Question 1

Yellow Bird wanted to develop a measure of satisfaction with school life using items to reflect the various dimensions of school life (academics,social life,residence halls).She wanted to have each item measure intensity of feeling by using such categories as "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree." Which approach is she using?
A)Thurstone scaling
B)Likert scaling
C)semantic differential
D)Bogardus social distance scale
E)Guttman scale

Accepted Answer

Yellow Bird is using Likert scaling because she wants each item to measure intensity of feeling using categories such as "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree." Likert scaling involves respondents rating their level of agreement or disagreement with a statement using a range of response options.

Question 2

What are the two decisions to be made in deciding how to score an index?
A)how many items and the desirable range of index scores
B)the desirable range of index scores and the assignment of scores for each response
C)the assignment of scores for each response and which statistics to use
D)which statistics to use and how many items
E)number of items and assignment of scores to each item

Accepted Answer

The two decisions to be made in deciding how to score an index are: the desirable range of index scores and the assignment of scores for each response. The other answer choices include only one of these decisions, but not both.

Question 3

Othello wanted to develop a scale to measure love that involved having respondents choose between two opposite positions,using qualifiers to bridge the distance between the two opposites.It would be best to use the
A)Thurstone scale.
B)Likert scale.
C)Bogardus social distance scale.
D)semantic differential.
E)Guttman scale

Accepted Answer

The semantic differential scale involves asking respondents to rate their attitudes towards a concept or object by choosing between two opposite positions using adjectives or qualifiers to bridge the distance between the two extremes. This would best fit Othello's goal of developing a scale to measure love. Thurstone scale involves presenting respondents with a series of statements and asking them to indicate their agreement or disagreement, while the Likert scale involves having respondents rate their level of agreement with a series of statements. The Bogardus social distance scale involves asking respondents to indicate their willingness to engage in social relations with members of a different group, and Guttman scale involves asking respondents to indicate their level of agreement with a series of statements in a hierarchical manner.

Question 4

Item analysis is used for
A)assessing index reliability.
B)index validation.
C)improving item wording.
D)determining whether to use a scale or an index.
E)counting how many items are important

Accepted Answer

Item analysis is mainly used for index validation, which involves analyzing the results of a test or survey to evaluate the quality of individual test items. The aim is to determine whether each question in the index is contributing to the overall measurement and whether each item is measuring what it was intended to measure. It helps to identify items that are not performing well and may need to be rewritten or removed from the index. Therefore, the best choice is B, index validation.

Question 5

Freda wants to develop a measure of support for the legalization of marijuana such that she can assign scores to patterns of responses,such that some items reflect a relatively weak degree of the variable while others reflect something stronger.Which one of the following should she use?
A)index
B)scale
C)reliability
D)validity
E)nominal scale

Accepted Answer

A scale is a type of measurement that assigns numbers to responses based on the strength of the variable being measured. This would allow Freda to assign scores to patterns of responses that reflect varying degrees of support for the legalization of marijuana. A scale can range from weak to strong, making it the best choice for Freda's purposes.

Question 6

Gunnar developed a scale to measure attitudes toward feminism.He discovered a pattern of responses among his items such that if he knew the scale score (the number of items someone agreed with),he could accurately predict which items that person agreed with.Which scale type did he use?
A)Thurstone scaling
B)Likert scaling
C)semantic differential
D)Guttman scaling
E)Bogardus social distance scale

Accepted Answer

Gunnar used Guttman scaling, also known as "scalogram analysis," which is based on the idea that if someone agrees with one item, they are likely to agree with others that are similar. The items are ordered from least to most extreme in terms of the attitude being measured, and respondents are asked to indicate which ones they agree with. The responses are then analyzed to see if they match a pattern of agreement that would be expected if the items are ordered correctly. This type of scaling is useful for measuring attitudes that have a logical order, and it allows for the prediction of which items someone would agree with based on their total score.

Question 7

Edgar decides to validate his index of marital happiness by determining which people subsequently divorced.Edgar is using
A)internal reliability.
B)external reliability.
C)internal validation.
D)external validation.
E)external generalizability

Accepted Answer

Edgar is using external validation by examining whether the index of marital happiness correlates with divorce rates. This external criteria is being used to validate the accuracy of the index.

