TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT
MEANING OF ATTITUDE Attitude means "settled behaviour indicating opinion." Attitude is a subjective and personal matter. Opinion of a person is the verbal e pression of attitude. Attitude is also readiness to response. Man! researchers admit that attitude involves some acceptance or rejection of an issue or subject matter under stud!. "hen an individual responds to a social or business issue# it indicates an attempt to provide evaluation# $hich ma! be in favour or a%ainst.
DEFINITION OF ATTITUDE

Attitude has been defined b! &ene '. Summers as a predisposition to respond to an idea or object. (n mar)etin%# this refers to the consumers* predisposition about the product or . (f it is favorable# then the consumer is li)el! to purchase the product or service Attitudes about products or services are composed of three elements Cognition + Beliefs such as the products stren%th or the econom! of the product or service Emotional feelings + such as li)es or disli)es Action Tendency + ,eadiness to respond to the product or service i.e. to bu! it These three elements combine to%ether to form an ima%e of the product or service in the mind of the consumer. "hen the car manufacturer# the movie producer or the insurance compan! refers to the compan!-s ima%e# the! are referrin% to some %enera. avera%es of man! individuals* attitudes to$ards the compan! MEANING OF MEASUREMENT Measurement is "the assignment of numbers to characteristics of objects, persons, states or events, according to rules." "hat is measured is not the object# person# state or event but some characteristic of it. People are not measured# onl! their a%e# hei%ht# $ei%ht# etc. are measured. The term number %iven in the definition of measurement are used as s!mbols to represent certain characteristics of the object and it does not mean addition# subtraction# division or multiplication. One important aspect of measurement is the creation of the rules. These rules specif! ho$ the numbers are to be assi%ned to the characteristics to be measured e.%.# /Bata increased its mar)et share b! three percenta%e points durin% the last !ear/ is understood b! those $ho )no$ the measurement rule that is bein% applied. Those $ho are not familiar $ith the rule $ill not understand $hat has been measured. The mar)et share can be based on units sold or sales turnover in rupees or an! other rules. Measurement in ph!sical sciences li)e ph!sics# chemistr! and biolo%! is eas! because the! have ph!sical realit! to measure. Behavioural scientists li)e mar)etin% researchers cannot see or feel attitudes# perceptions# brand lo!alt! etc. Hence the! must attach numbers in the measurement process. A chemist can e actl! )no$ the chemical content

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

in an antibiotic capsule $hereas the mar)et researcher can onl! obtain a %ood measure of intention to purchase. PROCESS OF MEASUREMENT 102 Determine t e constr!cts of interest" 3onstructs refer to constructions. 3onstructs do not have tan%ible realit! e.%. $e cannot see consumer satisfaction but $e can indirectl! observe it as)in% a series of 4uestions. Other constructs are brand lo!alt!# heav! users# competition etc. 152 Esta#lis t e constr!cts areas" A construct must identif! its conceptual boundaries e.%.# mar)etin% orientation identifies and satisfies customer needs. (t concentrates on the means b! $hich an or%ani6ation can achieve its %oals $hile satisf!in% those needs. 172 Setting o$erational definitions" An operational definition indicates $hat observable attributes of the construct $ill be measured and the process that $ill be used to attach numbers to those attributes. An e ample of operational definitions in a ban) can be constructed as8 customer satisfaction# operational efficienc!# mar)etin% information s!stems# mar)etin% efforts etc. 192 Collect data to test meas!res" At this sta%e data is collected from the tar%et population. 3ollectin% relevant and dependable data $ill ensure that the researcher is on the ri%ht trac) $ith operational measures. 1:2 Retain rele%ant data" Havin% collected the data the researcher has to decide $hich data to )eep and $hich one to reject. (t is a relative e ercise. ;ata thus retained $ill be of use onl! no$. (f an! dela! is caused# data can become obsolete. 1<2 Esta#lis %alidity of data" An important e ercise for the researcher $ould be to determine validit! of data. Mar)etin% research is a financial proposition. (n order to succeed in correctl! measurin% attitude it is important that the data are valid and reliable. 1=2 Pre$are researc re$ort" "hen the researcher has successfull! developed measures that are reliable and valid# he is no$ read! to prepare research report $hich $ill help to achieve the objectives of research stud!. The researcher has to chec) cause and effect relationship# test h!pothesis# ans$er research 4uestions and describe the e tent to $hich a population behaves in a specific manner. (n this $a! the research report $ill hi%hli%ht the results of the research.

