Chapter 10

Measurement of
Variables
Bibliography
• Research Methods for Business (Uma Sekaran)
• VU Book of BRM
• Internet

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 In everyday usage, measurement occurs when an established
yardstick verifies the height, weight, or another feature of a
physical object.
 In literal meanings: measurement is to discover the extent,
dimensions, quantity, or capacity of something, especially by 2
comparison with a standard.
 Measurement
 Is the process of assigning numbers or labels to
objects, persons, states of nature, or events.
 Done according to set of rules that reflect qualities
or quantities of what is being measured.

Measurement in Research
 Researches often attempt to measure the
extent or quantity the variables.
 Use some existing yardstick, standard or
develop your own.
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 How to Measure Variables?
 Objective data
 E.g. weight, absenteeism, temperature
 you are studying people who attend an auto show where all
year’s new models are on display. You are interested in learning
the male-to female ratio among attendees.
Use appropriate measuring instruments
 Subjective data
E.g. feelings, attitudes, perceptions
 “motivation,” “ability to stand stress,” “problem solving
ability,” and “persuasiveness.”

Conceptualize & Operationalise the

concept
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 a. Conceptualization
 The process of identifying and clarifying concepts;
through which we specify what we mean by using
certain terms. It is the process of taking a construct and
refining it by giving it a conceptual or theoretical
definition.
 We want to speak of abstract things – “intelligence”; “ability to
cope with stress”; “life satisfaction”; “happiness”.
 We cannot research these things until we know exactly what they
are.
 Everyday language often vague and unspecified
meanings. Conceptualization is to specify exactly what
we mean and don’t mean by the terms we use in our
research.
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Steps in Reaching a Measurement of a Variable
 We have conceptions of what we understand by e.g.
compassion, prejudice, poverty, etc. Often we differ
somewhat in what we understand by these terms.
 begin by asking people to describe what they mean when
they use certain terms, e.g. “intelligence” – for a LAY
understanding.
 Consult the EXPERTS, and this is why the literature in a
field is so important. But even the experts do not agree on a
single definition.
 Coming to an agreement on what we understand is called
conceptualization.
 The result of this process is a Construct, e.g. “prejudice”.
(Sometimes people use the term concept in place of
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construct)
 Teacher Morale…..!
 What is morale?
 Is it a variable?
 Develop a conceptual definition.
 Look at everyday understanding of morale. How
people feel about things?
 Look in the dictionary: confidence, spirit, zeal,
mental condition toward something.
 Look into review of literature

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 Morale involves a feeling toward something else; a
person has morale with regard to something.
“somethings”

 ‘Some things’ toward which teachers have feelings

 Some things could be:

 Students, parents, pay, the school administration,

other teachers, the profession of teaching.

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 Dimensions of construct
 Are there several kinds of teacher morale or are all
these ‘somethings’ different aspects of one
construct (morale)?
 We have to decide whether morale means a single,
general feeling with different parts or dimensions,
or several distinct feelings.
 What unit of analysis does our construct apply to: a
group or an individual? Is morale a characteristic of
an individual, of a group, or of both?
 Also who is a teacher? 9
 b. Operationalization
 Specifying exactly what we are going to observe,
and how we will do it. Turn your variable into a
directly measurable thing
 Linking conceptual definition to a specific set of
measurement procedures.
 Specifies what the researcher must do to measure
the concept under investigation
 What specific activities to be undertaken for
measuring the concept?
 Look at the behavioral dimensions, translate into
observable elements, ask questions, and develop
index of measurement. 10
 Operational Definition:
Dimensions and Elements
 Let us operationalize Job Satisfaction
 First define it conceptually. Like:
 Employees’ feelings toward their job.
 Degree of satisfaction that individuals obtain from
various roles they play in an organization.
 A pleasurable or positive emotional feeling resulting
from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.
 Employee’s perception of how well the job provides
those things (‘some things) that are important. These
things are the dimensions of job satisfaction.
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 Dimensions of job satisfaction
 Workers looking for many “things.” A ‘thing’
may be taken as a dimension.
 Things that are important for employees: (Give
rationale for each)
 The work itself.
 Pay/fringe benefits.
 Promotion opportunities.
 Supervision.
 Coworkers.
 Working conditions. 12
 Elements of dimensions
 Breaking each dimension further into actual
patterns of behavior that would be exhibited
 Work itself: Elements  opportunities for
advancement, sense of accomplishment,
challenging work/routine work.
 Pay/fringe benefits: Elements  Pay according to
qualifications, comparison with other organizations,
increments, availability of bonuses, old age
benefits, insurance benefits, other allowances.
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Elements (cont.)
 Promotion opportunities: Elements  Mobility
policy, equitability, dead end job.
 Supervision: Elements  Employee centered,
employee participation in decision making.
 Coworkers: Elements  Primary group relations,
supportive attitude, cohesiveness
 Working conditions: Elements  Lighting,
temperature, cleanliness, building security, hygienic
conditions, utilities.
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 From elements to
questions/statements
 On each element ask question (s), make
statements.

