BBA 4th Sem

BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD

Course code: BBC 401
‘Module 4- Measurement & Scaling’

FACULTY NAME: Dr. Ritu Rani

 Content
1. Measurement and scaling Slide 3
2. Primary Scaling Technique Slide 4
3. Nominal Scale Slide 5
4. Ordinal Scale Slide 6
5. Interval Scale Slide 7
6. Ratio Scale Slide 8
7. Scaling Techniques Slide 9
8. Other Scaling Techniques Slide 10
9. Comparative Scales Slide 11
10. Paired Comparison Slide 12
11. Rank Order Slide 13
12. Constant Sum Slide 14
13. Non Comparative Scales Slide 15
14. Semantic Differential Scale Slide 16
15. Questionnaire- form and design Slide 17
16. Difference between Questionnaire & Survey Slide 18
17. Types of Questionnaire Slide 19
18. Questionnaire Design Slide 22
19. References Slide 23
 Measurement and scaling
• Measurement is the process of recording observations collected as part of the
research. Scaling, on the other hand, is the assignment of objects to numbers or
sem m,antics. These two words merged together refer to the relationship among
the assigned objects and the recorded observations.
• A measurement scale is used to qualify or quantify data variables in statistics. It
determines the kind of techniques to be used for statistical analysis.
• There are different kinds of measurement scales, and the type of data being
collected determines the kind of measurement scale to be used for statistical
measurement. These measurement scales are four in number, namely; nominal
scale, ordinal scale, interval scale, and ratio scale.
• The measurement scales are used to measure qualitative and quantitative data.
With nominal and ordinal scale being used to measure qualitative data while
interval and ratio scales are used to measure quantitative data.
Primary Scaling Technique
 Nominal Scale
A nominal scale is the 1st level of measurement scale in which the numbers serve as “tags”
or “labels” to classify or identify the objects. A nominal scale usually deals with the non-
numeric variables or the numbers that do not have any value.
Characteristics of Nominal Scale
• A nominal scale variable is classified into two or more categories. In this measurement
mechanism, the answer should fall into either of the classes.
• It is qualitative. The numbers are used here to identify the objects.
• The numbers don’t define the object characteristics. The only permissible aspect of
numbers in the nominal scale is “counting.”
Example:
An example of a nominal scale measurement is given below:
1. What is your gender? A. Male. B. Female
2. Are you Married? A. Yes. B. No
3. You are from: A. Urban B. Rural
 Ordinal Scale
The ordinal scale is the 2nd level of measurement that reports the ordering and ranking of data without establishing the
degree of variation between them. Ordinal represents the “order.” Ordinal data is known as qualitative data or categorical
data. It can be grouped, named and also ranked.
Characteristics of the Ordinal Scale
• The ordinal scale shows the relative ranking of the variables
• It identifies and describes the magnitude of a variable
• Along with the information provided by the nominal scale, ordinal scales give the rankings of those variables
• The interval properties are not known
• The surveyors can quickly analyse the degree of agreement concerning the identified order of variables
Example:
• Ranking of school students – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.
• Evaluating the frequency of occurrences
• Very often
• Often
• Not often
• Not at all
• Assessing the degree of agreement
• Totally agree
• Agree
• Neutral
 Interval Scale
The interval scale is the 3rd level of measurement scale. It is defined as a quantitative measurement scale in which
the difference between the two variables is meaningful. In other words, the variables are measured in an exact
manner, not as in a relative way in which the presence of zero is arbitrary.
Characteristics of Interval Scale:
• The interval scale is quantitative as it can quantify the difference between the values
• It allows calculating the mean and median of the variables
• To understand the difference between the variables, you can subtract the values between the variables
• The interval scale is the preferred scale in Statistics as it helps to assign any numerical values to arbitrary
assessment such as feelings, calendar types, etc.
Example: Likert scale is a tool to collect interval data, which is developed by Rensis Likert
How likely do you recommend our product to your friends or relatives?
 Ratio Scale
The ratio scale is the 4th level of measurement scale, which is quantitative. It is a type of variable measurement scale. It
allows researchers to compare the differences or intervals. The ratio scale has a unique feature. It possesses the character
of the origin or zero points.
Characteristics of Ratio Scale:
• Ratio scale has a feature of absolute zero
• It doesn’t have negative numbers, because of its zero-point feature
• It affords unique opportunities for statistical analysis. The variables can be orderly added, subtracted, multiplied,
divided. Mean, median, and mode can be calculated using the ratio scale.
• Ratio scale has unique and useful properties. One such feature is that it allows unit conversions like kilogram – calories,
gram – calories, etc.
Example:
What is your weight in Kgs?
• Less than 55 kgs
• 55 – 75 kgs
• 76 – 85 kgs
• 86 – 95 kgs
• More than 95 kgs
 Scaling Techniques
• Scaling technique is a method of placing respondents in continuation of
gradual change in the pre-assigned values, symbols or numbers based on
the features of a particular object as per the defined rules. All the scaling
techniques are based on four pillars, i.e., order, description, distance and
origin.
• The marketing research is highly dependable upon the scaling techniques,
without which no market analysis can be performed.
• Scaling of objects can be used for a comparative study between more than
one objects (products, services, brands, events, etc.). Or can be individually
carried out to understand the consumer’s behaviour and response towards a
particular object.
• There are two main types of measurement scales, namely; comparative
scales and non-comparative scales.
Other Scaling Technique
 Comparative Scales
In comparative scaling, respondents are asked to make a comparison
between one object and the other. When used in market research,
customers are asked to evaluate one product in direct comparison to
the others.
The comparative scales can further be divided into the following four
types of scaling techniques:
(a)Paired Comparison Scale
(b)Rank Order Scale
(c)Constant Sum Scale
(d)Q-sort Scale.
 Paired Comparison
• A paired comparison symbolizes two variables from which the
respondent needs to select one. This technique is mainly used at
the time of product testing, to facilitate the consumers with a
comparative analysis of the two major products in the market.
• For example, A market survey was conducted to find out
consumer’s preference for the network service provider brands, A
and B. The outcome of the survey was as follows:

