SCALING TECHNIQUES

A Classification of Scaling Techniques

Scaling Techniques

Comparative Noncomparative
Scales Scales

Paired Rank Constant Other Continuous Itemized

Comparison Order Sum Procedures Rating Scales Rating Scales

Semantic Stapel
Likert
Differential
 Comparative Scales
Techniques in which there is direct comparison
of stimulus objects with one other.
For example, respondents might be asked
whether they prefer Coke or Pepsi.
Comparative scale data must be interpreted in
relative terms
It has only ordinal or rank properties.
As the respondents compare the objects, they
are forced to choose between them.
 Comparative Scales
• Advantage: even small differences between
objects can be detected. They are easy to
understand and apply.
• Disadvantage: the data is ordinal – hence the
results cannot be generalised beyond the
objects that have been studied. Eg to compare
Pepsi with Thumbs up, a new study will have
to be conducted.
PAIRED COMPARISON SCALING
 Paired Comparison Scaling
• The respondent is presented with two objects at
a time and asked to select one according to some
criteria. (The data obtained is ordinal).
• Respondents may select they prefer using Colgate
to Pepsodent, Pantene to Dove shampoo, Nestle
milk to Amul milk.
• Paired comparison scales are frequently used
when the stimulus objects are physical products.
• Paired comparison scaling is useful when the
number of brands is limited, because it requires
direct comparison and overt choice. However
with a large number of brands, the number of
comparison becomes difficult to analyse.
Instructions
We are going to present you with 10 pairs of shampoo brands. For each pair,
please indicate which one of the two brands of shampoo in the pair you would
prefer for personal use.
Recording form
•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.
•The number of times a brand was preferred is obtained by summing up the 1’s
in each column.

Ayur Pantene Dove Sunsilk Head &

Shoulders
Ayur - 0 0 1 0
Pantene 1 - 0 1 0
Dove 1 1 - 1 1
Sunsilk 0 0 0 - 0
Head & 1 1 0 1 -
Shoulders

Total 3 2 0 4 1
RANK ORDER SCALING
 Rank Order Scaling
• Respondents are presented with several
objects simultaneously and asked to order or
rank them according to some criteria.
• The ranking are obtained by asking
respondents to assign a value of 1 to the most
preferred brand, 2 to the second most
preferred, and so on, until a rank ‘n’ is
assigned to the least preferred brand.
 Rank Order Scaling
• Rank scaling results in ordinal data.
• Commonly used to measure preferences for
brands as well as attributes.
• Advantage: most respondents easily
understand the instructions for ranking.
• Disadvantage: this technique produces only
ordinal data.
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 criteria of preference is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong answer.
Just try to be consistent.

Brand Rank order

1. Colgate ______
2. Sensodyne ______
3. Oral B ______
4. Pepsodent ______
5. Crest ______
6. Babool ______
7. Pepsodent-G ______
8. Neem ______
9. Colgate sensitive ______
10. Close up ______
CONSTANT SUM TECHNIQUE
 Comparative Scaling Techniques
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.
 Example:
Importance of Bathing Soap Attributes
Instructions
individuals.
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
Using a Constant Sum Scale
Figure 8.5 cont.

Form
Average Responses of Three Segments
Attribute Segment I Segment II Segment III
1. Mildness 8 2 4
2. Lather 2 4 17
3. Shrinkage 3 9 7
4. Price 53 17 9
5. Fragrance 9 0 19
6. Packaging 7 5 9
7. Moisturizing 5 3 20
8. Cleaning Power 13 60 15
Sum 100 100 100
NON-COMPARATIVE SCALING
TECHNIQUES
 Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques
Techniques in which each object is scaled
independently of the other objects. (no
comparison with other)
The resulting data are generally assumed to be
interval or ratio scaled.
Eg respondents may be asked to evaluate Coke on a
1-to-6 preference scale (1 = not at all preferred, 6
= generally preferred). Similar evaluations would
be obtained for Pepsi and Thumbs up.
These techniques are popularly used in marketing
research.
Basic Non-comparative Scales

SCALE BASIC EXAMPLES ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

CHARACTERISTICS

Continuous Place a mark on a Reaction to TV Easy to construct Scoring can be

rating Scale continuous line commercials cumbersome

ITEMIZED RATING SCALES

Likert Scale Degree of agreement Measurement of Easy to construct, More time
on a 1 to 5 scale attitude administer, and consuming
1(strongly disagree) understand
5(strongly agree)

Semantic Seven-point scale with Brand, product, and Versatile Controversy as to

differential bipolar labels company images whether the data
are interval

Stapel scale Unipolar ten-point Measurement of Easy to construct, Confusing and

scale, attitudes and administered over difficult to apply
-5 to +5, without a images telephone
neutral point (zero)
CONTINUOUS RATING SCALE
 Continuous Rating Scale
• Also called the graphic rating scale,
• In this scale, the respondents rate the objects by
placing a mark at the appropriate position on a line
that runs from one extreme of the criteria variable to
the other.
• The respondents are not restricted to selecting from
marks set by the researcher.
• The continuous scale may take different forms.
– the line may be vertical or horizontal,
– scale points may or may not be provided.
• Two versions are illustrated below
 Continuous Rating Scale
__________________________________________________
How would you rate “Big Bazaar” as a department store?
Version 1
Probably - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Probably the
worst the best

Version 2
Probably - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - Probably the
worst the best
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
 Continuous Rating Scale
Rate the objects by placing a mark at the appropriate position

How would you rate Reliance Mart as a department store?

