Business Research

Unit-IV
Susanta Kumar Mishra
Assistant Professor
Department of Business Administration
Ravenshaw University
 Primary Data Collection
It is necessary when the researcher cannot
find the data needed in secondary sources or
when the data extracted from the secondary
sources are not reliable or correct.
 Methods of Primary data collection

Observations
Surveys
Questionnaire
Schedules
 Observations
The information is sought by way of investigator’s
own direct observation without asking from the
respondent
In the words of P.V. Young, “Observation may be
defined as systematic viewing, coupled with
consideration of seen phenomenon.”
Example-in a study relating to consumer behaviour,
the investigator instead of asking the brand of wrist
watch used by the respondent, may himself look at the
watch.
 Observations
Advantages: 1)It does not rely on people’s willingness to
provide information. 2) Collect data where and when an
event or activity is occurring. 3) This method can be used
with interview, survey, and some other data collection
method. 4) No need of question preparation. 5) it is
suitable to studies those respondents who are not capable
of giving verbal response.
Disadvantages: 1) Hawthorne effect – people usually
perform better when they know they are being observed.
2)It is a time consuming method. 3)Limited information. 4)
Lack of verbal communication causes barriers. 5) Depends
on observer own qualities. 6) This method is suitable for
smaller setting.
 Observations
 Types
 Structured and Unstructured Observation
 Structured: observation is characterised by a careful definition of the units to
be observed, the style of recording the observed information, standardised
conditions of observation and the selection of pertinent data of observation.
Suitable for descriptive studies
 Unstructured: observation is to take place without these characteristics to be
thought of in advance. Suitable for exploratory studies
 Participant and Non Participant Observation
 Participant: the observer observes by making himself a member of the group
he is observing so that he can experience what the members of the group
experience.
 Non-participant: When the observer is observing in such a manner that his
presence may be unknown to the people he is observing. Disguised
observation
 Controlled and Uncontrolled Observation
 Controlled: observation takes place according to definite pre-arranged plans,
involving experimental procedure
 Uncontrolled: e observation takes place in the natural setting
 Surveys
Surveys are;
A detailed inspection or investigation
A general or comprehensive view
A gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to
be representative of a whole.
 Surveys
Types
General or Specific survey
Census or sample survey
Public opinion surveys
Confidential survey
Postal survey
Pilot or main survey
 Surveys
Advantages
Respondents have adequate time to give responses
Valid and reliable conclusion
Study of social changes and problems
Some people feel more comfortable responding to a survey
than participating in an interview.
Disadvantages
Good surveys are time consuming
Given lack of contact with respondent, never know who
really completed the survey
Survey respondents may not complete the survey resulting
in low response rates.
 Questionnaire
A questionnaire is sent (usually by post) to the persons
concerned with a request to answer the questions and
return the questionnaire.
A questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed
or typed in a definite order on a form or set of forms.
The questionnaire is mailed to respondents who are
expected to read and understand the questions and write
down the reply in the space meant for the purpose in the
questionnaire itself.
The respondents have to answer the questions on their
own
It is most extensively employed in various economic and
business surveys.
 Questionnaire
Types
Structured questionnaire(definite, concrete and pre-
determined questions)
Un-structured or non-structured questionnaire
VARIOUS FORMS OF QUESTIONS USED IN
QUESTIONNAIRE:
Direct Question and Indirect Question
Open Form of Questions and Closed -end Form of Questions
Dual-choice Questions or Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ
Scale or Rating Questions .
 Questionnaire

Advantages Disadvantages

Adaptability Limited applicability

Assurance of anonymity Skewed sample

Cost- & time-effective Return ratio

Scope of coverage Clarification

Spontaneity of response
 Schedules
 Schedules is like a questionnaires but it filled by enumerator.
Enumerators are specially appointed for filling the questionnaire, they
explains the aim and objective to respondent and fill the answers in
provided space.
 Advantages:
the information collected is complete and accurate
Direct personal contact is established with respondents and useful in
extensive enquiries
Information can be collected from illiterates also
Population census all over the world is conducted through this method
Non response is low.
 Disadvantages:
Depends on Honesty and competence of enumerator
Very expensive and time consuming method
Requires field work
Not very useful for small organization or small budget research purpose.
QUESTIONNAIRRE DESIGNING
 The questionnaire method
This is the simplest and most often used method of
primary data collection