ATTITUDE MEASUREMENT Attitude measurement is also commonl! referred to as scaling. The measurement techni4ues can be divided into 0. >on+;is%uised# >on+Structured Techni4ues 5. >on+;is%uised# Structured Techni4ues 7. ;is%uised# >on+Structured Techni4ues 9. ;is%uised# Structured Techni4ues

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

The follo$in% dia%ram $ill illustrate the different methods and techni4ues of measurin% attitude Attitude Measurement ;is%uised# >on+Structured Techni4ues

>on+;is%uised# >on+Structured Techni4ues 'ocused &roup ;iscussion

;is%uised# Structured Techni4ues

>on+;is%uised# Structured Techni4ues >ominal Scale Ordinal Scale (nterval Scale ,atio Scale 3onstant Sum Scale

"ord Association Stor! 3ompletion Sentence 3ompletion Thematic Appreciation Tests 3artoon ? Bubble Method Third Person Techni4ues 'antas! Scenario Personification

;epth (ntervie$

Mini+ %roups

Thurstone Scale @i)ert Scale Semantic ;ifferential Scale

Multi+ ,ole+pla!in% dimensional NON&DISGUISED' NON&STRUCTURED TEC(NI)UES Scale and that The essence of these methods is that the purpose of the intervie$ is not a secret there is no fi ed structure for conductin% the intervie$.

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

)!alitati%e Researc The most common method of obtainin% information about the behavior# attitudes and other characteristics of people is to as) them. Ho$ever it is not al$a!s possible or desirable to use direct 4uestionin% to obtain information. People ma! be either un$illin% or unable to %ive ans$ers to 4uestions the! consider to be an invasion of their privac!# that adversel! affect their self+perception or presti%e# that are embarrassin% that concern motivations that the! do not full! understand or cannot verbali6e# or for other reasons. Therefore additional approaches to obtainin% such information ma! be necessar!# Mar)etin% researchers fre4uentl! use depth intervie$s# 'ocused &roup (ntervie$s# Mini+ %roup (ntervie$s and Projective techni4ues $hen direct 4uestionin% is impractical# more costl!# or less accurate. These techni4ues %enerall! referred to as Aualitative research. A* De$t inter%ie+s (ndividual depth intervie$s t!picall! re4uire 7B+9: minutes. The intervie$er does not have a specific set of pre+specified 4uestions that must be as)ed accordin% to the order imposed b! a 4uestionnaire. (nstead# there is freedom to create 4uestions# to probe those responses that appear relevant and %enerall! to tr! to develop the best set of data in an! $a! practical. Ho$ever the intervie$er must follo$ one ruleC one must not consciousl! tr! to affect the content of the ans$ers %iven b! the respondents. The respondent. The respondent must feel free to repl! to the various 4uestions# probes# and other# subtler# $a!s of encoura%in% responses in the manner deemed most appropriate. Subject of interest is discussed in detail. There is no fi ed pattern for elicitin% information from the respondents. &enerall! conducted b! hi%hl! trained intervie$ers. The! must be thorou%h in probin% the respondents. The intervie$ee is as)ed about the subject of his choice# coffee# for e ample. and an attempt is made to e plore the respondents- attitudes in depth b! probin% e tensivel! into an! other areas $hich ma! come up. (ntervie$ers have a %eneral series of topics that the! $ill introduce + perhaps such topics as coffee or sleep# and $ill introduce them from time to time if the respondent does not brin% them up. Tone of the intervie$ is permissive and the respondent-s allo$ed to tal) as much as he li)es. The intervie$er must not influence the ans$ers of the respondent. The interpretation of the ans$ers is ver! subjective and )no$led%e of human behavior is re4uired to anal!6e the information received. (ndividual depth intervie$s uses three 4uestionin% techni4ues namel!8 ,* -addering involves havin% respondents identif! attributes that distin%uish brands b! as)in% 4uestions. Dach distin%uishin% attribute is then probed to determine $h! it is important or meanin%ful. These reasons are then probed to determine $h! it is important# and so forth. The purpose is to uncover the Enet$or) of meanin%sF associated $ith the product# brand# or concept. .* (idden&iss!e /!estioning focuses on individual respondents feelin%s about sensitive issues. Anal!sis on focus on common underl!in% themes across respondents. These themes can then be used to %uide advertisin% development

