Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Scales in Research
Measurement And Scaling
The role of scales in research
If someone is asked: "on a scale of 1-10, did you like that new movie," their response is meaningless unless it is clear that 1 means 'I didn't like at all,' that 5 means 'I thought it was okay,' and 10 means 'I loved it.' On a scale of 1-100, 10 is a not very positive response, while on a scale of 1-10, 10 is a very positive response. Before he or she begins accumulating data, a savvy researcher must create an effective, scaled response designed to measure the information that will be amassed and that will yield meaningful results.
But simply assigning a value of 1-10 alone is not scaling. Statistical analysis is required to ensure that analyzing the population sample's responses are accurate (Trochim, 2006, General issues in scaling). Three major types of uni-dimensional scaling methods exist. Thurstone or Equal-Appearing Interval Scaling offers a list of statements, to which individuals can agree or disagree. Then the likelihood of certain responses is calculated, based upon typical...
The Myers-Brigg or Jungian personality groupings are often tested through this method. This can be useful, as a variety of 'types' can be measured, based upon the scaling. For example, persons with a specific type of personality profile might favor a specific pattern of yes and no statements (such as a depressive type of personality vs. A manic personality). The tendency to manifest more than type of personality can be measured at any one time. There is no single 'correct' or 'incorrect' answer that can skew the test in a particular direction -- tendencies are observed over a long list of questions.
Likert or Summative Scaling creates a scale rating based upon the degree to which subjects or agree or disagree with certain statements (Trochim, 2006, Likert Scaling). This technique is often used in consumer research, where respondents will be asked to rate how much they like or dislike aspects of a particular product or phenomenon on a numerical scale. It has the advantage of being able to analyze 'shades' of meaning, rather than solely encapsulate responses…
References
Trochim, W. (2006). General issues in scaling. Social Research Methods. Retrieved:
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scalgen.php
Trochim, W. (2006). Guttman scaling. Social Research Methods. Retrieved:
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scalgutt.php
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scallik.php
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/scalthur.php
Measurement Scale The first decision with respect to measurement scale is whether the findings will be reported on a composite scale or a summated scale. A composite scale is probably the most appropriate for this study. A summated scale is commonly used in the social sciences, and can be used to reflect people's attitudes, emotions and feelings. There are four main characteristics of a summated scale. The first is that the
If your data only needs to be classified into two areas, using a nominal scale is the easiest. There is no reason to get too complicated if all you need to know is if people are part of one organization or another. Question 2 -- 150 words The choice of which measurement tool to use when collecting data depends almost entirely on the intended use of the data. Several ways of
Data Warehousing and Data Mining Executive Overview Analytics, Business Intelligence (BI) and the exponential increase of insight and decision making accuracy and quality in many enterprises today can be directly attributed to the successful implementation of Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and data mining systems. The examples of how Continental Airlines (Watson, Wixom, Hoffer, 2006) and Toyota (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000) continue to use advanced EDW and data mining systems and processes to streamline
Data Warehousing: A Strategic Weapon of an Organization. Within Chapter One, an introduction to the study will be provided. Initially, the overall aims of the research proposal will be discussed. This will be followed by a presentation of the overall objectives of the study will be delineated. After this, the significance of the research will be discussed, including a justification and rationale for the investigation. The aims of the study are to
However, when the researcher is interested in giving a highlight of how the response patterns vary across the subgroups, then the scores can be treated as discrete choices thus allowing them to be ordinal values Miller & Salkind, 2002. In this case the intervals between the positions on the scale are monotonic but not well defined to make them numerically uniform increments thus making the likert scale have ordinal properties
Growth Aided by Data Warehousing Adaptability of data warehousing to changes Using existing data effectively can lead to growth Uses of data warehouses for Public Service Getting investment through data warehouse Using Data Warehouse for Business Information Ongoing changes in Data Warehousing The Origin of Data Warehousing and its current importance Relationship between new operating system and data warehousing Developing Organizations through Data Warehousing Telephone and Data Warehousing Choose your own partner Data Warehousing for Societal Causes Updating inaccessible data Data warehousing for investors Usefulness