Deck 7: Measurement and Scaling

Question 1

A(n) _____ includes two or more different attributes or issues in the same question, but responses allow respondents to comment on only a single issue.

A) double negative question
B) ambiguous question
C) double-barreled question
D) leading question
E) complex question

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following statements about graphic rating scales is True?

A) They are a type of comparative rating scales.
B) They are recommended for use with adults only.
C) They cannot be used to collect emotional data.
D) They do not contain narrative descriptors.
E) They use a scaling descriptor format.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following statements about constructs is True?

A) They are directly measured.
B) They are made up of a combination of several related indicator variables.
C) Their development requires the use of nominal scales to measure absolute differences between scale points.
D) They are observable concepts.
E) Their development begins with an accurate definition of the purpose of the study.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A researcher designs his questionnaire in such a way that respondents can communicate the intensity with which they like or dislike a product by circling an appropriate number from the response options that go from 1 to 7 (where 1 is "strongly disagree" and 7 is for "strongly agree"). These numbers (1 to 7) are commonly referred to as:

A) construct points.
B) scale portions.
C) scale points.
D) construct ordinals.
E) scale ratios.

Question 5

A _____ is a hypothetical variable made up of a set of component responses or behaviors that are thought to be related.

A) scale point
B) construct
C) relationship
D) statistical parameter
E) non-bipolar descriptor

Question 6

Which of the following statements is True about interval scales?

A) They can measure absolute differences between scale points.
B) The standard deviation cannot be calculated for interval scales.
C) They are the highest level scale.
D) They do not allow for comparison between measured objects.
E) They are less powerful than ordinal scales.

Question 7

If there is significant variation among subjects regarding their attitudes toward a given brand, this variance will be reflected most clearly in which of the following measures?

A) Mean
B) Median
C) Mode
D) Standard deviation
E) Frequency distribution

Question 8

Which of the following types of scales typically requires the respondent to allocate a given number of points, usually 100, among each separate attribute or feature relative to all the other listed ones?

A) Nominal scales
B) Rank-order scales
C) Constant-sum scales
D) Graphic rating scales
E) Behavioral intention scales

Question 9

Which of the following statements is True of leading questions?

A) They introduce bias and often influence the way a respondent answers a question.
B) They include two or more different attributes or issues in the same question, but responses allow respondents to comment on only a single issue.
C) They involve situations where the question contains two negative thoughts in the same question.
D) They involve situations in which the question is worded in a way the respondent is not sure how they are supposed to respond.
E) They involve a situation in which possible responses can be interpreted in a number of ways.

Question 10

The _____ represents the distance between the largest and smallest response.

A) mean
B) standard deviation
C) range
D) median
E) frequency distribution

Question 11

_____ is the process of assigning descriptors to represent the range of possible responses to a question about a particular object or construct.

A) Scale measurement
B) Situation analysis
C) Purposive sampling
D) Debriefing analysis
E) Propensity scoring

Question 12

Which of the following is True of an ordinal scale?

A) It is the most basic and least powerful scale design.
B) It allows researchers to make absolute comparisons between responses.
C) It allows responses to be rank-ordered in a hierarchical pattern.
D) It is less powerful than a nominal scale.
E) It can measure absolute differences between scale points.

Question 13

A researcher working at Arcade Inc. is interested in finding out people's perception of Arcade's prices and quality relative to those of its top market rival. Given this objective, which of the following would prove to be most efficient?

A) Graphic rating scale
B) Single-item scale
C) Comparative rating scale
D) Nominal scale
E) Likert scale

Question 14

Which of the following statements is True about ratio scales?

A) They cannot measure quantitative data.
B) They cannot be used to determine the absolute difference between rankings.
C) They are the most basic and least powerful scale design.
D) They are less powerful than nominal scales.
E) They enable researchers to make absolute comparisons between responses.

Question 15

The difference between a single-item scale and a multiple-item scale is that a:

A) single-item scale involves collecting data about only one attribute of the object being investigated.
B) multiple-item scale is a type of nominal scale.
C) single-item scale simultaneously collects data on several attributes of a construct.
D) single-item scale provides more than one possible response to its respondents.
E) multiple-item scale cannot collect ordinal data.

Question 16

Which of the following is True of measurement?

A) As part of the measurement process, researchers assign labels to phenomena they measure but do not assign numbers to them.
B) As part of the measurement process, researchers assign numbers to phenomena they measure but do not label them.
C) The goal of the construct development process is to precisely measure each construct.
D) It is the process of developing methods to systematically characterize or quantify information about persons, events, ideas, or objects of interest.
E) The process of measurement begins with scale measurement followed by construct development.

Question 17

Which of the following types of scales asks the respondent to state his or her agreement or disagreement with a series of statements about a specific brand in terms of a 5-point scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree"?