There is a pre-determined set of questions in a sequential

format

Is designed to suit the respondent’s understanding and

language command

Can be conducted to collect useful data from a large

population in a short duration of time
 Criteria for questionnaire design
The spelt out research objectives need to be converted
into specific questions

It must be designed to engage the respondent and

encourage meaningful response

The questions should be designed in simple language

and be self-explanatory
 Types of questionnaire
Structured and unconcealed: self-explanatory with most response categories
predefined

 Out of the following options, where do you invest

(tick all that apply)
Precious metals----------------, real estate------------, stocks---------,
Government instruments---------, mutual funds------any other-------

 Who carries out your investments?

Myself-----------, agent---------, relative-----------, friend------------, any
other----------

 What is your source of information for these decisions?

Newspaper------------, investment magazines-----------, company records
etc.----------, Trading portals------------, agent------------
 Types of questionnaire
Structured & concealed questionnaire: most response
categories are predefined, but latent cause of behaviour are
derived from indirect questions

Please indicate level of your agreement for the following statements.

SA - Strongly Agree; A-Agree; N-Neutral; SD- Strongly Disagree; D-Disagree
SA A N D SD

1 The individual of the present era is better informed about

everything than the individual before.
2 I believe that one must live for the day and worry about
tomorrow later.
3 An individual must at all times keep abreast of what is
happening in the world around him/her.
4 Books are best friends anyone can have.

5 I generally read and then decide what to buy.

 Types of questionnaire
Unstructured & unconcealed questionnaire: undisguised and most response
categories are not predefined

 Why do you think Maggi noodles are liked by young children?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 How do you generally decide on where you are going to invest

your money?-------------------------------------------------------------

 Give three reasons why you believe that the 2010 Commonwealth Games in
India are going to help the country?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Types of questionnaire
Unstructured & concealed questionnaire: disguised and most
response categories are not predefined,e.g.
Given below are two grocery lists –personify the user
 Types of questionnaire
method of administration
Self-administered questionnaire: respondents fills in the
questionnaire him/her self

Schedule: the investigator/researcher reads out the questions

and records the respondents’ answers.
 Criteria for questionnaire selection

Population characteristics

Population spread

Study area
 The questionnaire design process

Convert the Research Objectives into the Information Needed

Method of Administering the Questionnaire

Content of the Questions

Motivating the Respondent to Answer

Determining Type of Questions

Question Design Criteria

Determine the Questionnaire Structure

Physical presentation of the Questionnaire

Pilot Testing the Questionnaire

Administering the Questionnaire

Converting the research objectives into information areas
Comparison of self-administered, telephone, mail,
emails techniques
 Mode of administration: Schedule

Now I am going to give you a set of cards. Each card will have the name of one television serial (Hand
over the cards to the respondent in a random order). I want you to examine them carefully (give her
some time to read all the names). I would request you to hand over the card which has the name of the
serial you like to watch the most. (Record the serial and keep this card with you). Now of the remaining
nine serials name your most favorite serial (continue the same process till the person is left with the last
card)

T.V. SERIAL RANK ORDER

1. 1 ___________________
2. 2 ___________________
3. 3 ___________________
4. 4 ___________________
5. 5 ___________________
6. 6 ___________________
7. 7 ___________________
8. 8 ___________________
9. 9 ___________________
10. 10 ___________________
 Mode of administration: telephone

Please listen very carefully; I am going to slowly read the name of ten popular T.V. serials. I want to know
how much you prefer watching them. You need to use a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 means I do not like watching
it and 10 means I really like watching it. For those in between you may choose any number between 1 and
10. However, please remember that the higher the number the more you like watching it. Now, I am going to
name the serials one by one. In case the name is not clear I will repeat the list again. So, the serial’s name
is-------------------. Please use a number between 1 and 10 as I had told you. O.k. thank you, the next name
is---------------------. And so on till all the 10 names have been read out and evaluated.

SERIAL
1. Balika Badhu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Sathiya 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Sasural Genda Phool 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Bidai 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Pathshala 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Bandini 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Laptaganj 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. Sajan Ghar jaaana Hai 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Tere liye 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. Uttaran 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 Mode of administration: mail

In the next question you will find the names of ten popular Hindi serials that are being aired on television
these days. You are requested to rank them in order of your preference to watch these programmes. Start
by identifying the serial which is your most favorite, to this you may give a rank of 1. Then from the rest of
the nine, pick the second most preferred serials and give it a rank number of 2.Please carry out this process
till you have ranked all 10. The one you prefer the least should have a score of 10. You are also requested
not to give two serials the same rank. The basis on which you decide to rank the serials is entirely
dependent upon you. Once again you are asked to rank all the 10 serials.

