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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 1
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
(Business Research Methods)
Week 9
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 2
Measurement and Scaling (1) In business research, measurement of variables is aindispensable requirement
Problem Defining what is to be measured, and how it isto be accurately and reliably measured
Some things (or concepts) which are inherently abstractin their nature (e.g. job satisfaction, employee morale,
brand loyalty of consumers) are more difficult to measurethan concepts which can be assigned numerical values(e.g. sales volume for employees X, Y and Z)
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 3
Measurement and Scaling (2) In order for a concept to have the quality of beingmeasurable, it must first be made operational
An operation definition may be defined as a definition
that gives meaning to concept by specifying the activitiesor operations which are necessary in order to measure it
Example A satisfied consumer will make at least fivepurchases of Product A from Shop T over a three-month
period of time
Note that sometimes depending on the context of theresearch study - it may be difficult to make operationaldefinitions
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 4
Measurement and Scaling (3) A scale is basically a continuous spectrum or series of
categories and has been defined as any series of items
that are arranged progressively according to value or
magnitude, into which an item can be placed accordingto its quantification
Four popular scales in business research are:
Nominal scales
Ordinal scales
Interval scales
Ratio scales
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 5
Measurement and Scaling (4) A nominal scale is the simplest of the four scale types
and in which the numbers or letters assigned to objects
serve as labels for identification or classification
Example:
Males = 1, Females = 2
Sales Zone A =Islamabad, Sales Zone B = Rawalpindi
Drink A = Pepsi Cola, Drink B = 7-Up, Drink C = Miranda
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 7
Measurement and Scaling (6) An interval scale is a scale that not only arranges objectsor alternatives according to their respective magnitudes,but also distinguishes this ordered arrangement in unitsof equal intervals (i.e. interval scales indicate order (as inordinal scales) and also the distance in the order)
Examples:
Consumer Price Index
Temperature Scale in Fahrenheit
Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences ofmagnitude (e.g. of attitudes) but do not allow determinations ofthe actual strength of the magnitude
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 8
Measurement and Scaling (7) A ratio scale is a scale that possesses absolute ratherthan relative qualities and has an absolute zero.
Examples: Money
Weight
Distance
Temperature on the Kelvin Scale
Interval scales allow comparisons of the differences ofmagnitude (e.g. of attitudes) as well as determinations of theactual strength of the magnitude
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 9
Measurement and Scaling (8)
Type of Scale Numerical Operation Descriptive Statistics
Nominal Counting Frequency in each
category, percentage ineach category, mode
Ordinal Rank Ordering Median, range,
percentile ranking
Interval Arithmetic Operations on
Intervals between
numbers
Mean, standard
deviation, variance
Ratio Arithmetic Operations on
actual quantities
Geometric mean,
coefficient of variation
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 10
Index Measures If a concept is simple, it can be measured easily usually
with one question or observation
Example: To what extent do consumers of Product X like theproducts packaging material? (very much, somewhat, not at all)
If, however, the concept to be measured is complex andabstract, two or more questions or observations may berequired in order to get accurate data
Example: The level of a salespersons motivation depends on (1)job satisfaction (2) workplace environment (3) family life
Indexes (or composite measures) are meant to deal with the issue
of multidimensionalty (e.g. an index of social class may be the
variables residence, occupation and education)
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 11
Criteria for Good Measurement (1)
Reliability Reliability is the degree to whichmeasurements are devoid of error and therefore in theposition to yield consistent results, also over repeatedattempts over time (ordinal measures always yield thesame order, interval measurements always yield the
same order and same distance between the measureditems)
Validity Validity is the ability of a scale or measuringinstrument to measure what it is intended to measure(e.g. is absenteeism from work a valid measure of jobsatisfaction or are there other influences like a fluepidemic which is keeping employees from work)
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 12
Criteria for Good Measurement (2)
Sensitivity Sensitivity is the ability of a measurementinstrument to accurately measure variability in stimuli orresponses (e.g. on a scale, the choices very stronglyagree, strongly agree, agree, dont agree offer morechoices than a scale with just two choices - agree and
dont agree and is thus more sensitive)
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 13
Attitude Measuring Attitude is a frequent undertaking in business
research
Attitude may be defined as an enduring disposition toconsistently respond in a given manner to variousaspects
Attitude has three dimensions:
Affective
Component
Cognitive
Component
Behavioural
Component
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 14
Components of Attitude
Affective Component Reflective of a personsgeneral feelings or emotions towards an objector subject (like, dislike, love, hate)
Cognitive Component Reflective of a personsawareness of and knowledge about an object orsubject (know, believe)
Behavioural Component Reflective of apersons intentions and behaviouralexpectations, and predisposition to action
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 15
Measuring Attitude
It can be difficult to measure attitude, therefore,indicators such as verbal expression,physiological measurement techniques and
overt behaviour are used for this purpose. Thethree different components of attitude mayrequire different measuring techniques
Common techniques used in business researchto determine attitude include rating, ranking,sorting and the choice technique
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 16
Rating Techniques to Measure
Attitude Rating Scales are frequently employed in business research for
measuring attitude, and many scales have been developed for thispurpose, including:
Simple Attitude Scales
Category Scales
Likert Scale
Semantic Differential
Numerical Scales Constant-Sum Scale
Stapel Scale
Graphic Scales
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 17
Simple Attitude Scales
In attitude scaling, individuals are typically asked
whether they agree or disagree with a question (or
questions) put to them, or they are asked to respond to a
question or questions
Simple attitude scales have the properties of a nominal
scale and the disadvantages that go with it, also, they do
not permit fine distinctions in the respondents answers
because their choice of answers is limited, but they canbe useful in instances where the respondents education
level is low and questionnaires lengthy
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 18
Category Scales
A category scale consists of severalresponse categories to provide therespondent with alternative ratings
Category scales are more sensitive thanrating scales which allow only two answer
categories (because of the larger numberof choices), and thus provides more dataand information (see text example)
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 19
The Likert Scale
A likert Scale is a measure of attitudes designed to allowrespondents to indicate how strongly they agree ordisagree with carefully constructed statements thatrange from very positive to very negative towards an
object or subject
The number of alternatives on the Likert scale can vary,often five alternatives are foreseen (see text bookexamples)
A Likert Scale may include a number of question items,each covering some aspect of the respondents attitude,and these items collectively form an an index
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 20
The Semantic Differential
The semantic differential is an attitudemeasuring technique that which consists of aseries of seven bi-polar rating scales whichallow response to a concept (e.g. organization,
product, service, job)
See text book example
An advantage of the semantic differential is itsversatility, on the other hand, it uses extremeswhich may influence respondents answers
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 21
Other Scales
Numerical Scales
Constant-Sum Scals
Stapel Scales
Graphic Rating Scales
For practical examples, see text book
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29 August 2005 MBA III (Research Methodology) Course Instructor: Dr. Aurangzeb Z. Khan 22
Measuring Behavioral Intentions
Behavioural intentions relate to will, shall or mayquestions:
Examples:
Iwill purchase Product X I shall change my job from 1st January 2006
I may participate in Training Workshop Z
The Behavioural Differential: This is an instrument formeasuring the behavioural intentions of subjects towards anobject or category of objects. Example:
A Housewife
Would ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ : ___ Would Not
Purchase this laundry detergent
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