 The responses can be put on a scale

indicating from high satisfaction to least
satisfaction

 Example………….
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 STATEMENTS
No. Statements S. Agree Undecided Disagree S. Disagree
Agree
1 I have a good opportunity for
advancement in my job
2 I feel very comfortable with
my co-workers

3 My pay is adequate to meet

my necessary expenses
4 My work gives me a sense of
accomplishment
5 My boss is impolite and cold
6 My job is a dead-end job
7 The company of my co-
workers is boring
8 Pay at my level is less as
compared to other
organizations 16
No. Statements S. Agree Agree Undecided Disagree S. Disagree

9 Most of the time I am

frustrated with my work
10 My boss praises good work
and is supportive
11 There is a chance of
frequent promotions in my
job

12 My co-workers are a source

of inspiration for me
13 I receive reasonable annual
increments
14 My work is very challenging
to me
15 My boss is adept in his work

16 We have an unfair promotion

policy in our organization
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No. Statements S. Agree Agree Undecided Disagree S .Disagree

17 Working style of my co-

workers is different from
mine
18 The old-age benefits are
quite adequate
19 Most of the time I do
routine work
20 My boss does not delegate
powers
21 Opportunity for promotion
is some-what limited here
22 My co-workers try to take
credit of my work
23 My pay is commensurate
with my qualification

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Home Work: (Uma Sekaran) 19
Operationalizing the Concept of “LEARNING”

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 Measurement Scales
 Measurement scales are used to measure different
variables.
 These Scales determine which statistical techniques
are appropriate to analyze your data.
 The scale determines the amount of information
contained in the data.
 knowing the level of measurement helps you decide
how to interpret the data from that variable.
Four types/levels of scales are used in research,
each have specific applications and properties.
The scales are nominal, ordinal, interval, and
https://communitymedicine4asses.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/scales-of-measurement-
ratio.
nominal-ordinal-interval-ratio/
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 Nominal Scale (also denoted as categorical)
 Nominal scales are used to classify objects, individuals,
groups, or even phenomena.
 Nominal scales are used for labeling variables, without any
quantitative value. “Nominal” scales could simply be called
“labels.”

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 Nominal scales are mutually exclusive (meaning
that items being classified will fit into one
classification).
 A nonnumeric label or numeric code may be used.

 Permitted statistics; frequencies (% and counts),

modes and chi squares (neither the mean nor the median can
be defined).
 Nominal scales are the least powerful of the four
scales.

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 Ordinal Scale
 Ordinal scales include the characteristics of the nominal
scale plus an indicator of order (ranking).
 This type of scale can provide information about some item
having more or less of an attribute than others, but no
information on the degree of this.
 The use of ordinal scale implies a statement of “greater
than” or “less than” without stating how much greater or
less. Other descriptors can be “superior to,” “happier than,”
“poorer than,” or “above.”
 Ordinal Scale only measures order and does not indicate
objective distance between any two the relative positional
distances.
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 Permitted statistics: Frequencies, median, mode,
rank order correlation, non-parametric analysis of
variance but the mean cannot be defined.
 Modeling techniques can also be used with ordinal
data.

