Unit 3

Measurement Scales
 What Should be Measured?

 The measurement of physical properties is not

a complex deal, whereas measurement of
psychological properties requires a careful
attention of a researcher.

 The quality of the research always depends on

the fact that what measurement techniques
are adopted by the researcher and how these
fit in the prevailing research circumstances.
 Scales of Measurement

 Research is a continuous process.

 Researchers are collecting data every day for specific purposes.
 All the data collected for these purposes cannot be analyzed in the same statistical
way.
 E.g. Take two numbers: 2 & 4.
 Can be the weights. Average can be obtained.
 Can be the rank. Average will have no statistical value.
 Can be the coding for Gender.

 Same statistical tests cannot be applied.

 For this purpose, a researchers needs to have a good understanding of ‘Data
Measurement’ represented by numbers that are to be analysed.
 Scales of Measurement

 Nominal scale

 Ordinal scale

 Interval scale

 Ratio scale
 Scales of Measurement

 Nominal Scale: When data are labels or names

used to identify the attribute of an element, the
nominal scale is used.

 For Example:
 Research being done in Four regions of India.
 1, 2, 3, 4 for 4 different regions for representing them.
 1 & 2 for Gender.

 1, 2, 3, 4, & So on for different sections of LPU.

 Employee ID code, Registration number
 Scales of Measurement
 Nominal and Ordinal Data measurements are also often used for
measurements such as demographic questions, ranking of items under the
study.

 Nominal & Ordinal Data are also called as Non-Metric Data and Non-
Parametric Tests are used to test hypothesis involving such data.

 Nominal and ordinal scales are termed as Inferior Scales or Ordinary Scales.
 Scales of Measurement

Interval Scale
 In interval level measurement, the difference
between two consecutive numbers is
meaningful.
Scales of Measurement
 Scales of Measurement
Ratio Scale
 Ratio level measurements possess all the properties of interval
data with meaningful ratio of two values.
 The ratio scale must contain a zero value that indicates that nothing
exists for the variable at zero point.
 Interval & Ratio level data are collected using some precise
instruments.
 E. g. Colgate markets 2 Toothbrushes at INR 50 and INR 100.
 Price Difference between two toothbrushes can be calculated.
 Ratio between two toothbrushes can also be calculated.
 These data are called as Metric data and Quantitative data also.
 Figure: A comparison between the four levels of data
measurement in terms of usage potential

 In terms of measurement capacity, nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio level

data are placed in ascending order.
GUESS?????
 • Rank the Celebrites on the basis of your
preference(1 means-Most Prefered and 5
means- Least Prefered
a. Shah Rukh Khan
b. Tiger Shroff
c. Ajay Devgan
d. Hrithik Roshan
e. Shahid Kapoor
 Polls/MCQs
Q-Arithmetic Mean can be calculated on
the following type of measurements:
a) Nominal scale
b) Ordinal scale
c) Interval scale
d) Ratio scale
 • Polls/MCQs

• The salary of Ram is twice as much as the salary

of Shyam – this is an example of:

a) Nominal scale measurement

b) Ordinal scale measurement

c) Interval scale measurement

d) Ratio scale measurement

 • Polls/MCQs

• Social class is an example of:

a) Nominal scale

b) Ordinal scale

c) Interval scale

d) Ratio scale
 • Polls/MCQs

• Which of the following scales possess

an absolute zero?

a) Nominal scale
b) Ordinal scale
c) Interval scale
d) Ratio scale
 • Polls/MCQs
• In which of the following scales the
objects are arranged according to
their magnitude in an ordered
relationship?

a) Nominal scale
b) Ordinal scale
c) Interval scale
d) Ratio scale
• In which of the following scales does
difference in scores have meaningful
interpretation?
a) Nominal
b) Ordinal
c) Ratio
d) Interval
• ‘Hrithik Roshan dances well than
Tiger Shroff’ – this is an example of

a) Nominal
b) Ordinal
c) Ratio
d) Interval
• The numbers assigned to the
members of Team India is an example
of

