Chapter 10

• Business and marketing concepts can often be measured in more than one way
• Measurement


  The process of describing some property of a phenomenon, usually by assigning numbers in a reliable and valid way
• Concept


  A generalized idea that represents something of meaning
• Operationalization


  The process of identifying scale devices that correspond to properties of a concept involved in a research process
• Scale


  A device providing a range of values that correspond to different characteristics or amounts of a characteristic exhibited in observing a concept
• Correspondence Rules


  Indicate the way that a certain value on a scale corresponds to some true value of a concept
• Variable


  Anything that varies or changes from one instance to another; can exhibit differences in value, usually in magnitude or strength, or in direction
• Construct


  A term used to refer to concepts measured with multiple variables
• Nominal Scales


  • Represent the most elementary level of measurement in which values are assigned to an object for identification or classification purposes only
• Ordinal Scales


  • Ranking scales allowing things to be arranged based on how much of some concept they possess
• Interval Scales


  • Scales that have both nominal and ordinal properties, but that also capture information about differences in quantities of a concept from one observation to the next
• Ratio Scales


  • Represent the highest form of measurement in that they have all the properties of interval scales with the additional attribute of representing absolute quantities; characterized by meaningful absolute zero
• Ratio Scales


  Represent the highest form of measurement in that they have all the properties of interval scales with the additional attribute of representing absolute quantities; characterized by meaningful absolute zero
• Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio Scales Provide Different Information
• Facts About the Four Levels of Scales


  • Nominal
  • Ordinal
  • Interval
  • Ratio
• Discrete Measures


  Measures that take on only one of a finite number of values
• Discrete measures are most often used to represent a classificatory variable, do not represent the intensity of measures, and the central tendency is best captured by the mode
• Continuous Measures


  Measures that reflect the intensity of a concept by assigning values that can take on any value along some scale range
• Ratio measures are continuous measures, and marketing researchers generally treat interval scales with five or more categories as continuous
• Errors in judgment can be made when interval measures are treated as ratios, as an attitude of 0 means nothing as attitude only has meaning in a relative sense
• The means and standard deviation may be calculated from continuous data, and using the actual quantities from arithmetic operations is permissible with ratio scales
• Attribute


  A single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue
• Index Measure


  An index that assigns a value based on how much of the concept being measured is associated with an observation, often formed by putting several variables together
• Composite Measures


  Assign a value to an observation based on a mathematical derivation of multiple variables
• Summated Scale


  A scale created by simply summing (adding together) the response to each item making up the composite measure
• Reverse Coding


  Means that the value assigned for a response is treated oppositely from the other items
• Reliability is an indicator of a measure's internal consistency, and a measure is reliable when different attempts at measuring something converge on the same result
• Internal Consistency


  Represents a measure's homogeneity or the extent to which each indicator of a concept converges on some common meaning
• Split-half Method


  A method for assessing internal consistency by checking the results of one-half of a set of scaled items against the results from the other half
• Coefficient Alpha (α)


  The most commonly applied estimate of a multiple item scale's reliability, representing the average of all possible split-half reliabilities for a construct
• Test-retest Method


  Administering the same scale or measure to the same respondents at two separate points in time to test for stability
• Reliability is a necessary but insufficient condition for validity, as a reliable scale may not be valid, and a reliable but invalid instrument will yield consistently inaccurate results
• Good measures should be both precise (i.e., reliable) and accurate (i.e., valid), and validity is the accuracy of a measure or the extent to which a score truthfully represents a concept
• Reliability


  The degree to which measures are free from random error and therefore yield consistent results
• Validity


  The accuracy of a measure or the extent to which a score truthfully represents a concept
• A reliable but invalid instrument will yield consistently inaccurate results
• Good measures should be both precise (i.e., reliable) and accurate (i.e., valid)
• Face (Content) Validity


  A scale's content logically appears to reflect what was intended to be measured
• Criterion Validity


  The ability of a measure to correlate with other standard measures of similar constructs or established criteria
• Construct Validity


  Exists when a measure reliably measures and truthfully represents a unique concept; consists of several components including face validity, convergent validity, criterion validity, and discriminant validity