1 hair, babin, money & samouel, essentials of business research, wiley, 2003. learning...

1Hair, Babin, Money & Samouel, Essentials of Business Research, Wiley, 2003.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the role of concepts in business

research.

2. Explain the notion of measurement.

3. Provide an overview of the types of measurement

scales.

4. Distinguish between reliability and validity.

Measurement and ScalingChapter 6


A concept is a mental abstraction or

idea formed by the perception of

some phenomena. Examples of

concepts in business include job

satisfaction, job commitment, brand

awareness, brand loyalty, service

quality, image, risk, channel conflict,

empathy, and so on.

What is a concept?


12 Dimensions of a Great 12 Dimensions of a Great WorkplaceWorkplace

Go On-Line www.gallup.com

Item 1. I know what is expected of me at work.

Item 2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.

Item 3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday.

Item 4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

Item 5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

Item 6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

Item 7. At work, my opinions seem to count.

Item 8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

Item 9. My fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

Item 10. I have a best friend at work.

Item 11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

Item 12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.


Measurement

. . . involves assigning

numbers to a variable

according to certain

rules that reflect the

characteristics of the

phenomenon being

measured.


The measurement process involves

specifying the variables that serve as

proxies for the concepts (constructs). A

proxy is a variable that represents a single

component of a larger concept and, taken

together, several proxies (indicator

variables) are said to measure a concept.

What is the measurement

process?


Scale

. . . a scale is a measurement

tool that can be discrete or

continuous. Discrete scales

measure only direction, but

continuous scales measure

both direction and intensity.


NominalNominal

OrdinalOrdinal

IntervalInterval

RatioRatio

??

Four Levels of Measurement


Metric Scales• Summated Ratings

• Numerical

• Semantic Differential

• Graphic Ratings

Nonmetric Scales• Categorical

• Rank Order

• Sorting

• Constant Sum

• Paired Comparison

Metric Scales• Summated Ratings

• Numerical

• Semantic Differential

• Graphic Ratings

Nonmetric Scales• Categorical

• Rank Order

• Sorting

• Constant Sum

• Paired Comparison

Types of

Scales


Gino’s Italian Ristorante has a wide variety of menu choices.

Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Agree Strongly

Disagree nor Disagree Agree

1 2 3 4 5

Summated Ratings Summated Ratings ScaleScale


Using a 10-point scale, where 1 is “not at all important” and 10 is “very important” how important is ________ in your decision to do business with a particular vendor?

Numerical ScaleNumerical Scale


“My supervisor is . . . . “

Courteous ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Discourteous

Friendly ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Unfriendly

Helpful ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Unhelpful

Supportive ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Hostile

Competent ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Incompetent

Honest ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Dishonest

Enthusiastic ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Unenthusiastic

Semantic Differential Scale


On a scale from 0 to 10 how would you rate the atmosphere of Samouel’s Greek Cuisine restaurant? Indicate by placing an “X” at the appropriate place on the line.

Poor OK Excellent |____________________|____________________|

0 5 10

Graphic RatingsGraphic Ratings


How satisfied are you with your current job?[ ] Very Satisfied[ ] Somewhat Satisfied[ ] Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied[ ] Somewhat Dissatisfied[ ] Very Dissatisfied

How interested are you in learning more about the benefits that are offered with this health plan?[ ] Very Interested[ ] Somewhat Interested[ ] Not Very Interested

CategoricalCategorical


Rank OrderRank Order

“Please rank the five attributes listed below on a scale from ‘1’ (the most important) to ‘5’ (the least important) in searching for a job.”

Job Attributes Ranking

Pay

Benefits

Co-workers

Flexible Scheduling of Work Hours

Working Conditions


This type of scaling approach asks respondents to indicate their beliefs or opinions by arranging objects (items) on the basis of perceived similarity, preference, or some other attribute.

SortingSorting


Constant SumConstant Sum

“Please allocate 100 points across the following four attributes to indicate their relative importance.”