a) Nominal
b) Ordinal
c) Ratio
d) Interval
Understanding DATA & INFORMATIOIN
 INTRODUCTION
Data collection is a term used to describe a process of
preparing and collecting data.
 Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from
various sources, that has been systematically observed,
recorded, organized.
 Data are the basic inputs to any decision making process in
business.
The purpose of data collection:
 to obtain information
 to keep on record
 to make decisions about important issues,
 to pass information on to others
Data Classification
Meaning of Primary and Secondary Data
 Primary data are mainly collected by a researcher to address
the research problem. In other words, these are not readily
available from various sources, rather the researcher has to
systematically collect it for a pre-specified research problem.
 Secondary data are the data that have already been collected by
someone else before the current needs of a researcher.
 The present researcher only uses these data with related
reference and never collects it from the field.
 When compared with the primary data, secondary data can be
collected easily with time and cost efficiency.
 Both the primary and the secondary data have its own relative
advantages and disadvantages.
• Advantages of Secondary data
• It is economical. It saves efforts and expenses.
• It is time saving.
• It helps to make primary data collection more specific since
with the help of secondary data, we are able to make out
what are the gaps and deficiencies and what additional
information needs to be collected.
• It helps to improve the understanding of the problem.
• It provides a basis for comparison for the data that is
collected by the researcher.
• Disadvantages of Secondary data
• Secondary data is something that seldom fits in the
framework of the marketing research factors.
Reasons for its non-fitting are: -
– Unit of secondary data Collection-Suppose you want
information on disposable income, but the data is
available on gross income. The information may not be
same as we require.
• Accuracy of secondary data is not known.
• Data may be outdated.
Benefits and Limitations of Using
Secondary Data (Cont.)
 Regarding disadvantages, the accuracy of secondary data is
most of the time questionable as the researcher is unaware
about the pattern of data collection.
 In addition, the researcher has no control over the data
collection pattern.
 The researcher may try to use the secondary data that are
developed for some other purpose in some other time frame in
some other circumstances.
 This poses a great question mark on the currency and relevance
of the data in terms of its use in the current problem.
 Moreover, the secondary data become outdated quickly. It is a
big restriction on the frequent use of the secondary data.
Classification of Secondary Data Sources
 Secondary data sources can be broadly classified into internal
and external secondary data sources.
 The internal secondary data are generated within the
organization and the external secondary data are obtained
from the sources available outside the organization.
 The internal secondary data are the internal records of the
organization.
 The external secondary data can be further classified into the
following four groups: books, periodicals, and other published
material; reports and publication from government sources;
computerized commercial and other online data sources; and
media resources ( Figure 6.1 ).
Figure : Classification of secondary data sources
 MCQs
Q-A distributor report is a ______ source of data
A. Internal
B. External
C. None
Q-Secondary/existing data may include which of the following?
a. Official documents
b. Personal documents
c. Archived research data
d. All of the above
Q-The data collected from published reports is known as:
e. Discrete data
f. Arrayed data
g. Secondary data
 Books, Periodicals, and Other
Published Material