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 Interval Scale
 Interval scales have the power of nominal and ordinal
scales plus one additional strength: magnitude of ranking.
Interval scales have equal distances between the points of a
scale.
 The classic example of an interval scale is Celsius
temperature because the difference between each value is
the same. For example, the difference between 60 and 50
degrees is a measurable 10 degrees, as is the difference
between 80 and 70 degrees. Time is another good example
of an interval scale in which the increments are known,
consistent, and measurable.
 A temperature of "zero" does not mean that there is no
temperature...it is just an arbitrary zero point.
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 Interval scale not only groups individuals according to certain
categories and taps the order of these groups but also magnitude of the
differences among individuals. E.g. weight of people, length of
something, number of children in a family
(zero children means you have no children)
 Permitted statistics; mean, median, mode, standard deviation,
Correlation – r, Regression, Analysis of variance, Factor analysis plus
a whole range of advanced multivariate and modelling techniques.

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 We cannot calculate the ratios from interval
scales
 For example, the elapsed time between 3 and 6 A.
M. equals the time between 4 and 7 A. M. One
cannot say, however, 6 A.M. is twice as late as 3
A.M. because “zero time” is an arbitrary origin.
 In the consumer price index, if the base year is
1983, the price level during 1983 will be set
arbitrarily as 100. Although this is an equal
interval measurement scale, the zero point is
arbitrary.

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 Ratio Scale
 The most comprehensive scale having all of the
characteristics of the other three with the additional
benefit of an absolute zero–which allows for a wide
range of both descriptive and inferential statistics to
be applied. E.g. Weight, Sales volume, Income, area
etc.
 Ratio scales provide a wealth of possibilities when it
comes to statistical analysis. These variables can be
meaningfully added, subtracted, multiplied, divided
(ratios). Central tendency can be measured by
mode, median, or mean; measures of dispersion,
such as standard deviation and coefficient of
variation can also be calculated from ratio scales.
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 Ratio scales are similar to interval scales. A ratio scale allows
you to compare differences between numbers. For example, if
you measured the time it takes 3 people to run a race, their times
may be 10 seconds (Racer A), 15 seconds (Racer B) and 20
seconds (Racer C). You can say with accuracy, that it took Racer
C twice as long as Racer A. Unlike the interval scale, the ratio
scale has a true zero value.
 All statistics permitted for interval scales plus the following:
geometric mean, harmonic mean, coefficient of variation,
logarithms

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 In summary, nominal variables are used to “name,” or label a series
of values. Ordinal scales provide good information about the order of
choices, such as in a customer satisfaction survey. Interval scales
give us the order of values + the ability to quantify the difference
between each one. Finally, Ratio scales give us the ultimate–order,
interval values, plus the ability to calculate ratios since a “true zero”
can be defined.

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 Criteria of Good Measurement
 After Conceptualization & Operationalization, it is
important to make sure that the developed
instrument to measure a particular concept is indeed
accurately measuring the variable.
 A good measurement ensures that there is no
missing dimension, element, and question plus there
is nothing irrelevant .
 Characteristics of a good measurement: Validity,
Reliability, and Sensitivity.
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 Reliability
 Reliability refers to replication and consistency. If a
researcher is able to replicate an earlier research
design and achieve the same findings, then that
research would be seen as being reliable.
 It is the degree to which an instrument measures the
same way each time it is used under the same
condition with the same subjects. (error free)
 A reliable cars is one that starts every time we need it.
 Waves Reliable hay
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 Forms of Reliability
 Test-retest Reliability: Test-retest method of
determining reliability involves administering the
same test to the same respondents at two separate
times. If the result is same after intervals then
instrument is said to have test-retest reliability.

 Use instrument for measuring job satisfaction at T-1.

Satisfied 64%. Repeat after 4 weeks. Same results.
Hence stability.
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 Two problems with test-retest
 It is a longitudinal approach. So:
i. It may sensitize the respondents.
ii. Time may help change the attitude. Also
maturation of the subjects.
 Hence the results may not show high
correlation.
 Due to time factor rather than the lack of
reliability

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 Equivalent/Parallel Form Reliability
 This approach attempts to overcome some of the
problems associated with the test-retest
measurement of reliability.
 Two questionnaires, designed to measure the
same thing, are administered to the same group.
Both Questionnaires have similar items and same
response format, the only changes being the
wording and the order or sequence of the
questions.
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 Split-Half Reliability
 In split-half reliability we randomly divide all items that
purport to measure the same construct into two sets.