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

0* Sym#olic /!estioning re4uires respondents to describe the opposites of the product ? activit! of interest or a specific attribute of the product ? activit!. (ndividual depth intervie$s have been found to %enerate more and hi%her 4ualit! ideas on a per respondent basis than either focus or mini+%roups. The! are particularl! appropriate $hen8 0. ;etailed probes of an individual-s behavior# attitude or needs is re4uiredC 5. The subject matter under discussion is li)el! to be of a hi%hl! confidential nature (e. %. personal investment2 7. The subject matter is of an emotionall! char%ed or embarrassin% nature 9. 3ertain stron%# sociall! acceptable norms e ist 1e.%. bab! feedin%2 and the need to conform in a %roup discussion ma! influence responses :. "here hi%hl! detailed understandin% of complicated behavior or decision+ma)in% pattern 1e.%. plannin% the famil! holida!2 are re4uired or the intervie$s are $ith professional people or $ith people on the subject of their jobs 1e.%. finance directors2 1* Foc!s gro!$ disc!ssions 2F*G*D3s4 The standard focus %roup intervie$ in the Gnited States involves H and 05 individuals and lasts about 5 hours. >ormall! each %roup is desi%ned to reflect the characteristics of a particular mar)et se%ment. The respondents are selected accordin% to the relevant samplin% plan and meet at a central location that %enerall! has facilit! for tapin% and?or filmin% the intervie$s. (n Durope# focus %roups tend to consist of < to H respondents# var! in len%th from 0.: to 9 hours and are often conducted in the home of the recruiter. Other$ise the intervie$s are similar. The discussion itself is EledF b! a moderator. The moderator attempts to pro%ress throu%h three sta%es durin% the intervie$ I02 Dstablish rapport $ith the %roup# structure the rules of %roup interaction# and set objectives 152 Provo)e intense discussion in the relevant areas 172 Summari6e the %roups responses to determine the e tent of a%reement. (n %eneral either the moderator or a second person prepares a summar! of each session after anal!6in% the session-s transcript 'ocus &roup (ntervie$s can be applied to8 0. Basic+ need studies for product idea creation# 5. >e$ product idea or concept e ploration# 7. Product positionin% studies. 9. Advertisin% and communications research. :. Bac)%round studies on consumer-s frames or reference# <. Dstablishment of consumer vocabular! as a preliminar! step in 4uestionnaire development =. ;etermination of attitudes and behavior Ad%antages

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

0. Dach individual is able to e pand and refine their opinions in the interaction $ith the other members. This process provides more detailed and accurate information than could be derived from each separatel!. 5. A %roup intervie$ situation is %enerall! more e citin% and offers more stimulation to the participants than the standard depth intervie$s 7. The securit! of bein% in a cro$d encoura%es some members to spea) out $hen the! other$ise $ould not. 9. As the 4uestions raised b! the moderator are addressed to the entire %roup rather than an individual the ans$er contains a de%ree of spontaneit! that is not produced b! other techni4ues. :. 'ocus %roups can be used successfull! $ith children over five. The! are also ver! useful $ith adults in developin% countries $here literac! rates are lo$ and surve! research is difficult. <. A final major advanta%e of focus %roups is that e ecutives often observe the intervie$ 1from behind mirrors2 or $atch films of the intervie$. Disad%antages 0. Since focus %roup intervie$s last 0.: to 7 hours and ta)e place at a central location# securin% cooperation from a random sample is difficult. 5. Those $ho attend %roup intervie$s and activel! participate in them are li)el! to be different in man! respects from those $ho do not. 7. There are chances that participants ma! %o alon% $ith the popular opinion 1%roup thin)2 instead of e pressin% their o$n $hich ma! be contrar! to the popular opinions 9. The presence of a one+$a! mirror and ? or an observer has been found to distort participant-s responses. :. The moderator can introduce serious biases in the intervie$ b! shiftin% topics too rapidl! verball! or nonverball! encoura%in% certain ans$ers# failin% to cover specific areas and so forth <. 'ocus %roups are e pensive on a per respondent basis. C* Mini&gro!$s Mini+%roups consist of a moderator and 9 + : respondents rather than the H to 05 used in most focus %roups. The! are used $hen the issue bein% investi%ated re4uires more e tensive probin% than is possible in a lar%er %roup. Mini+%roups do not allo$ the collection of a confidential or hi%hl! sensitive data as mi%ht be possible in an individual depth intervie$. Ho$ever# the! do allo$ the researcher to obtain substantiall! depth of response on the topics that are covered. 'urther the intimac! of the small %roup often allo$s discussion of 4uite sensitive issues. The advanta%es and disadvanta%es of mini+%roups are similar to those of standard focus %roups# but on a smaller scale (n principle these intervie$s are the same as the previous ones# e ceptin% that the! are conducted in %roups rather than for individuals This method is therefore less e pensive and less time consumin% than the depth intervie$s

<

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

This method is advanta%eous because it %ives e cellent leads to consumer attitudes that no other method can %ive Another advanta%e of this method is that each respondent receives stimulation for respondin% from his ? her %roup members and so the intervie$er need not prompt the intervie$ee to ans$er The disadvanta%e here is that one or t$o members could dominate in the %roup and others mi%ht not %et a chance to ans$er This $ould a%ain ma)e it an individual effort

DISGUISED' NON&STRUCTURED TEC(NI)UES The essence of these methods is that the intervie$ee either does not )no$ that his attitude is bein% studied or does not )no$ for $hich compan! the surve! is bein% done or sometimes he does not )no$ both. (t involves usin% various va%ue stimuli to $hich the respondent is as)ed to respond (n doin% so# it is believed that the respondent reveals several elements of his ? her attitude that he $ould not have revealed in the face of direct 4uestions. These tests are not difficult to administer because the! are li)e %ames pla!ed $ith the respondents &enerall!# respondents seem to enjo! the e ercise