 The books, periodicals, and other published material generally

available in most of the libraries are big sources of secondary
data.
 Now, most of the big libraries in our country are in the process
of digitizing the published material.
 It seems that it will be convenient for a researcher to access any
information after a decade, which will be available in a digital
form.
 Libraries also provide access to some good research journals of
the country.
 Reports and Publication from
Government Sources
 Government sources also provide data. The accuracy and quality of these
data sources are unquestionable.
 Hence, most researchers rely on government sources of data to conduct
their research programme.
 Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of
India (http://mospi.gov.in).
 National Statistics Commission, the Central Statistical Organization.
 The Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India (
http://www.censusindia.gov.in).
 Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India (http://www.dgciskol.nic.in).
 Reserve Bank of India (http://www.rbi.org.in)
 Planning Commission, Government of India(http://planningcommission.gov.in)
 Computerized Commercial and
Other Data Sources
 In India, there are various firms involved in selling data. For
example, indiastat.com and CMIE are two private firms involved
in the accumulation and selling of the data.
 In India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has set-
up the “Indian National Digital Library in Engineering Sciences
and Technology (INDEST) Consortium” headquartered at IIT,
Delhi. The Ministry provides funds required for subscription of
electronic resources for 48 institutions including IISc, IITs, NITs,
IIMs, and a few other centrally funded government institutions
through the consortium headquartered at IIT, Delhi.
 In addition, 60 government or government-aided engineering
colleges and technical departments in the universities have
joined the consortium with financial support from the All India
Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
FIGURE 6.2 : Home page of indiastat.com
Figure : Home page of Prowess V. 3.1 (a product of the CMIE)
Figure : Home page (e-resources) of INDEST
Q-Which of the following is not the published source
a) Web site
b) Government publications
c) International publications
d) Semi government publications
Q-Data collected by research institutions , scholars , trade
associations but not published is….
e) Published source
f) Personal sources
g) Unpublished source
h) None
 Media Resources
 Some relevant and authentic information can also be gathered from
the broadcast and print media. Apart from the academic
researchers, the print and electronic media frequently conduct
researches related to personal life, professional life, life style,
change in life style, income status, change in income status, and
many other issues.
 Leading news papers such as The Economic Times, Pioneer, The
Hindu, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, The Telegraph
(Kolkata), The Asian Age, The Hindu Business Line, Business
Standard, The Financial Express, and many more national and
regional newspapers have plentiful information.
 Apart from the daily newspapers, some magazines such as India
Today, Outlook, Business India, Business Today, Competition
Success Review, and so on provide a lot of information related to the
current issues.
Roadmap to Use Secondary Data
 Step 1: Identifying the Need of
Secondary Data for Research
 As a first step, a researcher must identify the need of using the
secondary data for the research. These are generally used to
find the already available facts about a phenomenon.
 The secondary data sources help in developing a theoretical
model, which ultimately should be tested statistically.
 To develop a model, a researcher has to specify the relationship
between two or more variables and the secondary data
support in specifying this relationship.
 More sophisticated forecasting techniques use the secondary
data to forecast some research variables such as sales, profit,
income, and so on.
 After identifying the need of the secondary data, the researcher
has to decide whether an internal or external secondary data
source is to be used.
 Step 2: Utility of Internal Secondary
Data Sources for the Research Problem
 As a second step, a researcher has to examine the utility of
in-house secondary data in light of
 Objective
 Relevancy
 Accuracy
 Currency
 Authenticity
 Dependability
 action ability
 Step 3: Utility of External Secondary
Data Sources for the Research Problem
 As shown in Figure, the external secondary data should also be
tested for all the parameters as it is done for the internal
secondary data.
 In addition, the authenticity of the external secondary data
must also be tested, which was the matter of concern for the in-
house generated data.
 To address the issue of authenticity of the data, a researcher has
to determine “who” collected the data.
 Some research organizations, magazines, books, periodicals,
journals, and so on have got high reputation and credibility in
the society or concerned field. Government data sources are also
authentic.
 Step 4: Use External Secondary
Data for the Research Problem
 After qualifying the first three stages, a researcher finds himself
or herself in a comfortable stage to use the data, as he or she is
sure that the data are useful for the research problem and there
is no harm in using it as it has already been tested for all the
discussed parameters.
 These guidelines are followed only to use the secondary data
sources for a research purpose.
 The final decision is a matter of the researcher’s discretion.
 In most of the cases, it is noted that the researchers commonly
use it to explore the problem and develop insights in to it.
Factors to be considered before using secondary data
 Reliability of data – Who, when , which methods,
at what time etc.
 Suitability of data – Object ,scope, and nature of
original inquiry should be studied, as if the study
was with different objective then that data is not
suitable for current study
 Adequacy of data– Level of accuracy
Area differences then data is not adequate for study
Q-Which of the false regarding secondary source of data …
a) Can rely on this data as compare to primary data
b) It implies collection of data from its original source
c) It provides first hand information
d) Collection of data from sources who have already
collected data through survey
Q-Secondary data are LEAST helpful to:
e) formulate hypotheses.
f) interpret tables.
g) evaluate new products.
h) develop questionnaires.
Q-The mistake when using secondary data effectively is:
a) to locate it via people.
b) to assume it is right.
c) to combine it with other data.
Q- Which ONE is a disadvantage of secondary data?
d) Inexpensive.
e) Addresses a fresh topic.
f) Already exist.
g) Fast to obtain.
Q- Which ONE is an advantage of secondary data?
h) May be outdated.
i) Expensive.
j) Already exist.
 Questionnaire Design Process
Specify the Information Needed

Specify the Type of Interviewing Method

Determine the Content of Individual Questions

Design the Question to Overcome the Respondent’s Inability and Unwillingness to Answer

Decide the Question Structure

Determine the Question Wording

Arrange the Questions in Proper Order

Identify the Form and Layout

Reproduce the Questionnaire

Eliminate Bugs by Pre-testing

 Questionnaire Design Checklist
Phase I: Pre- Construction Phase

1. Specify the required information in the light of research objective

2. An overview of respondent’s characteristics

3. Decision regarding selecting an appropriate technique

Phase II: Construction Phase

1. Decision regarding question format: Structured vs Unstructured

2. Decisions regarding question wording

3. Decision regarding question sequencing

4. Decision regarding question response choice

5. Decision regarding questionnaire layout

6. Produce first draft of questionnaire

• Phase III: Post Construction Phase
1. Go for pre testing of the questionnaire
2. Revisiting the questionnaire based on the
inputs obtained from the pre testing
3. Revised final draft of the questionnaire
4. Administration of the questionnaire and
obtaining responses
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 1. Specify the Information Needed

1. Ensure that the information obtained fully addresses all the
components of the problem. Review components of the
problem and the approach, particularly the research questions,
hypotheses, and specification of information needed.
2. Prepare a set of dummy tables.
3. Have a clear idea of the target population.

