The elements of Qualitative Resaerch, Attitude Measurement and Using Scaling.

1. The MAANZ MXpress Program
Qualitative Research and Attitude
Measurement Techniques
Dr Brian Monger
Copyright June 2013.
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4. Dr. Brian Monger
• Brian Monger is the CEO of MAANZ International and a
Professional marketer and consultant with over 40 years
experience.
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Introduction to Qualitative Research
• A common feature of marketing research is the
attempt to have respondents communicate their
feelings, attitudes, opinions, and evaluations in
some measurable form.
• Qualitative research focuses on the nature or
structure of attitudes and motivations rather than
their frequency and distribution.
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There are two basic methods of qualitative
research.
• The group depth interview, commonly called a
focus group, assembles eight to twelve respondents
with a trained moderator who guides a discussion,
generally lasting about two hours.
• The individual depth interview (or IDI) collects
information serially in one-on-one sessions that
generally lasts about 45 minutes to an hour.
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Why conduct qualitative research?
• Although qualitative research does not tell you how
widely distributed an attitude or motivation might be,
it does tell you, and in ways surveys cannot-from
where those attitudes arise, how they are structured,
and what broader significance they may have for
consumer behaviour.
• The rich insights that come from close inspection of
individuals can never be duplicated by large-scale
conclusive forms of research, which view the market
from a more distant vantage point.
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Limitations on the Reliability of a Qualitative
Study
• Sample size
• Sampling Procedure
• Question structure and sequence
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Understanding Buyers
• An understanding of buyers' attitudes is meant to explain
the why aspect of buyers' past, present and future
behaviour.
• Such understanding can be achieved through some
complicated means, which necessitate a more subtle
approach than direct questioning.
• It is so primarily important because attitude variables (e.g.
belief, preference, motivation and intention) are
conceptual ideas which are not only hard to explore, but
also difficult to record the responses accurately and
comprehensively.
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Understanding Buyers
• Attitudes are multidimensional, there is always
more than one aspect that make up one's attitudes.
• The researcher should examine all relevant aspects
if he or she wishes to evaluate buyers' attitudes
towards a product, brand or service.
• The results of Qualitative Research can often be
recorded quantitatively. That is by using scaling
techniques.
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Attitude Measurement
• Attitudes are usually viewed as a long term or enduring disposition to
consistently respond in a given manner to various aspects of the world
(within a similar situation or context) including persons, events, and
objects. There are three components of attitude:
• Affective component: reflects an individuals
general feelings towards an object.
• Cognitive component: represents one's awareness
of and knowledge about an object.
• Behavioural component: reflects buying intentions
and behavioural expectations.
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Attitudes as Hypothetical Constructs
• The term 'hypothetical construct' is used to
describe a variable that is not directly observable,
but is measurable by an indirect means such as
verbal expression or overt behaviour.
• Attitudes are considered to be such variables.
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The Attitude‐Measuring Process
• There are a variety of techniques that have been
devised to measure attitudes.
• These techniques range from direct to indirect,
physiological to verbal
• Obtaining verbal statements from respondents
generally requires that the respondent perform a
task such as ranking, rating, sorting, or making a
choice or a comparison.
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The Attitude‐Measuring Process
• Ranking tasks require that the respondent rank order a small number of objects in
overall preference on the basis of some characteristic or stimulus.
• Rating asks the respondent to estimate the magnitude of a characteristic, or quality,
that an object possesses. The respondent indicates the position on a scale(s) where
he or she would rate an object.
• Sorting might present the respondent with several product concepts typed on cards
and require that the respondent arrange the cards into a number of piles or
otherwise classify the product concepts.
• Choice between two or more alternatives is another type of attitude
measurement-it is assumed that the chosen object is preferred over the other(s).
• Physiological measures of attitudes provide a means of measuring attitudes
without verbally questioning the respondent. For example, galvanic skin responses,
measure blood pressure, etc., are physiological measures.