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Inter-Rater or Inter-Observer
Reliability
 Used to assess the degree to which different
raters/observers give consistent estimates of
the same phenomenon.

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 Internal Consistency Reliability
 This form of reliability is used to judge the consistency
of results across items on the same test.
 When asking questions in research, the purpose is to
assess the response against a given construct or idea.
 Different questions that test the same construct should
give consistent results. . When you see a question that
seems very similar to another test question, it may
indicate that the two questions are being used to gauge
reliability. Because the two questions are similar and
designed to measure the same thing, the test taker should
answer both questions the same, which would indicate
that the test has internal consistency.
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Threats to reliability

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 Warning…..!
 Reliability is necessary but not sufficient condition
to test the goodness of a measure.
 A measure could be highly stable and consistent,
but may not be valid.
 Validity ensures the ability of the instrument to
measure the intended concept.
 A reliable but invalid instrument will yield
consistently inaccurate results.

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 Validity
 The ability of a scale to measure what was intended
to be measured. Addresses the issue of whether what
we tried to measure was actually measured.
 Validity refers to the degree to which a study
accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept
that the researcher is attempting to measure. While
reliability is concerned with the accuracy of the
actual measuring instrument or procedure, validity
is concerned with the study's success at measuring
what the researchers set out to measure.

 http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/introval.php 45
 Reliability and Validity on Target

Old Rifle New Rifle New Rifle

Sunglare
Low Reliability High Reliability Reliable but Not
Valid
(Target A) (Target B) (Target C)
Which one is Reliable & Valid ?

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 The figure above shows four possible situations. In the first one, you are hitting the
target consistently, but you are missing the center of the target. That is, you are
consistently and systematically measuring the wrong value for all respondents. This
measure is reliable, but no valid (that is, it's consistent but wrong). The second,
shows hits that are randomly spread across the target. You seldom hit the center of
the target but, on average, you are getting the right answer for the group (but not
very well for individuals). In this case, you get a valid group estimate, but you are
inconsistent. Here, you can clearly see that reliability is directly related to the
variability of your measure. The third scenario shows a case where your hits are
spread across the target and you are consistently missing the center. Your measure in
this case is neither reliable nor valid. Finally, we see the "Robin Hood" scenario --
you consistently hit the center of the target. Your measure is both reliable and valid
(I bet you never thought of Robin Hood in those terms before).
 http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/relandval.php 48
 Forms of Validity
 Content Validity- Refers to the extent to which the content of a
measurement instrument's represents the entire body of content to be
measured.
 E.g. : Do the questions on an exam accurately reflect what you have
learned in the course, or were the exam questions sampled from only
a sub-section of the material? A test to measure your knowledge of
mathematics should not be limited to addition problems, nor should it
include questions about French literature.
 Face validity is considered as a basic and very minimum index of
content validity. It is the validity of a test at face value. A test can be
said to have face validity if it "looks like" it is going to measure what
it is supposed to measure. For instance, if you prepare a test to
measure whether students can perform multiplication, and the people
you show it to all agree that it looks like a good test of multiplication
ability, you have shown the face validity of your test.
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 Criterion related validity
 also referred to as instrumental validity, is used to demonstrate
the accuracy of a measure or procedure by comparing it with
another measure or procedure which has been demonstrated to
be valid. There are two subtypes of this kind of validity.
 Concurrent validity: To have concurrent validity, an indicator
must be associated with a preexisting indicator that is judged to
be valid. For example we create a new test to measure
intelligence. For it to be concurrently valid, it should be highly
associated with existing IQ tests (assuming the same definition
of intelligence is used).
 Predictive validity: Criterion validity whereby an indicator
predicts future events that are logically related to a construct is
called a predictive validity. Examples of test with predictive
validity are career or aptitude tests, which are helpful in
determining who is likely to succeed or fail in certain subjects or
occupations.
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 Construct Validity
 Construct validity seeks agreement between a theoretical
concept and a specific measuring device or procedure. For
example, a researcher inventing a new IQ test might spend a
great deal of time attempting to "define" intelligence in
order to reach an acceptable level of construct validity.
Construct validity can be broken down into two sub-
categories: Convergent validity & Discriminate validity.
 Convergent validity is the actual general agreement among
ratings, gathered independently of one another, where
measures should be theoretically related. Discriminate
validity is the lack of a relationship among measures which
theoretically should not be related.
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 Sensitivity
 The sensitivity of a scale is an important measurement
concept. Sensitivity refers to an instrument’s ability to
accurately measure variability in stimuli or responses.
 E.g. A dichotomous response category, such as “agree or disagree,”
does not allow the recording of subtle attitude changes. A more
sensitive measure, with numerous items on the scale, may be needed.
For example adding “strongly agree,” “mildly agree,” “neither agree
nor disagree,” “mildly disagree,” and “strongly disagree” as
categories increases a scale’s sensitivity.
 The sensitivity of a scale based on a single question or single item can
also be increased by adding additional questions or items.
 Practicality: The scientific requirements of a project call
for the measurement process to be reliable and valid, while
the operational requirements call for it to be practical.
Practicality has been defined as economy, convenience, and
interpretability.
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 Here, we set up a 2x2 table. The columns of the table
indicate whether you are trying to measure the same or
different concepts. The rows show whether you are using
the same or different methods of measurement. Imagine that
we have two concepts we would like to measure, student
verbal and math ability. Furthermore, imagine that we can
measure each of these in two ways. First, we can use a
written, paper-and-pencil exam (very much like the SAT or
GRE exams). Second, we can ask the student's classroom
teacher to give us a rating of the student's ability based on
their own classroom observation.

