Measurement Scales and Ethics in Millennial Food Survey

Choosing Between Composite and Summated Scales

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 scale must contain two or more items. The second is that the format must be a rating scale. The third is that the scales "must be designed to assess an underlying construct that is quantifiable." The fourth is that the items do not have correct answers (Spector, 2006). A Likert scale is an example of a summated scale.

The composite scale is one that transforms the original data point. There may be just a single variable, but sometimes there are multiple indicators. Composite scales are frequently used in psychological tests, or in any assessment made up of observable indicators. Sums and averages are frequently used composite scales (Marcus, 2006).

Applying Scales to Survey Questions

For this research, a summated scale will be used for most of the output. The core questions — those that relate to opinions and feelings — will use the summated scale. This scale is the most appropriate for such questions and is commonly used in social sciences research, especially with respect to questions about attitudes and opinions.

There will also be questions designed to capture basic demographic information. These questions — covering zip code, age, gender, ethnicity, income, and level of education — will be tabulated using the composite technique, which is more appropriate for questions with observable indicators. Although this information is not the focus of the core questions, it can provide valuable insight into whether the millennial demographic is divided along any other lines with respect to food attitudes.

Ethical Considerations and Informed Consent

There are not expected to be any ethical dilemmas in this research. There are ethical issues, but they will not result in a dilemma. Confidentiality is one such ethical issue. It is important to take a couple of steps to address it properly.

First, respondents must legally accept the terms and conditions, stating that they understand they are completing a marketing survey, outlining the safety provisions that will be followed, and asserting that the respondent understands all of these provisions. This confidentiality statement is also the reason the survey is being limited to people 18 and over, because the issue of informed consent becomes much more complex with minors.

Once informed consent has been established, the next step is to implement procedures that will help protect confidentiality. This will involve the use of codes: each respondent's name will be removed from their responses and replaced with a code. The key linking names to codes will be encrypted and stored in a secure facility. Researchers will therefore not be able to match a respondent's name to their data unless compelled to do so by court order.

To give informed consent meaningfully, survey respondents will be debriefed beforehand to ensure they understand what they are agreeing to. This step is necessary because people do not always read or fully understand formal legal documentation regarding consent.

There are no experiments on human subjects in this study. Respondents will only be asked for their attitudes and opinions. They will not be required to eat fast food or any other food as part of this research.