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Behavioural Intention
• The behavioural component of an attitude involves the
behavioural expectation of an individual toward an
attitudinal object.
• Category scales to measure the behavioural component of
an attitude ask a respondent's "likelihood" of purchase or
intention to perform some future action.
• The wording of statements used in these cases often
includes phrases such as "I would recommend," "I would
write," or "I would buy," to indicate action tendencies.
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Projective Techniques
• (1) Association Techniques
• (2) Completion Techniques
• (3) Construction Techniques
• (4) Expressive Techniques
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SCALES
A scale is any series of items which are progressively arranged
according to value or magnitude into which an item can be placed
according to its quantification.
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Scaling and Numbers
• The term scaling is often used in the process of
measuring such things as attitudes and perceptions,
where numbers are assigned to describe or represent
objects, persons, households or events according to a
fixed set of rules.
• Numbers may be numeric or simply symbolic;
alternatively they can be classified under one of the
following four types; each possesses some inherent
properties which govern the type of mathematical
operations that can be performed.
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The differences between measurement and
scaling
• Measurement is the assignment of numbers or other
symbols to characteristics of objects according to
certain pre-specified rules.
• Measurement precedes scaling in test construction.
• Scaling is an extension of measurement where it
involves the generation of a continuum upon which
measured objects are located.
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The Main Scales of Measurement
• The Nominal scale:
• This is used as a labelling scheme where numbers
serve only as labels or tags for identifying and
classifying objects.
• The numbers in a nominal scale do not reflect the
amount of a characteristic possessed by the objects,
rather they are used only for identification.
• For example, numbers on football players uniforms,
street names, or licence plate numbers.
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The Ordinal scale
• This is a ranking scale in which numbers are assigned
to objects to indicate the relative extent to which
some characteristic is possessed.
• It is then possible to determine whether an object has
more or less of a characteristic than some other
object.
• For example, rankings of teams for the AFL or NRL,
socioeconomic status and quality rankings.
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The Interval scale
• These numbers are used to rank objects such that
numerically equal distances on the scale represent
equal distances in the characteristic being measured.
• Examples include time and temperature.
• The Ratio scale
• This is used to identify or classify objects, rank order
the objects, and compare intervals or differences.
• For example, height, age, and income.
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There are two main types of scales: comparative
and non‐comparative.
• Comparative scales - a direct comparison of stimulus
objects is elicited. Thus, two brands may be compared
along a dimension such as quality.
• Non-comparative scales - the respondent provides
whatever standard seems appropriate to him/her, thus,
only one object is evaluated at a time.
• This type of scaling does not compare the object against
another object or some standard.
• Rather, the rater uses whatever standard seems most
appropriate to him or her. In this case, one brand is rated
on a scale independent of other brands.
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Comparative Scaling Techniques.
• Paired comparison scaling
• Here a respondent is presented with two objects at a
time and asked to select one object in the pair
according to some criterion.
• The data obtained is ordinal in nature.
• This is frequently used in marketing when
comparisons of products or brands are being made.
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Rank order scaling
• This is where respondents are presented with several
objects simultaneously and asked to order or rank
them according to some criterion.
• This is commonly used to measure preferences for
brands as well as the importance of attributes.
• It is a simpler scale than the paired-comparison scale
as its procedure can easily be under-stood by the
respondent.
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Q‐sort scaling
• This technique uses a rank order procedure in which
objects are sorted into piles based on similarity with
respect to some criterion.
• Magnitude estimation
• Here numbers are assigned to objects such that ratios
between the assigned numbers reflect ratios among
the objects on the specified criterion.
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Non‐comparative Scaling Techniques
• Continuous rating scale
• In this measurement method the respondents rate the objects by placing a
mark at the appropriate position on a line that runs from one extreme of the
criterion variable to the other.