Step 2. Overview of Respondent Characteristics

Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 3. Individual Question Content

1. Is the question necessary?
2. Are several questions needed instead of one to obtain
the required information in an unambiguous manner?
3. Do not use double-barreled, leading and loaded
questions.
 Do you beat your wife?
Do you always cheat in Exams?
 MCQs
Q-A _____ is a type of question that might attempts to cover
two issues.
a.Structured question
b.Dichotomous question
c. Double-barrelled question
Q-Don’t you think the current government has an excellent poverty
alleviation programme?
a) Is a leading question
b) Is a loaded question
c) Is a double-barrelled question
d) None of the above
Questionnaire Design Checklist
Step 4. Overcoming Inability and Unwillingness to Answer
1. Is the respondent informed?
2. If respondents are not likely to be informed, filter questions that
measure familiarity, product use, and past experience should be asked
before questions about the topics themselves.
3. Can the respondent remember?
5. Minimize the effort required of the respondents.
7. Make the request for information seem legitimate.
8. If the information is sensitive:
a. Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire.
b. Preface the question with a statement that the behavior of interest is
common.
c. Ask the question using the third-person technique.
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 4. Overcoming Inability and Unwillingness to Answer

5. Minimize the effort required of the respondents.
6. Is the context in which the questions are asked appropriate?
7. Make the request for information seem legitimate.
8. If the information is sensitive:
a. Place sensitive topics at the end of the questionnaire.
b. Preface the question with a statement that the behavior of
interest is common.
c. Ask the question using the third-person technique.
 MCQs
Q-Regarding Overcoming Inability and Unwillingness
to Answer chose the correct

Statement-1: Make the request for information seem legitimate

Statement-2: Do not Make the request for information seem legitimate
questions.
Ans:
a) Only Statement-1 is correct
b) Only Statement-2 is correct
c) Both Statement-1 & 2 are correct
 MCQs
Q-Regarding Overcoming Inability and Unwillingness to
Answer chose the correct

Statement-1: Open-ended questions are useful in exploratory

research and as opening questions.
Statement-2: Open-ended questions are not useful in exploratory
research and as opening questions.
Ans:
a) Only Statement-1 is correct
b) Only Statement-2 is correct
c) Both Statement-1 & 2 are correct
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 5. Choosing Question Structure

Question Content

Open – ended Closed - ended

Dichotomous Multiple Scales

Responses
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 5. Choosing Question Structure

Open ended questions:

What is your age?
How would you evaluate the work done by the present
government?
How much orange juice does this bottle contain?
What is your reaction to this new custard powder?
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 5. Choosing Question Structure

Closed ended questions

1. Dichotomous questions

Are you diabetic? Yes / No

Have you read the new book by Dan Brown? Yes/no

Your working hours in the organization are fixed/ flexible

Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 5. Choosing Question Structure

Closed ended questions

2. Multiple choice questions

 How much do you spend on grocery products (average in one month)?
- Less than Rs. 2500/-
- Between Rs 2500-5000/-
- More than Rs 5000/-
You do not currently sell organic food products because
 - You do not know about organic food products.
- You are not interested.
- You are interested but you do not know how to procure it.
- It is not profitable.
-The customer demand is too low
- any other--------------------
Motivating the respondent to answer
Assisting the respondent to provide the answer
Does he remember?
How much did you spend on eating out last month? (Incorrect)

1. When you go out to eat, on an average your bill amount is:

________ Less than Rs100

________ Rs 101-250
________ Rs 251-500
________ more than Rs 500
 
2. How often do you eat out in a week?
________ 1-2 times.
________ 3-4 times
________ 5-6 times
________ every day (correct)
Motivating the respondent to answer

Assisting the respondent to answer

Sensitive information/topic
Have you ever used fake receipts to claim your medical allowance?
(Incorrect)
Have you ever spit tobacco on the road (to tobacco consumers)?
(Incorrect)