Brand ‘A’ = 57%

Brand ‘B’ = 43%

Thus, it is visible that the consumers prefer brand ‘A’, over brand ‘B’.
 Rank Order
In rank order scaling the respondent needs to rank or arrange the given objects
according to his or her preference.
For example, A soap manufacturing company conducted a rank order scaling to find out
the orderly preference of the consumers. It asked the respondents to rank the following
brands in the sequence of their choice:
The above scaling shows that soap ‘Y’ is the most preferred brand, followed by soap ‘X’,
then soap ‘Z’ and the least preferred one is the soap ‘V’.
SOAP BRANDS RANK
Brand V 4
Brand X 2
Brand Y 1
Brand Z 3
 Constant Sum
• It is a scaling technique where a continual sum of units like dollars, points, chits, chips, etc. is given to the features,
attributes and importance of a particular product or service by the respondents.

• For example, The respondents belonging to 3 different segments were asked to allocate 50 points to the following
attributes of a cosmetic product ‘P’:

ATTRIBUTES SEGMENT 1 SEGMENT 2 SEGMENT 3

Finish 11 8 9
Skin Friendly 11 12 12
Fragrance 7 11 8
Packaging 9 8 10
Price 12 11 11

From the above constant sum scaling analysis, we can see that:
• Segment 1 considers product ‘P’ due to its competitive price as a major factor.
• But segment 2 and segment 3, prefers the product because it is skin-friendly.
 Non-Comparative Scales
A non-comparative scale is used to analyse the performance of an individual product or object on different
parameters. Following are some of its most common types:
Itemized Rating Scale
Itemized scale is another essential technique under the non-comparative scales. It emphasizes on choosing a
particular category among the various given categories by the respondents. Each class is briefly defined by the
researchers to facilitate such selection.
Likert Scale: In the Likert scale, the researcher provides some statements and ask the respondents to mark their level
of agreement or disagreement over these statements by selecting any one of the options from the five given
alternatives.
For example, A shoes manufacturing company adopted the Likert scale technique for its new sports shoe range
named Z sports shoes. The purpose is to know the agreement or disagreement of the respondents.
For this, the researcher asked the respondents to circle a number representing the most suitable answer according to
them, in the following representation:
• 1 – Strongly Disagree
• 2 – Disagree
• 3 – Neither Agree Nor Disagree
• 4 – Agree
• 5 – Strongly Agree
 Semantic Differential Scale
A bi-polar seven-point non-comparative rating scale is where the respondent can mark on any of the seven points for each given
attribute of the object as per personal choice. Thus, depicting the respondent’s attitude or perception towards the object.