• The form of the continuous scale varies considerably depending on the
imagination of the researcher. Their use in marketing has been limited
because they are not as reliable as itemised scales, the scoring process is
cumbersome, and they provide little additional information.
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Itemised rating scales
• Here respondents are provided with scales having
numbers and/or brief descriptions associated with
each category.
• The respondents are required to select one of the
specified categories that best describes the object
being rated.
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Likert summated scale
• Likert is based on summated ratings.
• A list (or series) of attitude statements about the
object under study is compiled and the respondent
indicates his or her degree of agreement or
disagreement with each of these statements that are
related to the object in question on a five-point scale:
• strongly agree
• somewhat agree
• neither agree nor disagree;
• somewhat disagree
• strongly disagree.
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Semantic differential scale
• This is a seven-point rating scale with end points associated
with bipolar labels that have semantic meaning. As the
term suggests, this scaling technique measures the
difference between words. Respondents are required to
rate objects on a number of itemised, seven-point rating
scales bounded at each end by one of two bipolar
adjectives.
• The respondent places a cross 'X' in the position which
indicates his or her thinking about a value offer in terms
of the 'construct' or 'dimension' along a bi-polar adjective.
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Bi-polar adjectives :
• active/passive
• unsuccessful/ successful
• cruel/kind
• important/ unimportant
• curved/straight
• angular/rounded
• masculine/feminine
• calm/excitable
• untimely/timely
• false/true
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Staple scale
• This is a modified version of a semantic differential
scale, using a ten-point scale ranging from -5 to +5 to
measure direction and intensity of attitude
simultaneously. It uses a single word adjective instead
of the polar pair of adjectives or descriptive phrases.
Each point on a Stapel scale is assigned a number
• An advantage of the Stapel scale is that there is no
need to worry about phrase bi-polarity - a +5 score is
truly opposite to a -5 score and so on.
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33. Other types of rating scales employed in
marketing research include:

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Pictorial rating scales
•With regard to the piece of cake which you've just tasted, can you
please indicate which of the following facial expressions best describes
your reaction to its level of sweetness?
•Another way is to present a set of word descriptions in varying print
sizes for the respondent to express the intensity of his attitude or feeling:
•In your opinion, do you think that abortion should be legally allowed?
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Itemised (or verbal) rating scale
• Itemised rating scale (or verbal rating scale) is one
where the respondent is presented with a set of
response categories, ordered by the scale positions so
as to reflect the degree of attitude held. Itemised
rating scale is most commonly used in marketing
research.
• Example
• How likely would you buy this product if it is available in the market at $4.95 per
bottle?
• I definitely would buy 1
• I probably would buy 2
• I might or might not buy 3
• I probably would not buy 4
• I definitely would not buy 5
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Itemised (or verbal) rating scale
• When constructing an itemised rating scale, the
following major issues will need to be considered:
• number of categories
• odd or even number of categories
• balanced or unbalanced scales
• forced or unforced scales
• comparative or non-comparative scales - which we
have previously described.
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Number of categories
• There is no fixed rule governing the exact number of
response categories required. The researcher can create as
many response categories as he deems appropriate,
ranging from the simple dichotomous (e.g. Yes-No
answer) to as many as 100 in number.
• Odd or even number of categories
• An even number of response categories refers when half
of the response categories are positive (favourable)
statements while the remaining half are negative (or
unfavourable) statements. An odd number of categories,
on the other hand, includes an additional category which
is usually identified as the neutral position.
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Balanced or unbalanced scale
• In a balanced scale, the number of favourable response
categories equals that of unfavourable response
categories.
•
• Scales are unbalanced in that they may have a greater
number of favourable scale points than unfavourable
scale points (or vice versa).
• Generally speaking, when prior knowledge through
exploratory research suggests a high likelihood of
favourable (or unfavourable) responses to the attitude
under study, it will be appropriate to adopt an unbalanced
scale.