Pro5ecti%e Tec ni/!es Projective techni4ue is based on the theor! that the description of va%ue objects re4uires interpretation and this can onl! be based on the individuals o$n bac)%round# attitudes# and values The more va%ue or ambi%uous the object to be described the more one must reveal of oneself in order to complete the description The follo$in% %eneral cate%ories of projective techni4ues are described + association, completion, construction and expression I* 6ord Association Tec ni/!es Association techni4ues re4uire the subject to respond to the presentation of a stimulus $ith the first thin%s that come to mind. The $ord association techni4ue re4uires the respondent to %ive the first $ord or thou%ht that comes to mind after researcher presents a $ord or phrase. (n free association onl! the first $ord or thou%ht is re4uired. (n successive $ord association# the respondent is as)ed to %ive a series of $ords or thou%hts that occur after hearin% a %iven $ord The respondent is %enerall! read a number of relativel! neutral terms to establish the techni4ue Then the $ords of interest to the researcher are presented# each separated b! several neutral terms The order of presentation of the )e! $ords is randomi6ed to prevent an! position or order bias from affectin% the results The most common approach to anal!6in% the resultin% data is to anal!6e the fre4uenc! $ith a particular $ord or cate%or! of $ords %iven in the response to the $ord of interest to the researcher. "ord association techni4ues are used in testin% potential brand names and occasionall! for measurin% attitudes about particular products# product attributes# brands# pac)a%es or advertisements.

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

o One of the oldest and simplest projection techni4ues o ,espondents are presented $ith a number or different $ords. one at a time. After each $ord. the! are as)ed to %ive the first $ord that comes to mind. o The assumption here is that throu%h free $ords# the respondents $ill indicate their inner feelin%s about the subject o ,esponses are timed 1the time limit is usuall! : seconds2 so that those responses that respondents /reason out are identified and ta)en into account in the anal!sis. o The usual $a! of constructin% such a tests is to choose man! stimulatin% and neutral $ords. The $ords are read out to the respondent one at a time# and the intervie$er essentiall! records the /first $ord/ association b! the respondent. o ,espondents should not be as)ed to $rite their responses because then the intervie$er $ill not )no$ if the responses $ere spontaneous or $hether the respondent too) time to thin) out the responses. o An e ample of such a test is8 the $ord EoatmealF. The first response is /athletes/. This means that the respondent feels that the product is more suited for sportspersons. More $ords on the same topic $ill reveal more about the respondent-s attitude about the product o "hile anal!6in% the results of $ords+association tests# responses are arran%ed alon% such lines as EfavorableJunfavorableF and /pleasant+unpleasant/. II* Com$letion Tec ni/!es This techni4ue re4uires the respondent to complete an incomplete stimulus. T$o t!pes of completion are of interest to mar)etin% researchers+ sentence completion and story completion. A* Sentence Com$letion as the name implies# re4uires the respondent to complete a sentence (n most sentence completion tests the respondents are as)ed to complete the sentence $ith a phrase. &enerall! the! are told to use the first thou%ht that comes to their mind or /an!thin% that ma)es sense/. Because the individual is not re4uired directl! to associate himself or herself $ith the ans$er conscious or subconscious defenses are more li)el! to be rela ed and allo$ a more revealin% ans$er.

The respondent is %iven a number of incomplete sentences and as)ed to complete them. The rule here too# is that respondent must fill in the first thou%ht that comes to mind. ,esponses are timed. Here the intervie$er %ets more information than the $ord association techni4ue. Ho$ever# it is difficult to dis%uise the motive of the stud! from the respondent $ho is usuall! able to dia%nose the investi%ators purpose of stud! 'or e ample E A man $ho reads Sportstar is KKKKKKKKKKKKF The sentence can be $orded in first or third person. >o evidence su%%ests that one of these approaches could be better than the other.