Question 8

Likert scales are designed to be ______ in measurement.
A)nominal
B)ratio
C)internal
D)ordinal
E)It varies; they can be designed to be any level of measurement.

Accepted Answer

Likert scales are designed to be ordinal in measurement. This means that the responses are in a specific order, but the magnitude of the differences between them is not necessarily equal. For example, on a Likert scale with responses ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree," the responses have a clear order but the difference between "disagree" and "strongly disagree" may not be the same as the difference between "agree" and "strongly agree."

Question 9

A Thurstone scale was constructed to measure creativity.The scale scores ranged from 1 to 13.If the scale was properly constructed we could conclude that
A)a person with a score of 6 was three times as creative as a person with a score of 2.
B)a person with a score of 6 was more creative than a person with a score of 5.
C)a person with a score of 5 was half as creative as someone with a score of 10.
D)a person with a score of 6 was three times as creative as a person with a score of 2 and a person with a score of 5 was half as creative as someone with a score of 10.
E)a person with a score of 6 was three times as creative as a person with a score of 1.

Accepted Answer

A Thurstone scale is an ordinal scale, meaning it can indicate order but not the magnitude of difference between scores. Therefore, we can only conclude that a person with a higher score is more creative than someone with a lower score, but not by how much.

Question 10

Surrisi wants to develop a scale measuring love and wants to include a few dozen judges,or experts,to rate each of her items in terms of how strongly each indicator measures love.She should use
A)Thurstone scaling.
B)Likert scaling.
C)Semantic differential.
D)Bogardus social distance scale.
E)Guttman scale

Accepted Answer

Thurstone scaling is a type of scaling that involves several judges, who rate the items on a continuum in terms of how strongly each indicator measures the construct of interest. This method is highly reliable and valid, making it a suitable choice for Surrisi's purpose of developing a love scale. Likert scaling and semantic differential scaling are also commonly used methods in psychology research, but they do not involve judges and may not provide the same level of validity as Thurstone scaling. Bogardus social distance scale and Guttman scaling are not appropriate for this purpose since they are designed to measure social distance and hierarchy rather than love. Therefore, Thurstone scaling is the best choice for Surrisi to develop a love scale.

Question 11

Serrina wanted to analyze the relationship between two variables-school type (public,private,or charter)and school location (urban,suburban,or rural)-in her study of student values to look for identifiable patterns.Which approach should she use?
A)semantic differential
B)typology
C)coefficient of reproducibility
D)scale types
E)index construction

Accepted Answer

Typology is the approach that involves categorizing observations or data into distinct groups based on shared characteristics. In this case, Serrina can use typology to create categories for school type and school location and analyze the relationship between the two variables to identify patterns.

Question 12

Which one of the following is NOT one of the reasons composite measures are frequently used?
A)Many variables social scientists study have no clear and unambiguous single indicators.
B)A single data item might not have enough categories to provide the desired range of variation.
C)Indexes and scales are efficient devices for data analysis.
D)Certain theories and paradigms require composite measures.
E)There are too many indicators for efficient analysis.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which one of the following is NOT...

Question 13

Rosamaria added together five survey questions that all measured fear of crime,but with different dimensions such as media exposure,personal experience,and contact with others.What has she created?
A) a response.
B) an index.
C) a scale.
D) a correlation.
E) a typology.

Accepted Answer

An index is created when multiple indicators or survey questions are combined to measure a single concept, such as fear of crime, across different dimensions.

Question 14

Why should you perform bivariate and multivariate analyses of the items in your index?
A)to make them longer
B)to help you develop new items
C)to see how they correspond to each other to decide which ones should be included
D)to see how they differ from each other to make sure you include different items
E)your results would be invalid otherwise

Accepted Answer

Bivariate and multivariate analyses can help identify the correlation and relationships between different items in the index. This can assist in deciding which items should be included or excluded in the index to ensure its validity and reliability. A and D are incorrect because the length and diversity of the index should be determined by its relevance and validity, not by the analysis. E is incorrect because there may be valid reasons for not performing these analyses, such as when the items are conceptually related and are expected to correlate strongly. B is incorrect because the purpose of the analysis is not to develop new items but to examine the existing ones.