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Forced scale and Unforced scales
• The provision, or the lack of it, of 'don't know' or 'no
opinion' category provides the distinction between a
forced scale and an unforced scale.
• If such a category is not provided, thus forcing the
respondent to take one side or the other, we have a
forced scale. Otherwise, we have an unforced scale.
• A 'don't know' answer should not be looked upon as a
neutral response, since a respondent who is willing to
express his feeling towards the research question may
fail to do so due to a genuine lack of knowledge
about the attribute under study.
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Verbal Protocols
• A Verbal protocol is a method of understanding the
thought processes of a consumer by having them speak
every thought which comes into their head, no matter
what it may be. The objective is to understand the
thought processes of the consumer.
• Protocols are useful when a researcher wants to know the
consumer's cognitive responses to marketing stimuli.
Protocols have been used to determine the attributes and
cues used in making purchase decisions, product usage
behaviour, and the impact of the shopping environment
on consumer decisions.
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41. Criteria Used to Evaluate a Multi Item
Scale

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What Is To Be Measured?
• The first question the researcher must ask is "What is to
be measured?". This is not as simple a question as it may
at first seem.
• A precise definition of the concept may require a
description of how it will be measured, and there is
frequently more than one way of measuring a concept.
Further, true measurement of concepts requires a process
of precisely assigning scores or numbers to the attributes
of people or objects.
• To have precise measurement in marketing research
requires a careful conceptual definition, an operational
definition, and a system of consistent rules for assigning
numbers or scales.
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Concepts
• Before the measurement process can occur, the
researcher has to identify and define the concepts
relevant to the problem.
• A concept (or construct) is a generalised idea about a
class of objects, attributes, occurrences, or processes.
• Concepts such as brand loyalty, personality, and so on
present great problems in terms of definition and
measurement.
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Operational Definitions
• Concepts must be made operational in order to be
measured. An operational definition gives meaning
to a concept by specifying the activities or operations
necessary to measure it.
• It specifies what the investigator must do to measure
the concept under investigation.
• An operational definition tells the investigator to "do
such-and-such in so-and-so manner.".
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Rules of Measurement
• A rule is a guide instructing us what to do. An
example of a measurement rule might be "assign the
numerals 1 through 7 to individuals according to how
brand loyal they are.
• If the individual is an extremely brand loyal
individual, assign a 1. If the individual is a total brand
switcher with no brand loyalty, assign a 7."
• Operational definitions help the researcher specify the
rules for assigning numbers.
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Index Measures
• Measuring more complex concepts may require more than one question
because the concept has several attributes. An attribute is a single
characteristic or fundamental feature pertaining to an object, person,
situation, or issue.
• Multi-itemed instruments for measuring a single concept with several
attributes are called index measures, or composite measures.
• For example, index of social class may be based on three weighted
averages: residence, occupation, and residence. Asking different questions
in order to measure the same concept provides a more accurate cumulative
measure than does a single-item measure.
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Measurement accuracy
• This refers to capturing the responses as the
respondent intended them to be understood.
• Errors can result from either systematic error, which
affects the observed score in the same way on every
measurement, or random error, which varies with
every measurement.
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Reliability:
• Reliability refers to the extent to which a scale produces
consistent results if repeated measurements are made on
the characteristic.
• Another dimension of reliability concerns the
homogeneity of the measure. An attempt to measure an
attitude may require asking several questions or a battery
of scale items.
• To measure the internal consistency of a multiple-item
measure, scores on subsets of items within the scale must
be correlated. The split-half method, when a researcher
checks the results of one half of the scale items to the
other half, is the most basic method for checking internal
consistency.
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Validity:
• Validity refers to the accuracy of measurement.
• Validity of a scale may be defined as the extent to
which differences in observed scale scores reflect true
differences among objects on the characteristic being
measured, rather than systematic or random errors.
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How is Validity Measured?