A) Likert scale
B) Semantic differential scale
C) Paired-comparison scale
D) Constant sum scale
E) Numerical scale

Question 18

A professor wants to determine the male-female ratio in his college. He designs a questionnaire in which a respondent only needs to choose between two choices, male and female. The scale used by the professor is an example of the _____ scale.

A) ordinal
B) nominal
C) ratio
D) interval
E) Likert

Question 19

Which of the following statements is True regarding the various scale measurement issues?

A) The researcher should avoid using specific terms and instead use general, broad words.
B) The researcher should use "leading" phrases.
C) The researcher should give clear and simple instructions.
D) The researcher should ensure that scale descriptors have minimal discriminatory power.
E) The researcher should use double-barreled items.

Question 20

Which of the following is True about a semantic differential scale?

A) It is a type of nominal scale.
B) It cannot capture a person's attitudes or feelings about a given object.
C) Only the endpoints of the scale are labeled.
D) It is not possible to calculate the mean for each attribute.
E) It is a type of ratio scale.

Question 21

Internal consistency is the degree to which the individual questions of a construct are correlated.

Question 22

A comparative rating scale is used when the objective is to have a respondent express his or her attitudes, behavior, or intentions about a specific object.

Question 23

A nominal scale enables respondents to express relative magnitude between the answers to a question and responses can be rank-ordered in a hierarchical pattern.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is True of double negative questions?

A) They create cognitive confusion and respondents find it difficult to understand the question and therefore respond correctly.
B) They involve situations in which the question/setup suggests a socially desirable answer or involves an emotionally charged issue.
C) They introduce bias and influence the way a respondent answers a question.
D) They include two or more different attributes or issues in the same question, but responses allow respondents to comment on only a single issue.
E) They involve scale responses that are mutually exclusive.

Question 25

A feature is an abstract construct if it can be directly measured using physical characteristics.

Question 26

At the heart of construct development is the need to determine exactly what is to be measured.

Question 27

The idea behind the test-retest approach to measuring the reliability of scales is that if random variations are present, they will be revealed by variations in the scores between the two sampled measurements.

Question 28

In most cases, semantic differential scales use either 5 or 7 scale points.

Question 29

The more scale points, the lesser the discriminatory power of a scale.

Question 30

Behavioral intention scales are difficult to construct.

Question 31

A(n) _____ is a situation where the question/setup suggests a socially desirable answer or involves an emotionally charged issue.

A) ambiguous question
B) loaded question
C) double-barreled question
D) complex question
E) double negative question

Question 32

Measures of central tendency describe how data are dispersed around a central value.

Question 33

The goal of the construct development process is to precisely identify and define what is to be measured.

Question 34

Likert scales cannot measure attitudes and behavior.

Question 35

For interval scales, it is not possible to calculate mean and standard deviation.

Question 36

_____ involve a situation in which possible responses can be interpreted a number of different ways.

A) Ambiguous questions
B) Loaded questions
C) Complex questions
D) Double negative questions
E) Double-barreled questions

Question 37

Which of the following is an example of a leading question?

A) Is there a possibility that you would create something every week for the next couple of years?
B) Are you more or less likely to not forget to undo the damages caused by your inactions?
C) Are you happy with your life?
D) Do you think that plants are affected by solar flares?
E) Do you agree with nutritionists when they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?

Question 38

In a well-designed semantic differential scale, the individual scales should be truly bipolar.

Question 39

Ordinal scales can be used to determine the absolute difference between rankings.

Question 40

Which of the following statements is True of scale responses?

A) They are likely to have a negative effect on scale descriptors.
B) They should be mutually exclusive.
C) They should overlap wherever possible.
D) They should require the respondents to perform a complex behavior.
E) They are most effective when leading questions are used.

Question 41

Discuss the difference between a concrete variable and an abstract construct.

Question 42

Discuss the measurement problems associated with the semantic differential scale pole descriptors.

Question 43

What are the two factors that drive the use of multiple-item scales in research?

Question 44

Only ordinal data can be obtained using rank-order scales.

Question 45

The number of dimensions of a construct influences the decision to use a single-item versus a multiple-item scale.

Question 46

A graphic rating scale is a type of comparative rating scale.

Question 47

What are the requirements of designing measurement scales?

Question 48

Internal consistency reliability values for single-item or two-item scales cannot be accurately determined and should not be reported as representing the scale's internal consistency.

Question 49

A researcher wants to measure the temperature (in degree Fahrenheit) inside a grocery store at which the customers feel most comfortable. Suggest a scale that the researcher can use. Why is it not possible to use the ratio scale in this case?

Question 50

Constant-sum scales should preferably use more than seven attributes.