For example, A well-known brand for watches, carried out semantic differential scaling to understand the customer’s attitude
towards its product. The pictorial representation of this technique is as follows:

From the above diagram, we can analyze that the customer finds the product of superior quality; however, the brand
needs to focus more on the styling of its watches.
 Questionnaire- form and design
• A survey is a research method where you collect and analyze data from a group of people.
A questionnaire is a specific tool or instrument for collecting the data.
• But designing a questionnaire is only one component of survey research. Survey research also
involves defining the population you’re interested in, choosing an appropriate sampling
method, administering questionnaires, data cleansing and analysis, and interpretation
• A questionnaire is a list of questions (primarily open-ended and closed) or items used to
gather data from respondents about their attitudes, experiences, or opinions. Questionnaires
can be used to collect quantitative and/or qualitative information.
• Questionnaires are commonly used in market research as well as in the social and health
sciences. For example, a company may ask for feedback about a recent customer service
experience, or psychology researchers may investigate health risk perceptions using
questionnaires.
• Designing a questionnaire means creating valid and reliable questions that address
your research objectives, placing them in a useful order, and selecting an appropriate method
for administration.
 Differences between a Questionnaire
and a Survey
Questionnaire Survey

A questionnaire can is a research instrument A survey is a research method used for collecting data from
Meaning that consists of a set of questions to collect a pre-defined group of respondents to gain information and
information from a respondent. insights on various topics of interest.

What is it? The instrument of data collection Process of collecting and analyzing that data

Consists of questionnaire and survey design, logic and data

Characteristic Subset of survey
collection

Time and
Fast and cost-effective Much slower and expensive
Cost

Use Conducted on the target audience Distributed or conducted on respondents

Questions Close-ended and very rarely open-ended Close-ended and open-ended

Answers Objective Subjective or objective

 Types of Questionnaire
• Structured Questionnaires: Structured questionnaires
collect quantitative data. The questionnaire is planned and
designed to gather precise information. It also initiates a formal
inquiry, supplements data, checks previously accumulated data,
and helps validate any prior hypothesis.
• Unstructured Questionnaires: Unstructured questionnaires
collect qualitative data. They use a basic structure and some
branching questions but nothing that limits the responses of a
respondent. The questions are more open-ended to collect specific
data from participants.
 Questionnaire Design
1. Identify your research aims and the goal of your questionnaire
What kind of information do you want to gather with your questionnaire? What is your main
objective? Think about what your questionnaire is going to include before you start designing the
look of it. The clarity of the topic is of utmost importance as this is the primary step in creating
the questionnaire. Once you are clear on the purpose of the questionnaire, you can begin the
design process.
2. Define your target respondents
• Clearly, one can’t test everyone – it’s rather plausible that there have to be certain restrictions
with respect to the target audience of your questionnaire. The selection of groups is a key
factor for maximizing the robustness of your study.
• Another aspect to consider is whether you want to run multiple questionnaire sessions over a
longer period of time with a single group (longitudinal design), or if you want to present your
questionnaire once to two or more groups (cross-sectional design).
• While the former allows you to analyze how the questionnaire results of the group change over
time, the latter delivers insights into differences among groups.
 Contd.
3. Develop questions
• Smart questions are the cornerstone of every questionnaire. To make them work, they have to be
phrased in a way that prevents any misunderstandings or ambiguities.
• It makes a significant difference whether you want to hand a questionnaire to children, adults, or maybe
even elderly participants. It’s important to consider the cognitive, attentional, and sensory
competencies of your target group.
• Handing out long questionnaires with a huge amount of questions in small letter print and complicated
phrasing might be too taxing for many participant groups.
• Additionally, remember to avoid jargon or technical language – the text needs to be fully understood by
anyone completing the questionnaire.
4. Choose your question type
• There’s a wide variety in how to phrase questions. In explorative questionnaires, you will find mainly
open questions, where participants can fill in any answer (this makes sense whenever you try to gain an
understanding of the topics associated with your research question).
• By contrast, quantitative questionnaires primarily include closed-questions, which have been predefined
by the researcher either in form of multiple choice answers or rating scales (such as the Likert scale)
 Contd.
5. Design question sequence and overall layout
• After optimizing each question separately it is time to improve the overall flow and layout of the
questionnaire.
• Are there transitions from one question to the next? Are follow-up questions placed correctly? Are
skip-rules implemented (if needed) so that participants can skip questions that do not apply to them?
6 . Run a pilot
• This stage is crucial for evaluation and optimization purposes. Any questionnaire should be handed to a
representative sample of your target audience before you go further with it.
• During piloting, one can identify issues in readability and understanding, in phrasing and overall
arrangement. It could be helpful to discuss the questionnaire with pilot participants to better
understand their experience. Also, keep in mind to evaluate your pilot data statistically to make sure
that the analytic procedures of interest truly can be applied to the data.
 REFERENCES
T1- C.R. Kothari, Research Methodology, Vikas Publications
T2- Naresh Malhotra - Marketing Research, Pearson.
T3- Tripathi P.C: A Textbook of Research Methodology, Sultan Chand & Sons.
R1: R. Divivedi: Research Methods in Behavior Science, Macmillan India Ltd.
R2 Nageswara Rao: Research Methodology & Quantitative Methods.
THANK YOU