MEASUREMENT AND SCALING CONCEPTS

GROUP 7

WHAT IS TO BE MEASURED???

The CONCEPT
which can be Sales Performance, height, Rate of Absenteeism or anything you want to measure

HOW IT WILL BE MEASURED???

True Measurement of a concept requires a process of assigning precise scores or numbers to the attributes of people or objects.

CONCEPT
A generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes, occurrences, or processes.

CONCEPT cont..
Concrete Concept: Age, Gender etc Abstract Concept: Loyalty, Job Involvement.
Abstract Concept Measurement generally involves a number of measurements and scales.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
It gives meaning to a concept by specifying the activities/operations necessary to measure it.

Ex: Concept: Interest Operational Definition: A certain increase in pupil Dilation OR What people say they are interested in.

An Example: Media Skepticism Conceptual definition

Media skepticism - the degree to which individuals are skeptical toward the reality presented in the mass media. Media skepticism varies across individuals, from those who are mildly skeptical and accept most of what they see and hear in the media to those who completely discount and disbelieve the facts, values, and portrayal of reality in the media.

Media Skepticism Operational Definition

Please tell me how true each statement is about the media. Is it very true, not very true, or not at all true? 1. The program was not very accurate in its portrayal of the problem. 2. Most of the story was staged for entertainment purposes. 3. The presentation was slanted and unfair.

Rules of Measurement
A Guide that tells someone what to do.

Simply put: Assign the numerals 1 to 7 to individuals acc to how productive they are. If the individual is extremely productive assign a 7. If the individual is an unproductive worker assign a 1.

SCALE
Series of items arranged according to value, into which an item can be placed for the purpose of quantification A continuous spectrum 4 types:
Nominal

Ordinal
Interval Ratio

NOMINAL SCALE
The numbers or letters assigned to objects which serve as labels for identification or classification.

ORDINAL SCALE
Scale which arranges objects or alternatives according to their magnitude in an ordered relationship.

ORDINAL SCALE cont..

Ordinal measurements describe order But relative size or degree of difference between the items CANNOT be measured

INTERVAL SCALE
An order which not only indicates order, but also measure order (or distance) in units of equal interval

The location of zero point is arbitrary. Ex: CPI, Sensex

INTERVAL SCALE cont..

Ex: The Fahrenheit scale is an interval scale.

Since each degree is equal but there is no absolute zero point. This means that although we can add and subtract degrees (100 is 10 warmer than 90), we cannot multiply values or create ratios (100 is not twice as warm as 50).

RATIO SCALE
Ratio Scales are the ones which have absolute rather than relative quantities. Ratio scales have non-arbitrary zero value. Ex: Money and Weight possess an absolute zero on the scale where there is an absence of the given attribute. Mass, length, time, plane angle, energy and electric charge are examples of physical measures that are ratio scales.

Key Features

Properties: A Comparison
Uniquely classifies Sammy Sosa # 21 Barry Bonds # 27 Uniquely classifies Preserves order 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Nominal Scale

Ordinal Scale

Properties: A Comparison
Interval Scale
Uniquely classifies Preserves order Equal intervals Consumer Price Index (Base 100) Fahrenheit temperature

Ratio Scale

Uniquely classifies Preserves order Equal intervals Natural zero Weight and distance

To Summarize: Typical Examples

Nominal Scale
Male, Female, Race, Political Party (categorical data that cannot be ranked)

Ordinal Scale Degree of Satisfaction at Restaurant (data that can be ranked)

Interval Scale Temperature, Dates (data that have an arbitrary zero)

Ratio Scale Height, Weight, Age, Length (data that has an absolute zero)

What We Can COMPUTE ??

Can Compute..
Frequency Distribution. Median and Percentiles. Add or Subtract. Mean, Standard Deviation, Standard Error of The Mean. Ratio or Coefficient of Variation.

Nominal Ordinal
Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No No

Interval
Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Ratio
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Index Measures
Attribute A single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation or issue.
Index or Composite Measure Multi-item instrument constructed to measure a single concept with several attributes.