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

1* Story Com$letion is an e panded form of sentence completion. As the name su%%ests part of a stor! is told and the respondent is as)ed to complete it. ,espondents are %iven a half completed stor!. This is enou%h to dra$ their attention to a particular issue# but the endin% is left va%ue# so that responses can be varied. This techni4ue is ver! versatile and has numerous applications to mar)etin% problems. The findin%s about products?services %ive companies inputs to determine advertisin% and promotional themes and product characteristics III* Constr!ction Tec ni/!es This techni4ue re4uires the respondent to produce or construct somethin%# %enerall! a stor!# dialo%ue# or description The! are similar to completion techni4ues e cept that less or no initial structure is provided. A* Cartoon Tec ni/!e Here cartoons of one or more people# in a particular situation# are provided to the respondents. One or more of the characters in the cartoon are sho$n $ith a sentence in bubble form above their heads and one of the others is sho$n $ith a blan) bubble that the respondent is to fill in. 1(nstead of havin% the bubble sho$ replies or comments# it can be dra$n to indicate the unspo)en thou%hts of one or more of the characters2 This device allo$s the respondent to avoid an! restraints that mi%ht be felt a%ainst havin% even a cartoon character speak as opposed to think certain thou%hts 1* T ird Person Tec ni/!es This allo$s the respondent to project attitudes onto some va%ue third person This third person is %enerall! an Eavera%e $omenC/ Ea nei%hbor#F Ethe %u!s $here !ou $or)/# Emost doctorsF or the li)e Thus instead of as)in% the respondent $h! he or she did somethin% or $hat he or she thin)s about somethin% the researcher as)s $hat friends# nei%hbors or the avera%e person thin)s about the issue C* T ematic A$$reciation Test Another useful construction techni4ue# involves usin% pictures to elicit stories. These pictures are usuall! relativel! va%ue so that the respondent must use his or her ima%ination to describe $hat is occurrin% in the situation.

Here the respondent is sho$n about 5B+7B ambi%uous pictures and he is as)ed to spin stones about them. The intervie$er ma! as) 4uestions to help the respondent to thin) 'or e ample /$hat is happenin% hereLF ma)es the ans$er focused to$ards an action Or $hich one is the a%%ressor ma)es the respondent thin) about the picture as one of a%%ression The reason that respondents must be as)ed such promptin% 4uestions is that the pictures are ver! abstract and %eneral and as such are open to ver! broad and irreverent interpretations So some amount of focus is needed to channel respondents thin)in%. Dach subject in the picture is a medium throu%h $hich the respondent projects his?her feelin%s# ideas# emotions and attitudes The respondent attributes these feelin%s to the characters because he sees in the picture somethin% related to himself. ,esponses differ $idel! and anal!sis depends upon the ambi%uit! of the picture# the e tent to $hich the respondent is able to %uess the conclusions and the va%ueness of the support 4uestions as)ed b! the intervie$er

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

D* Fantasy Scenario (t re4uires the respondent to ma)e up a fantas! about the products or brands E* Personification The respondent is as)ed to create a personalit! for the brands or the products I7* E8$ressi%e Tec ni/!es Role&$laying is the onl! e pressive techni4ue utili6ed to an! e tent b! mar)etin% researchers. (n role+pla!in% the consumer is as)ed to assume the role or behavior of an object or another person# such as a sales representative for a particular department store. The role+pla!in% customer can then be as)ed to tr! to sell a %iven product to a number of different consumers $ho raise varied objections The means b! $hich the role pla!er attempts to overcome the objections can reveal a %reat deal about his or her attitudes. Another version of the techni4ue involves stud!in% the role+pla!ers attitude on the t!pe of people $ho should shop in the store in 4uestion. -imitations As projective techni4ues %enerall! re4uire personal intervie$s $ith hi%hl! trained intervie$ers and interpreters to evaluate the responses# the! tend to be ver! e pensive. Small sample si6es can increase the probabilit! of substantial samplin% error. The reliance on small samples often has been accompanied b! non+profitabilit! selection procedures. Some of the projective techni4ues re4uire the respondents to en%a%e in behavior that ma! $ell be stran%e to themC this is particularl! true for techni4ues such as role+pla!s. Thus there is reason enou%h to believe that there mi%ht be an error in the findin%s. Measurement is also a serious issue $ith respect to projective techni4ues. The possibilit! of interpreter bias is obvious. 1enefits The! can uncover information not available throu%h direct 4uestionin% or observation. The! are particularl! useful in the e plorator! sta%es of research The! can %enerate h!potheses for further testin% and provide attribute lists and terms for more structured techni4ues such as the semantic differential. The results of projective techni4ues can be used directl! for decision+ ma)in% DISGUISED' STRUCTURED TEC(NI)UES The basic premise underl!in% such tests is that the respondents $ill reveal their attitudes b! the e tent to $hich their ans$ers to the objective 4uestions var! from the correct ans$ers. ,espondents are %iven 4uestions that the! are unable to ans$er correctl!. Thus# the! are forced to %uess the ans$ers. The direction and e tent of these %uessin% errors is assumed to reveal their attitudes on the subject. (ndividuals tend to %ather information

