Chapter 4-Measurement in Marketing Research

Measurement & Scaling Measurement – Process of assigning numbers to objects to measure amount of attributes. Rules – A guide. Scale Note: We measure a person’s social class and not the person. Properties of the attribute and then assign numerals.

Measurement Scales Nominal - Counting Ordinal – Median / Mode Interval - Mean Ratio – Geometric Mean Football jerseys – nominal – counting; percentages Ordinal – deals with order - academic standing in terms of juniors and seniors; top three students in the class.

Difficulty in Measurement needs to measure ‘internal’ subjective states of individual consumers constructs: mental abstractions that form the basis for modeling the behavior of larger systems involving many individuals constitutive definition defines a construct with other constructs, as in a dictionary operational definition specifies how a construct is to be measured 4

Example of concepts: mass , love, strength, advertising effectiveness, consumer attitude, market share Example of constructs: consumer attitude, advertising effectiveness. Constructs are concepts used for research purpose. Construct ‘attitude’ may be defined as a learned tendency to respond in a consistent manner with respect to a given object of orientation’ or as’ latent dispositions toward objects’ Constructs that can be measured and quantified are called variables. They…vary!

Operational definition Height: Measure 1: in inches, with a ruler with the person wearing shoes Measure 2: in inches, with a ruler w/out the person wearing shoes Measure 3: Measured by an altimeter or barometer Measure 4: Measured by the number of hands

Operational definition Purchase intentions: measured as answer to: I will definitely purchase Brand x…………… I probably will purchase Brand x……………. I probably will not purchase Brand x………… I definitely will not purchase Brand x………… Can you think of an alternative operationalization? Attitudes multiplied by Beliefs.= PI

Measurement Scales Nominal - Counting Ordinal – Median / Mode Interval - Mean Ratio – Geometric Mean Football jerseys – nominal – counting; percentages Ordinal – deals with order - academic standing in terms of juniors and seniors; top three students in the class.

Scale Types

Scale Types

Scale Types Please divide 100 points among each of the following soft drinks according to your degree of liking for each. Coke ________ Pepsi ________ Dr. Pepper ________ Sprite ________

Basic Comparisons Typical Examples Measures of Average Scale Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio Identity Order Comparison of intervals of absolute magnitudes Male-female User-nonuser Occupations Uniform numbers Preference for brands Social class Hardness of minerals Graded quality of lumber Temperature scale Grade point average Attitude toward brands Awareness of advertising Units sold Number of purchasers Probability of purchase Weight Mode Median Mean Geometric mean Harmonic

Reliability Split-half Cronbach alpha Reliability – consistency of measures– should capture the core concept. Test-retest reliability Equivalent forms Internal consistency Split-half Cronbach alpha

Reliability

Reliability

Validity Face validity. Content validity. Criterion-related validity – the degree to which an instrument can predict Predictive – FUTURE - SAT scores; Attitudes. Concurrent - CURRENT Construct validity – the degree to which a measure confirms a theory based upon the concepts Discriminant Convergent

Reliability and Validity

Scaling Issues Graphic Rating Scales Itemized Rating Scales A graphic continuum typically anchored by two extremes. Easily constructed and simple to use. Ability to discern fine distinctions. Itemized Rating Scales Respondents must select from a limited number of ordered categories rather than placing a check mark on a continuous scale.

Three Types of Graphic Rating Scales Uncomfortable Scale A Comfortable Uncomfortable Scale B Comfortable 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Neutral

Three Types of Graphic Rating Scales Scale C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Very very Uncomfortable Very very Comfortable

Exhibit 8.13 Graphic Rating Scale

Attitude Measurement Scales To learn about various types of attitude scales. Rank Order Scale Respondent judges one item against another Paired Comparison Scales Asks a respondent to pick one of two objects from a set based upon some stated criteria. The respondent makes a series of paired judgments between objects. Constant Sum Scales Requires the respondent to divide a given number of points, typically 100, among two or more attributes based on the importance to the person.

Exhibit 8.14 Comparative Rating Scales

Attitude Measurement Scales To learn about the various types of attitude scales. The Semantic Differential Begins with the determination of a concept to be rated. The researcher selects opposite pairs of words or phrases that describe the object Respondents rate on a scale. The mean is computed and plotted as a profile or image.

Semantic Differential

Attitude Measurement Scales To learn about the various types of attitude scales. Stapel Scale Designed to measure both the direction and intensity of attitudes simultaneously. Likert Scales A series of statements that express either a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the concept under study. The respondent is asked the level of agreement or disagreement with each statement.

Exhibit 8.9 Likert Scale Example

The Validity and Reliability Concepts Sources of measurement error: 1. respondent characteristics, such as mood 2. situational factors, such as time of day 3. data collection factors, such as the influence of the interviewing method 4. measuring instrument factors, such as flawed survey questions 5. data analysis factors, such as coding error total measurement error = systematic error (eS, consistent bias) plus random error (eR) 28

Estimating Validity Validity is the extent to which measurement is free from both systematic and random error – its overall accuracy. It is estimated with: construct validity: compares measurements from the construct of interest and related constructs content (face) validity: compares measurements with judgments by experts concurrent validity: compares two different measurements of the same marketing phenomenon at the same point in time predictive validity: compares measurements at one point in time with predicted measurements at a future point in time 29

Estimating Reliability Reliability is the extent to which a measurement is free from random errors – its consistency, precision, and predictability. It is estimated with: test-retest reliability: compares repeated measurements using the same scaling device under similar conditions on the same subjects alternative-forms reliability: compares measurements between two equivalent but not identical forms, administered to the same subjects split-half reliability: compares measurements between equivalent groups of item responses in a multi-item measurement device 30

A Model of Behavioral Response The hierarchy-of-effects model hypothesizes that the buyer's response falls along a spectrum for each component of attitude. cognitive (or belief) component – respondent's awareness of and knowledge about object affective (or feeling) component – respondent's liking of and preference for object behavioral component – respondent's intention to buy and purchase behavior 31

A Model of Behavioral Response (cont.) Figure 4-4 Model of Behavioral Response 32

Verbal Rating Scales-Issues to consider Issues to consider for design of verbal rating scales: 1. overall number of categories 2. odd or even number of categories 3. balanced vs. unbalanced scale 4. extent of verbal description 5. category numbering 6. forced vs. non-forced scales 7. comparative vs. non-comparative scales 8. symmetric vs. asymmetric scales 9. scale direction 10. choice of endpoints 33