Version 1
Probably the worst - - - - - - -I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Probably the best

Version 2
Probably the worst - - - - - - -I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - Probably the best
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Version 3
Very bad Neither good Very good
nor bad
Probably the worst - - - - - - -I - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Probably the best
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
 Continuous Rating Scale
• Once the ratings are obtained, the researcher divides
the line into as many categories as desired and assigns
score based on the categories into which ratings fall.
• These scores are treated as interval data.
• Advantage - Easy to construct.
• However, scoring is cumbersome and unreliable.
• It is easy to implement on the Internet where the
cursor can be moved on the screen in a continuous
fashion to select the position on the scale that best
shows the respondent’s evaluation.
LIKERT SCALE
 Likert Scale
• It requires the respondents to indicate a
degree of agreement or disagreement with
each of a series of statements about the
stimulus objects.
• Typically, each scale has 5 response
categories, from “strongly agree” to “strongly
disagree”
 Likert Scale
Q – listed below are different opinions about Reliance Mart.
Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each
opinion.
Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly
disagree agree nor agree
disagree

1. RM sells high quality merchandise. 1 2X 3 4 5

2. RM has poor in-store service. 1 2X 3 4 5

3. I like to shop at RM. 1 2 3X 4 5

4. The credit policy is terrible. 1 2X 3 4 5

5. It charges fair prices. 1 2 3 4X 5

6. The variety is good. 1 2 3 4X 5

 Likert Scale
• The analysis can be conducted on an item-by-
item basis (profile analysis), or a total
(summated) score can be calculated.

• When arriving at a total score, the categories

assigned to the negative statements by the
respondents should be scored by reversing
the scale.
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL SCALE
 Semantic Differential Scale

The semantic differential is a seven-point rating

scale with end points associated with bipolar
labels that have semantic meaning.
 Semantic Differential Scale
This part of the study measures what certain department stores mean to you?
Please mark “X’ o the blank that best indicates how accurately one or the
other adjective describes what the store means to you.

RELIANCE MART IS:

Powerful --:--:--:--:-X-:--:--: Weak
Unreliable --:--:--:--:--:-X-:--: Reliable
Modern --:--:--:--:--:--:-X-: Old-fashioned
Cold --:--:--:--:--:-X-:--: Warm
Careful --:--:--:--:--:--:-X-: Careless
 A Semantic Differential Scale for Measuring Self- Concepts,
Person Concepts, and Product Concepts
1) Rugged :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Delicate
2) Excitable :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Calm
3) Uncomfortable :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Comfortable
4) Dominating :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Submissive
5) Thrifty :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Indulgent
6) Pleasant :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Unpleasant
7) Contemporary :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Obsolete
8) Organized :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Unorganized
9) Rational :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Emotional
10) Youthful :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Mature
11) Formal :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Informal
12) Orthodox :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Liberal
13) Complex :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Simple
14) Colorless :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Colorful
15) Modest :---:---:---:---:---:---:---: Vain
 Semantic Differential Scale
• The negative adjective or phrase sometimes appears at
the left side of the scale and sometimes at the right.
• This controls the tendency of some respondents,
particularly those with very positive or very negative
attitudes, to mark the right- or left-hand sides without
reading the labels.
• Individual items on a semantic differential scale may be
scored on either a -3 to +3 or a 1 to 7 scale.
• This scale is widely used in comparing brand, product,
and company images. (for advertising promotion
strategies, and product development)
STAPEL SCALE
 Stapel Scale
The Stapel scale is a unipolar rating scale with
ten categories numbered from -5 to +5,
without a neutral point (zero).
This scale is usually presented vertically.

The data obtained by using a Stapel scale can be

analyzed in the same way as semantic
differential data.
 Stapel Scale
RELIANCE MART

+5 +5
+4 +4
+3 +3
+2 +2X
+1 +1
HIGH QUALITY POOR SERVICE
-1 -1
-2 -2
-3 -3
-4X -4
-5 -5
Basic Non-comparative Scales

SCALE BASIC EXAMPLES ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

CHARACTERISTICS

Continuous Place a mark on a Reaction to TV Easy to construct Scoring can be

rating Scale continuous line commercials cumbersome

ITEMIZED RATING SCALES

Likert Scale Degree of agreement Measurement of Easy to construct, More time
on a 1 to 5 scale attitude administer, and consuming
1(strongly disagree) understand
5(strongly agree)

Semantic Seven-point scale with Brand, product, and Versatile Controversy as to

differential bipolar labels company images whether the data
are interval

Stapel scale Unipolar ten-point Measurement of Easy to construct, Confusing and

scale, attitudes and administered over difficult to apply
-5 to +5, without a images telephone
neutral point (zero)