SERIAL RANK ORDER

1. Balika Badhu ___________________
2. Sathiya ___________________
3. Sasural Genda Phool ___________________
4. Bidai ___________________
5. Pathshala ___________________
6. Bandini ___________________
7. Laptaganj ___________________
8. Sajan Ghar Jaaana Hai ___________________
9. Tere Liye ___________________
10. Uttaran ___________________
 Content of the questionnaire

Essential to ask the question

To gauge consumer’s shopping behaviour

Please indicate the level of your agreement for the following statements.

SA - Strongly Agree; A-Agree; N-Neutral; SD- Strongly Disagree; D-Disagree

SA A N D SD
Compared to the past (5-10 years)
1 The individual customer today shops more
2 The consumer is well informed about market offerings
3 The consumer knows what he/she wants to buy before he enters the
store
4 The consumer today has more money to spend
5 There are more shopping options available to the consumer today
 Content of the questionnaire

Several questions or single question

“Why do you like the serial--------------(the one you ranked/prefer
watching most)?” (Incorrect)

"What do you like about-------------?"

“Who all in your household watches the serial?
and
"How did you first happen to hear about the serial?"
(Correct)
 Motivating the respondent to answer

Assisting the respondent to provide the answer

Does he have the answer?

1. How do you evaluate the negotiation skills module with the Communication and presentation
skill module? (Incorrect)

1. Have you been through the following training modules?

Negotiation skills module Yes/no
Communication & presentation skills Yes/no
In case the answer to both is yes, please answer the following question else move to the next
question.
How do you evaluate the negotiation skills module with the Communication and
presentation skill module? (Correct)
 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 provide the answer

Can he articulate?
Describe the river rafting experience.……... (incorrect)

Describe the river rafting experience (Correct)

1 Unexciting        exciting

2 Bad        good

3 Boring        interesting

4 Cheap        expensive

5 Safe        dangerous
 Motivating the respondent to answer

Assisting the respondent to answer

The perspective is not clear

“How many credit cards do you own?” or

“When did you last go on a holiday?” or
“How many movies do you watch in a fortnight?” (incorrect)

A spillover of a healthy quality of working life is also reflected in

a person’s way of living. Thus, we would like to know how you
live. (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)
 Type of questions

Question Content

Open – ended Closed - ended

Dichotomous Multiple Scales

Responses
 Type of questions

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?

 Why do you smoke Gold Flake cigarettes?

 Which is your favorite TV serial?

 What training programme have you last attended?

 With whom in your work group do you interact with after office hours?
 Type of questions

Closed ended questions

1. Dichotomous questions

 Are you diabetic? Yes / No

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

 What kind of petrol do you use in your car? Normal/Premium

 What kind of cola do you drink? Normal/diet

 Your working hours in the organization are fixed/ flexible

 Type of questions

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 (Could be  1)

- 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--------------------
 Questionnaire designing criteria

Clearly specify the issue

Use simple terminology

Avoid ambiguity in questioning

Avoid leading questions

Avoid loaded questions

Avoid implicit choices and assumptions

Avoid double-barrelled questions

 Questionnaire structure

Instructions

Opening questions

Study questions

Classification information

Acknowledgement
Illustration: screening Questions
 Sequential order: branching questions

Have you used any travel site for

your travel? No Tabulate and Terminate

Yes

You have used it for

a. search Me-both
b. booking
c. both
What site? Make my
brand? trip(MMT) Evaluate on the
attributes /features
Not MMT
under study
Me- search only
ANY OTHER MMT
brand?