Attributes Score

On-Time Delivery

Price

Tracking Capability

Invoice Accuracy

Sum 100


Paired ComparisonPaired Comparison

Below you will find ten pairs of attributes that have been identified a being important when choosing a restaurant. For each pair mark the attribute you feel is more important to you in choosing a restaurant to dine at.

Pairs Attribute 1 Attribute 2

Pair 1 Food Quality Atmosphere

Pair 2 Food Quality Prices

Pair 3 Food Quality Service

Pair 4 Food Quality Cleanliness

Pair 5 Atmosphere Prices

Pair 6 Atmosphere Service

Pair 7 Atmosphere Cleanliness

Pair 8 Prices Service

Pair 9 Prices Cleanliness

Pair 10 Service Cleanliness


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Validity

Reliability

Criteria for Criteria for

Assessing Assessing

Measurement ScalesMeasurement Scales


Number of Scale Categories

Practical Decisions When Developing Scales

Number of Items to Measure a Concept

Odd or Even Number of Categories

Balanced of Unbalanced Scales

Forced or Non-forced Choice

Category Labels for Scales


“To what extent do you consider TV shows with sex and violence to be acceptable for teenagers to view?”

Balanced: __ Very Acceptable

__ Somewhat Acceptable__ Neither Acceptable or Unacceptable__ Somewhat Unacceptable__ Very Unacceptable

Unbalanced:

__ Very Acceptable

__ Somewhat Acceptable

__ Unacceptable

Balanced vs. Unbalanced Scales


Forced or Non-Forced?

“How likely are you to purchase a laptop PC in the next six months?”

Very Very

Unlikely Likely ___ No

1 2 3 4 5 6 Opinion


Verbal Label: “How important is the size of the hard drive in selecting a laptop PC to purchase?” Very Somewhat Neither Important Somewhat Very

Unimportant Unimportant or Unimportant Important Important

1 2 3 4 5

Numerical Label:

“How likely are you to purchase a laptop PC in the next six months?”

Very Very

Unlikely Likely

1 2 3 4 5

Unlabeled:

“How important is the weight of the laptop PC in deciding which brand

to purchase?”

Very Very

Unimportant Important

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Category Labels for Scales?


Choosing a Measurement Scale

Capabilities of Respondents

Context of Scale Application

Data Analysis Approach

Validity and Reliability


Measurement Error = occurs when the values obtained in a survey (observed values) are not the same as the true values (population values).

Validity

Reliability

Assessing Assessing Measurement Measurement Scales:Scales:


Reliability

Test-retest

Alternative Forms

Internal Consistency


Exhibit 6-5 Rules of Thumb about

Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient Size

Coefficient Strength of Range Association

< .6 Poor

.6 to < .7 Moderate

.7 to < .8 Good

.8 to < .9 Very Good

> = .9 Excellent


Validity

Content

Construct

Convergent

Discriminant

Criterion

Concurrent

Predictive


Multi-Item Scales

The Secure Customer Index

TM

Burke, Inc., www.burke.com

“Secure Customers”

% Definitely Recommend to Others

% Definitely Buy Again% Very Satisfied

™

Go On-Line www.burke.com


Two Options:

1. Use published scales.

2. Develop original

scales.

Scales – used to measure concepts

(constructs).


Steps in Developing a Scale:

1. Definition of the concept(s) to be measured.

2. Identification of the components of the concept.

3. Specification of a sample of observable and measurable items to represent the components.

4. Selection of the appropriate scales to measure the items.

5. Combination of the items into a composite scale to measure the concept.

6. Administer the scale to a sample and assess respondent understanding.

7. Revise the scale as needed.


Measurement and Scaling

Go On-Line www.sric-bi.com

How does this website help you to

better understand measurement

and scaling?


Measurement and Scaling

Go On-Line www.icpsr.umich.edu/gss

What kinds of scales are used on the

General Social Survey on this

Website?

1 hair, babin, money & samouel, essentials of business research, wiley, 2003. learning...

Documents

money samouel

quality work

types of measurement

levels of measurement

good work

measurement process

measurement tool

notion of measurement