Question 15

In addition to using two opposite positions,the semantic differential also uses
A)a similarity position in the middle.
B)a Thurstone-like rating process.
C)qualifiers in between the opposites.
D)the rating form used in the Bogardus social distance scale.
E)a "magnetic" pole to differentiate the opposites.

Accepted Answer

The semantic differential uses qualifiers or gradations between two opposite adjectives to measure the connotative meaning of concepts.

Question 16

Which one of the following is NOT a suggested way to handle missing data in index construction?
A)If there are relatively few cases with missing data, you may decide to exclude them from the construction of the index and the analysis.
B)It is always best to simply exclude any cases with missing data.
C)You may sometimes have grounds for treating missing data as one of the available responses.
D)A careful analysis of missing data may yield an interpretation of their meaning.
E)Evaluate why data is missing before making a decision.

Accepted Answer

It is not always best to exclude any cases with missing data. The decision should be based on the reason for the missing data and the impact it may have on the analysis.

Question 17

External validation is to internal validation as prediction is to
A)validity.
B)reliability.
C)the connection between the composite index and individual items.
D)the best strategy for handling missing data.
E)evaluation

Accepted Answer

The answer of External validation is to internal validation as...

Question 18

Scales and indexes are which level of measurement?
A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio
E)They can be at all levels of measurement.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Scales and indexes are which level of...

Question 19

Nick wanted to develop a scale to determine how willing people are to connect at various levels with people with disabilities.Nick should use the
A)Bogardus social distance scale.
B)Thurstone scale.
C)Likert scale.
D)semantic differential.
E)Guttman scale

Accepted Answer

The Bogardus social distance scale is specifically designed to measure the willingness of people to interact with others from particular social groups. In this case, Nick wants to measure people's willingness to connect with people with disabilities, which is a social group. Therefore, the use of the Bogardus social distance scale is the most appropriate choice. The other scales mentioned, such as Thurstone scale, Likert scale, semantic differential, and Guttman scale, are not specifically tailored to measure social distance and may not effectively capture Nick's objectives.

Question 20

Which type of validity is used to select items for an index?
A)face
B)criterion-related
C)construct
D)content
E)convergent

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which type of validity is used to...

Quiz 6: Indexes, scales, and Typologies

What are the two decisions to be made in deciding how to score an index?

Othello wanted to develop a scale to measure love that involved having respondents choose between two opposite positions,using qualifiers to bridge the distance between the two opposites.It would be best to use the

Item analysis is used for

Freda wants to develop a measure of support for the legalization of marijuana such that she can assign scores to patterns of responses,such that some items reflect a relatively weak degree of the variable while others reflect something stronger.Which one of the following should she use?

Gunnar developed a scale to measure attitudes toward feminism.He discovered a pattern of responses among his items such that if he knew the scale score (the number of items someone agreed with) ,he could accurately predict which items that person agreed with.Which scale type did he use?

Edgar decides to validate his index of marital happiness by determining which people subsequently divorced.Edgar is using

Likert scales are designed to be ______ in measurement.

A Thurstone scale was constructed to measure creativity.The scale scores ranged from 1 to 13.If the scale was properly constructed we could conclude that

Surrisi wants to develop a scale measuring love and wants to include a few dozen judges,or experts,to rate each of her items in terms of how strongly each indicator measures love.She should use

Serrina wanted to analyze the relationship between two variables-school type (public,private,or charter) and school location (urban,suburban,or rural) -in her study of student values to look for identifiable patterns.Which approach should she use?

Which one of the following is NOT one of the reasons composite measures are frequently used?

Rosamaria added together five survey questions that all measured fear of crime,but with different dimensions such as media exposure,personal experience,and contact with others.What has she created?

Why should you perform bivariate and multivariate analyses of the items in your index?

In addition to using two opposite positions,the semantic differential also uses

Which one of the following is NOT a suggested way to handle missing data in index construction?

External validation is to internal validation as prediction is to

Scales and indexes are which level of measurement?

Nick wanted to develop a scale to determine how willing people are to connect at various levels with people with disabilities.Nick should use the

Which type of validity is used to select items for an index?