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 The first cell on the upper left shows the comparison of the verbal written test score with the
verbal written test score. But how can we compare the same measure with itself? We could
do this by estimating the reliability of the written test through a test-retest correlation, parallel
forms, or an internal consistency measure (See Types of Reliability). What we are estimating
in this cell is the reliability of the measure.
 The cell on the lower left shows a comparison of the verbal written measure with the verbal
teacher observation rating. Because we are trying to measure the same concept, we are
looking at convergent validity (See Measurement Validity Types).
 The cell on the upper right shows the comparison of the verbal written exam with the math
written exam. Here, we are comparing two different concepts (verbal versus math) and so we
would expect the relationship to be lower than a comparison of the same concept with itself
(e.g., verbal versus verbal or math versus math). Thus, we are trying to discriminate between
two concepts and we would consider this discriminant validity.
 Finally, we have the cell on the lower right. Here, we are comparing the verbal written exam
with the math teacher observation rating. Like the cell on the upper right, we are also trying
to compare two different concepts (verbal versus math) and so this is a discriminant validity
estimate. But here, we are also trying to compare two different methods of measurement
(written exam versus teacher observation rating). So, we'll call this very discriminant to
indicate that we would expect the relationship in this cell to be even lower than in the one
above it.

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 Ethical Issues in Research

 Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that

guide moral choices about our behavior and
our relationships with others. The goal of
ethics in research is to ensure that no one is
harmed or suffers adverse consequences from
research activities.

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Major Sources for Creating Ethical Dilemmas in
Research Practices are From Interactions Among:

Client - Sponsor Researcher

Decision Makers Researchers
Sponsoring Clients Research
Management Teams Organizations

Respondents
Subjects
Objects of
Investigation
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 Unethical activities
 Violating nondisclosure agreements.
 Breaking respondent confidentiality.
 Misrepresenting results.
 Deceiving people.
 Invoicing irregularities.
 Avoiding legal liability.
 Espionage or spying
 Deception: Deception occurs when the
respondents are told only part of the truth or when
the truth is fully compromised.
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 Ethics of Research
 Voluntary participation
 Informed Consent this means that prospective
research participants must be fully informed about
the procedures and risks involved in research and
must give their consent to participate.
 Confidentiality- they are assured that identifying
information will not be made available to anyone
who is not directly involved in the study.
 anonymity which essentially means that the
participant will remain anonymous throughout the
study –
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 Safety: It is the researcher’s responsibility to
design a project so the safety of all
interviewers, surveyors, experimenters, or
observers is protected. Several factors may be
important to consider in ensuring a
researcher’s right to safety.

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