0B

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

that supports their supports their attitudes and therefore the )ind and e tent of information individuals possess on a %iven subject indicate somethin% of their attitude. e.%. ;o cornfla)es cost more or less per bo$l than cerealsL Or Ho$ much do !ou thin) it costs for hot cereal alone in an bo$l of cereal served for brea)fastL NON&DISGUISED' STRUCTUREDTEC(NI)UES 2SCA-ING TEC(NI)UES 9 SCA-ES OF MEASUREMENT4 The non+structured techni4ues for attitude studies are primaril! of value in e plorator! studies $here the researcher is loo)in% for the salient attributes of %iven products and the important factors surroundin% purchase decisions as seen b! the consumer. Structured techni4ues can provide a more objective measurement s!stem# one that is more compatible to a scale or !ardstic). The term scalin% has been applied to the efforts to measure attitudes objectivel!. Measurement consists of assi%nin% numbers to characteristics of objects or events so as to reflect some aspect of realit!. The objective should be to assi%n numbers so that the properties of the numbers are the same as the properties of the objects or events that $e are measurin%. This implies $e have different )inds of numbers e.%.# in a class a student ma! be identified b! his roll number# $hich is different from his score on the final e amination and this is different from his final ran) in the class. 3ommon scales of measurement are8 102 Nominal Scale Gnder nominal scale there is no numerical sanctit!. >umbers are used onl! as labels e.%.# if $e $ant to cate%ori6e male and female respondents# nominal scale can be used as 0 for male and 5 for female. Alternativel!# females can be labeled as 0 and males as 5 and it $ould be a valid nominal scale. Other variables that are covered b! nominal scale are8 reli%ion# lan%ua%es 1$ritten and spo)en2# education# user?non+user cate%or!# readin% habits# brand preference etc. (t is important to mention that variables needin% statistical computations li)e mean and standard deviation cannot be done throu%h nominal scale. 152 Ordinal Scale The! are the simplest and most $idel! used attitude measurin% scales in mar)etin% research The! serve to ran) respondents? responses accordin% to some characteristic vi6. a%e of students or favorabilit! to a brand The! do not measure the de%ree of favorabilit! of different ran)in%s. All the scale tells is that the individual has more # less or same amount of characteristic bein% measured. A set of data is said to be ordinal if the values ? observations belon%in% to it can be ran)ed 1put in order2 to have a ratin% attached. You can count and order but not measure ordinal data. The cate%ories for an ordinal set of data have a natural order. Suppose a %roup of people $ere as)ed to taste varieties of biscuits and classif! them on a ratin% scale of 0

00

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Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

to : $here 0 $ould correspond to stron%l! disli)e and : $ould be stron%l! li)e. A ratin% 7 indicates more enjo!ment than 5. Such data is ordinal. Ho$ever the distinction bet$een nei%hborin% points on the scale is not necessaril! the same. 'or instance# the difference in enjo!ment e pressed b! %ivin% a ratin% of 5 rather than 0 ma! be much less than the difference in enjo!ment e pressed b! %ivin% a ratin% of 9 rather than 7. Ordinal scale is ran)in% scale. (t possesses the characteristics of numerical scale and also indicates the order e.%.# there are five e ecutives $ho are to be ran)ed as per their annual income such as.

(f the e ecutive $ith the hi%hest income is %iven >o. 0 and the ne t to it as >o. 5 and so on# the follo$in% order $ill be determined

The above e ample is numerical that dealt $ith the annual income of e ecutives. Ordinal scale can also be used to find out attributes of a certain product e.%.# coffee. ,espondents can be as)ed 4uestions on attributes li)e color# flavor# aroma# appearance etc. on a five+ point scale8

B! as)in% respondents about their level of acceptabilit!# it is possible to %ive ran)s. (ndividual ran)in%s can be combined in order to %et collective ran)in% of the %roup. 172 Inter%al Scale (nterval scale is also )no$n as ratio+scaled data. This method can be used to compute the commonl! used statistical measures such as arithmetic mean# standard deviation and Pearson correlation coefficient. The attitude of respondents is measured on a scale of 0 to : or 0 to = or 0 to 0B. 'or e ample# $hen a consumer is as)ed about brand preference on

05

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

a scale of 0 to =# it is called interval scale. (t is possible to compute avera%e ratin% %iven b! all the respondents and also standard deviation. The! separate individuals or items b! ran) order but measure the distance bet$een ran) positions in e4ual units. Such a scale permits the researcher to sa! that the position 9 is above position 7 on the scale# and also the distance from position : to 9 is same as from 9 to 7. Such a scale ho$ever does not permit conclusions that position < is t$ice as stron% as position 7 because no 6ero position has been established