Do you associate with people who use fake receipts to claim their medical
allowance? (Correct)
Do you think tobacco consumers spit tobacco on the road?
(Correct)
 MCQs
Q-Consider the following question:
Don’t you think the current government has an excellent
poverty alleviation programme?
a) Is a leading question
b) Is a loaded question
c) Is a double-barrelled question
Q-A _____ is a type of question that might attempts to cover two
issues.
a) Structured question
b) Dichotomous question
c) Double-barrelled question
d) Branching question
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 6. Choosing Question Wording

1. Define the issue in terms of who, what, when, where, why, and way
(the six Ws).
2. Use ordinary words. Words should match the vocabulary level of the
respondents.
3. Avoid ambiguous words: usually, normally, frequently, often,
regularly, occasionally, sometimes, etc.
4. Avoid leading questions that clue the respondent to what the answer
should be.
5. Respondent should not have to make generalizations or compute
estimates.
Questionnaire Design Checklist
Step 7. Determine the Order of Questions
1. The opening questions should be interesting, simple, and non-
threatening.
2. Qualifying questions should serve as the opening questions.
3. Basic information should be obtained first, followed by classification,
and, finally, identification information.
4. Difficult, sensitive, or complex questions should be placed late in the
sequence.
5. General questions should precede the specific questions.
6. Questions should be asked in a logical order.
7. The question being branched should be placed as close as possible to
the question causing the branching, and (2) the branching questions
should be ordered so that the respondents cannot anticipate what
additional information will be required.
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 8. Form and Layout

1. Divide a questionnaire into several parts.
2. Questions in each part should be
numbered.
3. The questionnaire should be pre-coded.
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 9. Reproduction of the Questionnaire

1. The questionnaire should have a professional appearance.
2. Booklet format should be used for long questionnaires.
3. Each question should be reproduced on a single page (or double-
page spread).
4. Vertical response columns should be used.
5. The tendency to crowd questions to make the questionnaire look
shorter should be avoided.
6. Directions or instructions for individual questions should be
placed as close to the questions as possible.
Questionnaire Design Checklist

Step 10. Pretesting

1. Pretesting should be done always.
2. All aspects of the questionnaire should be tested, including question content,
wording, sequence, form and layout, question difficulty, and instructions.
3. Pretest should also be conducted by mail or telephone if those methods are to
be used in the actual survey.
4. A variety of interviewers should be used for pretests.
5. The pretest sample size is small, varying from 15 to 30 respondents for the
initial testing.
Q-The-------------------is the most frequently used
primary method of data collection in any area of
business research. It involves a predetermined
set of queries in a structured format.
a) Indepth interviews
b) Focus group discussions
c) Projective techniques
d) Questionnaire
Q-The--------------------is a questionnaire type in which the
respondent does not fill in his/her responses. The
interviewer asks and makes a note of the answers.
a) Structured interview
b) Focus group discussions
c) Mall intercept questionnaire
d) Schedule
Q-Which of the following is not an objective of a
questionnaire?
a) The information asked from the respondent must be specific to
the study
b) The questionnaire must de simple to understand and answer .
c) A questionnaire must be easy to use.
d) A questionnaire must engage the respondent and not cause
boredom and stress
Q-Which of the following is not a part of the
questionnaire design process?

a) Specify the type of questioning method.

b) Arrange questions in proper order.
c) Reproduce the questionnaire.
d) Develop the sampling plan.
Q-In which of the following, interviewer bias is
very high and thus a problem?
a) E-mail questionnaire
b) Telephone interview
c) Mail questionnaire
d) Web-based questionnaire
Q-In which of the following, interviewer bias is
very high and thus a problem?
a) E-mail questionnaire
b) Telephone interview
c) Mail questionnaire
d) Web-based questionnaire
Wrong questionnaire is an example of ………….. a. Primary
data collection problem b. Secondary collection problem c. a
and b both d. None of the above
Q-What type of question is the following:
“If you were to select your favorite holiday destination
and what are the reasons for this”. What would be your
answer?
a) Leading question
b) Loaded question
c) Open-ended question
Q-What type of question is the following:
• I like my coffee to be strong and sweet

a) Leading question
b) Loaded question
c) Open-ended question
d) None of the above
Q-Do you think taking dowry is the right of every
Indian male? Is an example of a
a) double-barreled
b) Forced choice
c) Open-ended
d) Loaded question
Q-Researchers use both open-ended and closed-ended questions
to collect data. Which of the following statements is true?
• a. Open-ended questions directly provide quantitative data
based on the researcher’s predetermined response categories
• b. Closed-ended questions provide quantitative data in the
participant’s own words
• c. Open-ended questions provide qualitative data in the
participant’s own words
• d. Closed-ended questions directly provide qualitative data in
the participants’ own words