Three Criteria For Good Measurement

Criteria

Reliability

Validity

Sensitivity

RELIABILITY
Degree to which measures are free from error and therefore yield consistent results
Low reliability can be due to imperfections in measuring process that effect in different ways each measurement.

Dimensions of Reliability
Reliability

Internal Consistency

Repeatability

Split-half method

Equivalentform method

Test-Retest method

Two main dimensions are:

REPEATABILITY Used to assess the consistency of a measure from one time to another. Measure of Stability. INTERNAL CONSISTENCY Used to assess the consistency of results across items within a test. Measure of Homogeneity.

Test-Retest Method
It is administering of same scale or measure to the same respondents at two separate points in time under same conditions to test for stability.

Problems in Test-Retest Reliability

PREMEASURE The first measure may sensitize respondents to their participation in research project and thus effect results of second measure. TIME PERIOD BETWEEN MEASUREMENTS The shorter the time gap, the higher the correlation and the longer the time gap, the lower the correlation.

Split Half Method

Is used to measure the degree of internal consistency by checking one half of the results of a set of scaled items against the other half.

Used generally when measure contains a large number of items.

Equivalent/Parallel Form Method

Method of measuring correlation between alternative instruments, designed to be as equivalent as possible and administered to the same group of subjects. There can be problem if low correspondence between two instruments

Measurement needs to have not only reliability but also VALIDITY.

The purpose of measurement is to measure what we intend to measure

VALIDITY
Ability of a scale or measuring instrument to measure what is intended to measure.
Validity

Face validity

Criterion Validity

Construct Validity

Concurrent Validity

Predictive Validity

Convergent Validity

Discriminant Validity

Face / Content Validity

Professional agreement that a scale logically appears to accurately measure, what its is intended to measure. Ex: What is your age?, What is your name? In research its never sufficient to rely on face judgments alone and more quantifiable methods of validity are necessary.

Criterion Validity
Ability of some measure to correlate with other measure of the same construct

Criterion Validity (contd)

Concurrent Validity new measure taken at same time as criterion measure and is valid. Predictive Validity new measure predicts a future event or correlates with criterion measure administered at a later time.

Construct Validity
Is the extent to which a measure fits into the theoretical scheme and research already established on the attribute or construct being measured.
new measure is similar to (converges on) other measure that it theoretically should also be similar to. Discriminant Validity is ability of measure to have low correlation with measures of dissimilar concepts

Convergent Validity - is the degree to which a

Example

QUESTION

Can survey be Valid but not reliable ? Reliable but not valid ?

SENSITIVITY
Is instruments ability to accurately measure variability in stimuli or responses. It can be increased by adding more questions. Index measures are more sensitive than single item scales.

SUMMARY
Four types of measuring scales:
Nominal Scales Ordinal Scales Interval Scales Ratio Scales

Index (composite) Measures Several attributes

SUMMARY Contd.
Measurement Criteria for Measuring Instruments:
Reliability: Provide consistent results

Validity: Measure what we intend to measure

Sensitivity: Measure variability

A Small Quiz:
Type of scale used:

Fahrenheit Scale Coding for Males and Females

Percentile Ranking
Kelvin Scale

Quiz Contd..
Consider the centigrade scale for measuring temperature. Which of the following measurement properties is satisfied by the centigrade scale?

I. Magnitude. II. Equal intervals. III. Absolute zero.

(A) I only (B) II only (C) III only (D) I and II (E) II and III

Quiz Contd..
A researcher developed a measure of shyness and is now asking whether this measure does in fact measure a person's true state of shyness. This is a question of:
a.) Sensitivity b.) Construct validity c.) Reliability. Scores on a final exam are related to student grade point average, the amount of time spent studying for the exam, and class attendance. What type of validity is demonstrated in this case? a.) Convergent validity b.) Discriminant validity c.) Criterion validity.

Quiz Contd..
Which of the following statements accurately portrays the relationship of reliability to validity?
a.)Inferences must be valid before the scores can be reliable. b.)Scores must be reliable before inferences can be valid. c.)The more valid the inference is, the higher the reliability of the score must be. d.)Score reliability is not related to inference validity.