An interval scale is a scale of measurement $here the distance bet$een an! t$o adjacent units of measurement 1or intervals2 is the same but the 6ero point is arbitrar!. Scores on an interval scale can be added or subtracted but cannot be meanin%full! multiplied or divided e.%. the time interval bet$een the starts of !ears 5BB0 and 5BB5 is the same as that bet$een 5BB7 and 5BB9# namel! 7<: da!s The 6ero point !ear 0 A;# is arbitrar! as time did not be%in then. Other e amples of (nterval series include the hei%hts of tides# and the measurement of lon%itude. 192 Ratio Scale ,atio scale enjo!s the advanta%es of all the three methods discussed earlier. (n addition it possesses the concept of absolute 6ero or ori%in. This ma)es ratio scale superior to all other methods. ,atio scale commonl! uses ph!sical dimensions li)e $ei%ht hei%ht# distance# mone! value and population counts. D4ual ratio on the ratio scale indicates the e4ual ratio amon% the elements bein% measured e.%. M )% and 9: )% are in the ratio of 0 8 :. (f $e convert )ilo%ram into %rams# the same ratio $ill be obtained. Therefore# M#BBB %rams and 9:#BBB %rams have the same ratio of 0 8 :. (t thus su%%ests that one can chan%e over from one unit of measurement to another b! usin% the relevant conversion factor. Onl! ratio scale provides the advanta%e of convertin% from one unit of measurement to another. 1:2 T e Constant S!m Scale The constant sum scale re4uires the respondent to divide a constant sum# %enerall! 0B or 0BB# amon% t$o or more objects or attributes in order to reflect the respondent*s relative preference for each object# the importance of the attribute or the de%ree to $hich an object contains each attribute. The constant sum scale can be used in t$o cases 0. 'or t$o objects at a time 1paired comparison2 or 5. More than t$o objects at a time 14uadric comparison2 "hen ran) order ? ordinal data is used the researcher has no $a! of )no$in% the characteristic $hich is of over$helmin% importance or of )no$in% a characteristic $hich is not of much importance compared to other characteristic. This can be e plained $ith the follo$in% e ample8 Suppose a sample of respondents from the tar%et mar)et is

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TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

re4uested to ran) order several automobile characteristics $ith 0 bein% more important. Assume the individual ran)s are similar and produce the follo$in% median ran)s for each attribute8 Price Dconom! ;ependabilit! Safet! 3omfort St!le 0 5 7 9 : <

A constant sum measure of the importance of the same attributes could be obtained from the follo$in% procedure + ;ivide 0BB points amon% the characteristics listed so that the division $ill reflect ho$ important each characteristic is to !our selection of a ne$ automobile. Price Dconom! ;ependabilit! Safet! 3omfort St!le Total

0BB

All the responses to the constant sum scale would be consistent with the rank order results just described.

A disadvanta%e could be that occassionall! individuals ma! misassi%n poibts such that the total is more than or less than 0BB. This can be adhusted b! dividin% each point allocation b! the actual taotal and multipl!in% it b! 0BB. 1<2 T !rstone Scale Thurstone and 3have in their boo) /The Measurement of Attitude/ have advocated a techni4ue in attitude measurement. The! emphasi6ed collection of lar%e number of statements relatin% to the subject matter of in4uir!. These statements can be collected throu%h personal e perience# secondar! data and discussion $ith )no$led%eable people. The statements should indicate both favourable and unfavourable attitude. The number of statements should be reasonabl! lar%e to accommodate diversified attitude. Thurstone and 3hive have %iven five criteria to select the statements. The! are8 1i2 The statements should be brief. 1ii2 'easibilit! to accept or reject the statement in )eepin% $ith the attitude of the respondent. 09

TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

1iii2 Acceptance or rejection should be based on reasonin%. 1iv2 Ambi%uous statements should be avoided. 1v2 Statements should include attitude variables that are measurable. The procedure is as follo$s 0. 3ollect a lar%e number 1as man! as possible# perhaps 0BB2 of statements related to the attitude in 4uestion 5. Have a number of jud%es 1 5B2 sort the statements independentl! into 00 piles that var! from the most favorable throu%h neutral to most unfavorable statements. 7. Stud! the fre4uenc! distribution of the ratin%s for each statement and eliminate those statements that the different jud%es have assi%ned to a number of different piles. 9. ;etermine the scale value of each of the remainin% statements J that is the number of the pile in $hich the median of the distribution lies. :. Select one or t$o statements from each of the eleven piles for the final scale. The follo$in% statements are ta)en in order# one from each of the 00 positions# from a scale to measure attitude to$ard television commercials. The! %ive an idea of the ran%e covered b! such a scale All TN commercials should be prohibited b! la$ "atchin% TN commercials is a complete $aste of time Most TN commercials are prett! bad TN commercials are monotonous TN commercials do not interfere too much $ith enjo!in% TN ( have no feelin% one $a! or the other about most TN commercials ( li)e TN commercials at times Most TN commercials are fairl! interestin% ( li)e to bu! products advertised on TN $henever possible Most TN commercials help people select the best products available TN commercials are more fun to $atch than the re%ular pro%rams <. ,espondents $hose attitudes are to be scaled are %iven the list of statements and as)ed to indicate a%reement or disa%reement $ith each statement. Presumabl! each respondent $ill a%ree $ith onl! one statement or $ith a fe$ statements that are from immediatel! adjacent scale positions# e.%.. a respondent mi%ht a%ree $ith statements the scale values of $hich $ere H# M# and 0B. Such an a%reement in the above list $ould be interpreted as representin% a favorable attitude to$ard television commercials. ,espondents- scores are computed as the median of the item numbers $ith $hich the! a%ree. (f respondents a%reed $ith statements 0# 9# =# and 00# it $ould be interpreted to indicate the! did not have or%ani6ed attitudes on the topic. (f the scale has been properl! prepared# fe$ respondents should sho$ such a varied %roup of attitudes The scale as ori%inall! developed b! Thurstone had 00 positionsC this number is still commonl! used. Actuall!# there is no particular reason for this number# and either more or less could be used. An odd number is preferred b! most so that a central# neutral position can be identified

