on some trials
consistently match their scores on other trials

Contributing factors:
(1) Careful item writing, guided by item
specifications
(2) Field test and item analysis
(3) Construction of tests with reference to item
performance
This reliability various names such as
◦ Alternative- forms reliability
◦ Equivalent –forms reliability
◦ Comparable – forms reliability

The alternative forms technique to estimate reliability

is similar to the test retest method, except that
different measures of a behavior (rather than the
same measure) are collected at different times.
• If the correlation between the alternative forms is
low, it could indicate that considerable measurement
error is present, because two different scales were
used.
Contributing factors:
(1) The development of equivalent forms from
specifications that describe tool content
(2) Trial of tools before data collection to ensure
equivalence

• Group Variability
• Guessing by the examinees
• Environmental Conditions
When the group of examinees being tested is
homogenous in ability, the reliability of the test
scores is likely to be lowered.
• But when the examinees vary widely in their
range of ability, that is, the group of examinees is
a heterogeneous one, the reliability of the test
scores is likely to be high.
• Guessing in a test is an important source of
unreliability.
• In two alternative response options there is a 50 %
chance of answering the items correctly on the
basis of the guess.
• Testing environment should be uniform
• Arrangement should be such that light, sound, and
other comforts are equal and uniform to all the
examinees.
• Otherwise it will tend to lower the reliability of
the test scores
• The group of examinees should be heterogeneous,
that is, the examinees should vary widely in their
ability or trait being measured.
• Items should be homogenous.
• Test should preferably be a longer one
• Items should be discriminatory ones