SCALES

Measurement and Scaling

Measurement
 Assigning numbers (symbols) to certain characteristics of
objects according to certain pre-specified rules

Scaling
 Creating a continoum upon which measured objects are
located
Primary Scales of Measurement

N ominal
O rdinal
I nterval
R atio
 Primary Scales of Measurement
Scale Basic Marketing Descriptive Inferential
Characteristics Examples Statistics Statistics
Nominal

Numbers identify Brand numbers, Percentage, Chi-square,

and classify store types, mode binominal test
objects gender
classification
Ordinal

Numbers indicate Preference Percentile, Rank order

relative position rankings, market median correlation,
not magnitude position, social Friedman
class ANOVA
Interval

Differences Attitudes, Range, Correlations, t

between objects opinions, index mean, tests, ANOVA,
can be compared numbers standard regression,
deviation factor analysis
Ratio

Zero point is fixed; Age, income, Geometric Coefficient of

ratios of scale costs, sales, mean, variation
values can be market share harmonic
computed mean
A Classification of Scaling Techniques
Comparative Scaling Techniques
Paired comparison scaling
 A respondent is presented with two objects and asked to
select one accordingly to some criterion
 Do you prefer Dominos or Pizza Hut?

 Ordinal in nature
 Analysis: percentages of respondents; transitivity of
preference
 Modifications: include a neutral / no opinion response;
graded comparison where respondent is asked which
brand is preferred and how much it is preferred
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Rank order scaling
 A respondent is presented with several objects
simultaneously and asked to rank them

Place a 1 beside your most preferred soft drink; 2…

Diet Pepsi
Pepsi
Coke
 Ordinal in nature
 Used to measure preferences for brands and attributes
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.

Constant sum scaling

 A respondent is allocated a constant sum of units such as
points among alternatives presented
 Average is taken from all respondents
 Ordinal in nature
Factors important when buying a car
No of points
Style 20
Ride 10
Economical 25
Warranty 5
Price 40
Friendly Dealer 0
-------
100
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.

Q-sort
 Rank order procedure where objects are sorted into
piles based on similarity with respect to some criterion
 Number of objects between 60 and 90 can be ranked
 Pre-specified number in each class
 Each object is than assigned a rank order
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques

Continuous rating scale

 Respondents rate objects by placing a mark at the appropriate position
on a line that runs from one extreme of the criterion variable to the
other.
 Interval data
 Easy to construct but scoring is cumbersome and unreliable

To what extent do you involve your children in family decision making?

Not at all Extremely involved

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Alternatively, mark with an X

Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.

Likert scales

Itemised rating
scales

Semantic
differential Stapel
scale scale
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.

Likert Scale
 Respondents indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement [5
response alternatives] with each of a series of statements about a

a g re e n o r
stimulus object

Disa g re e
d isa g re e

d isa g re e
Stro n g ly

Stro n g ly
Ne ith e r

Ag re e
Ag re e
Th e w e b site d isp la ys is visu a lly p le a sin g d e sig n 1 2 3 4 5
Le a rn in g to o p e ra te th e w e b site is e a sy fo r m e 1 2 3 4 5
Th e w e b site is in n o va tive 1 2 3 4 5
Th e w e b site lo a d s q u ic kly 1 2 3 4 5
I tru st th e w e b site to ke e p m y p e rso n a l in fo rm a tio n 1 2 3 4 5
sa fe
Sh o p p in g a t th is w e b site is u su a lly a sa tisfyin g 1 2 3 4 5
e xp e rie n c e
I w ill c o n tin u e to p u rc h a se fro m th is We b site . 1 2 3 4 5
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Semantic differential Scale
 Seven point rating scale with end points associated with bipolar labels that
have semantic meaning
 Used in comparing brand, product and company images

Please evaluate the quality of Australian designed cars by placing an X on the blank
that best indicates your feelings
Unimaginative _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Creative
Unattractive _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Attractive
Obsolete _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State-of-the-art
Inefficient _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Efficient
Common _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Exclusive
Poor Performance _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Excellent Performance
Inferior Product design _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Superior Product Design
 Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.

Stapel Scale
 Unipolar rating scale with 10 categories without a neutral point
 Respondents indicate by selecting an appropriate numerical response
category how accurately or inaccurately each term describes the
objects
 No need to pre-test adjectives

The website displays is visually pleasing design -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

The website is innovative -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
The website is creative -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
The website loads quickly -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
I feel safe in my transactions with the website -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
Number of scale categories
 5-point scale  7-point scale

The website is innovative The website is innovative

 Strongly disagree  Strongly disagree

 Disagree  Disagree
 Neither agree nor disagree  Disagree somewhat
 Agree  Neither agree nor disagree
 Strongly Agree  Agree somewhat
 Agree
 Strongly agree
Forced versus non-forced scales
 Forced scales
In general how interested are you
in trying a new brand of
toothpaste?
 Very interested
 Somewhat interested
 Not too interested
 Not at all interested
 Non-forced scales
In general how interested are you
in trying a new brand of
toothpaste?
 Very interested
 Somewhat interested
 Unsure
 Not too interested
 Not at all interested