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TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

The advanta%e of this method is that it is easier to identif! the neutral position since there are odd number pf parameters. The disavanta%es of this s!stem are 0. >ot $idel! used in mar)etin% research because of the time consumed durin% preparation itself 5. The ratin%s ma! be influenced b! the Oud%es personal attitude 7. ;ifferent individuals can obtain e actl! the same score from a%reein% $ith 4uite different terms 9. (t does not obtain the intensit! of a%reement $ith the ratin%s. 1=2 -i:ert Scale" (t is often called -summated scale-. The respondent has to indicate a de%ree of a%reement or disa%reement $ith each of the statements related to the attitude object. A t!pical e ample is %iven belo$8 1a2 Mercedes is the best car in the $orld Stron%l! a%ree : A%ree 9 >either a%ree nor disa%ree 7 ;isa%ree 5 Stron%l! disa%ree 0 1b2 The service at Nitesse is satisfactor!. Stron%l! a%ree : A%ree 9 >either a%ree nor disa%ree 7 ;isa%ree 5 Stron%l! disa%ree 0

1c2 The service at a departmental store is ver! important to me. Stron%l! a%ree : A%ree 9 >either a%ree nor disa%ree 7 ;isa%ree 5 Stron%l! disa%ree 0 Dach response cate%or! is assi%ned a numerical value such as stron%l! a%ree is 0 and stron%l! disa%ree is :. @i)ert scale can be anal!sed on a item+to+item basis. This scale is eas! to construct and administer. (t can be used for personal intervie$# mail surve!s and telephone surve!s. 1H2 Semantic Differential Scale This scale $as developed b! ;Os%oodF* This scale is commonl! used to compare brands# determine the effectiveness of advertisin%# attitude chan%e# evaluation of compan! ima%e

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TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

etc. Semantic differential scale is bipolar one indicatin% attraction or repulsion from an object. "hile framin% semantic differential scale it is necessar! to consider several factors. A scale is balanced $hen either side of the indifferent cue has an e4ual number of cues e.%. determinin% 4ualit! of service in a club the follo$in% cues can be considered8

o The uni4ue characteristic of semantic differential scale is the use of bipolar scales to rate an! product compan! or concept of interest. o 'acilitates comparison of competitive items o Dach scale consists of t$o opposin% adjectives separated b! a continuum of seven se%ments# as seen above o ,espondents are %iven a %roup of these scales and as)ed to chec) the se%ment that represents the de%ree of their opinion of the subject in 4uestion o (t is best used for ima%e descriptive purposes and is not recommended for overall attitude studies o The method is eas! and fast to administer# but it is also sensitive to small differences in attitude# hi%hl! versatile# reliable and %enerall! valid o The advanta%e of this method is its simplicit! $hile producin% results comparable $ith those of the more comple scalin% methods 1M2 M!ltidimensional Scaling This is a data reduction techni4ue. Basicall! it aims at openin% up the hidden structure of a set of data. (t helps us to represent the pro imities bet$een objects as in a map. Pro imities mean an! set of numbers indicatin% similarit! or differences bet$een pair of objects $hereas objects mean thin%s or events. Multidimensional scalin% 1M;S2 attempts to map the objects in a multidimensional space in such a $a! that it reveals de%ree of similarit! or dissimilarit! amon% them.

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TYBMS

Prof. Hemant Kombrabail

3onsider for instance that a student see)in% admission in medicine offered b! some universities has to consider t$o dimensions vi6.# presti%ious course and practical content# $hich can be sho$n as8

The student has compared the medical course in ten different universities A to O. Nertical dimension sho$s practical content of the medical course $hereas hori6ontal dimension indicates relative presti%e of the course. The points that are close to one another sho$ similarit! and the points that are $ide apart indicate that the student has seen medical courses offered b! various universities differentl! on the basis of t$o dimensions vi6.? presti%ious course and practical content.

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