• The purpose of measurement is to measure what we
intend to measure. Validity addresses the problem of
whether or not a measure does indeed measure what it
purports to measure; if it does not, there will be
problems.
• Researchers attempt to provide some evidence of a
measure's degree of validity. There are three basic
approaches to dealing with the issue of validity:
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Face or content validity
• This refers to the subjective agreement of
professionals that a scale logically appears to be
accurately reflecting what it purports to measure.
• A subjective evaluation by experts in the domain
being studied to determine if all relevant items are
covered in the study. Thus, in the auto industry for
example, car experts (experienced professionals,
professors, etc.) would evaluate the scale on the
items it covers vis-à-vis what they consider relevant
real world factors.
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Criterion validity
• Criterion validity is an attempt by researchers to answer
the question "Does my measure correlate with other
measures of the same construct?"
• Consider the physical concept of length. If a new
measure of length were developed, finding that the new
measure correlated with other measures of length would
provide some assurance that the measure was valid.
• Criterion validity may be classified as either concurrent
validity (when the measure is taken at the same time as
the criterion measure) or predictive validity (when the
measure predicts a future event).
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Construct validity
• Construct validity is established by the degree to which
the measure confirms a network of related hypotheses
generated from a theory based on the concept.
• In its simplest form, if the measure behaves the way it is
supposed to in a pattern of inter-correlation with a variety
of other variables, then there is evidence for construct
validity.
• This is a complex method of establishing validity and is
of less concern to the applied researcher than to the basic
researcher.
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Construct Validity
• Construct Validity entails a theoretical investigation
of the construct the scale is measuring.
• It tries to assess why the scale works and the nature
of the theory underlying the scale.
• Convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity
are assessed.
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Reliability versus Validity
• The concepts of reliability and validity should be
compared. Reliability, although necessary for
validity, is not in itself sufficient.
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Sensitivity
• The sensitivity of a scale is important, particularly when
changes in attitude, or other hypothetical constructs, are
under investigation.
• Sensitivity refers to the ability of a instrument to
accurately measure variability in stimuli or responses.
• The sensitivity of a scale which is based on a single
question or a single item can be increased by adding
additional questions or items.
• In other words, because index measures allow for a
greater range of possible scores, they are more sensitive
than single-item scales.
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Ranking
• Buyers often rank order their preferences. An ordinal scale may be
developed by asking respondents to rank order (from most preferred
to least preferred) a set of objects or attributes. This technique is easily
understood by the respondents.
• Paired comparisons: In paired comparisons the respondents are
presented with two objects at a time and asked to pick the one they
prefer.
• Ranking objects with respect to one attribute is not difficult if only a
few products are compared, but as the number of items increases, the
number of comparisons increases geometrically (n*(n - 1)12). If the
number of comparisons is too great, respondents may fatigue and no
longer carefully discriminate among them.
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Sorting
• Sorting tasks requires that respondents indicate their attitudes or
beliefs by ranking items.
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Generalisability
• This refers to the extent to which one can generalise
from the observations at hand to the set of all
conditions of measurement over which the
investigator wishes to generalise, called the universe
of generalisation.
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Randomised Response Questions
• In special cases, when respondents are asked to provide sensitive or
embarrassing information in a survey, the researcher may utilise
randomised response questions. In this type of questionnaire, each
question has two possible questions associated with it-one sensitive and
one non-sensitive.
• The respondent will answer "yes" or "no" to the question asked. 'The
question asked is randomly selected by the respondent, who
confidentially determines which of the two questions will be answered
(e.g., by the toss of a coin).
• A formula is used to estimate the proportion of "yes" answers to the
sensitive question. While estimates are subject to error, the respondent
remains anonymous, and response bias is therefore reduced.
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END
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62. • For more information about MAANZ International and articles
about Marketing, visit:
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• . http://www.linkedin.com/groups/MAANZ‐
SmartaMarketing‐Group‐2650856/about
• Email: info@marketing.org.au
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further presentations
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