Prompt- MMT

Evaluate on the
Yes attributes /features
under study
Why have you not used it for booking,
listed below are a set of reasons. Please
tick the one(s) that are true
LIST OF REASONS

Any other
In case these problems are taken care of recommendation
Yes
will you use it? you have for MMT

5+5 questions related to attitude related

to travelling and internet security in
transactions

No

Classification questions on gender; age;

education; profession; income; travel behavior
 The questionnaire administration

Physical characteristics of the questionnaire

Pilot testing the questionnaire

Preparing the final draft of the questionnaire

 Administering the questionnaire

Qualitative Research Tools for data collection
 These are loosely-structured subjective methods designed to allow and
investigate deep and insightful exploration of the respondents’ mind.
 Provides inputs that are helpful in uncovering the motives behind
visible and measurable occurrences.
 The information extracted becomes critical when explaining and
interpreting findings obtained through quantitative methods.
 Used for exploratory studies, for formulating research problem and
hypotheses.
 Examples:
 Why is it difficult to sell old age homes to Indian families?
 Would you get into a live-in relationship?
 What aspects of your boss do you think need correction?
 Why do you want to get a tattoo on your arm?
 What does a consumer look for in probiotic curd, digestive enzymes or
low fat food?
 Classification of qualitative methods

Qualitative
Research
Tools

Direct(non- Indirect(dis
disguised) guised)

Focus Depth Projective

Groups Interviews Techniques

Constructio
Association Completion Expressive Choice/
n
techniques techniques techniques Ordering
techniques
Qualitative vs quantitative methods
Focus group discussion
A focus group discussion involves collecting information
from a representative group of respondents in a neutral
setting. The process generally involves a moderator
who maneuvers the discussion on the topic under
study.
It is essentially a sociological technique.

The group dynamics influence the individual to

respond in divergent ways.
 Key elements of focus group method
Size: Ideal recommended size for a group discussion is 8 to 12
members.
Nature: Composition of the group should be homogenous-in
terms of demographic and psychographic traits and
product/subject knowledge.
Acquaintance: recommended that the members in a group should
be strangers to each other.
Setting: Discussion setting should be neutral, informal and
comfortable.
Time period: usually recommended that the discussion should
take place in a single setting.
Recording: human or mechanical recording of the entire
discussion.
Moderator: key conductor, might be a participant or a non-
participant.
Key moderator skills
Listening skills
Observation skills
Flexibility of approach
Empathetic yet objectivity of conduction
Summary and closure approach
Stages in group formation
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Mourning
Sample FGD guide: Organic food products study
Potential Customers of organic food products
 Types of focus groups
 Two-way focus group: one respondent group sits and listens to the other
and after learning from them, carry out a discussion
 Dual moderator group: there are two moderator; one managing the
discussion and the other managing the group mind in order to maximise
group performance
 Fencing moderator group: two moderators take opposite sides on the
topic being discussed to ensure that all possible perspectives are
explored
 Friendship group: when the comfort level among members needs to be
high to get meaningful responses
 Mini-groups: small size(4-6) groups and are usually expert groups or
committees
 Creativity groups: the entire group is instructed which then brainstorms
into smaller sub-groups and then reassembles to present their group
opinion
 Brand-obsessive groups: consists of special respondent sub-strata who
are passionately involved with a brand or product category
FGDs
 Advantages
• Leads to idea generation
• low cost compared to interviews as the interviewer does not
have to discuss with each participant individually.
• It takes lesser time too.
 Disadvantages
• Response bias:a participant may not share a sincere opinion.
• Group thinking does not clearly mirror individual opinions.
 Interview Method

It is a one to one interaction between the investigator/interviewer and

the interviewee. The purpose of the dialogue is research specific
and ranges from completely unstructured to highly structured
Typical Usage:
 Problem definition
 Exploratory research
 Primary data collection
Sample interview guide
Categorization of interviews

Interview Methods

Telephone Personal
Interviewing Interviewing

Traditional Computer – In-Home Mall Computer –

Assisted Intercept Assisted
 Telephone Interview
Questioning on telephones and calling up the subjects to asking
them a set of questions.
The advantage of this method is that geographic boundaries are
not a constraint and interview can be conducted at the individual
respondent’s location.
Traditional Telephone interviews: using the traditional telephone
for conducting the questioning and responses are recorded
manually. Advantage: possible to reach the subject in the remotest
of location with considerable ease.
Computer assisted telephone interviewing: once the interview
time is fixed, the call is made to the respondent by the computer.
The interviewer reads questions as listed in front of him on the
computer screen and hears the response on the head set and the
responses are simultaneously recorded on the computer.
Advantage: interview can be conducted in reduced time and with
 Personal Interviewing
Face-to-face interaction between the interviewer and
interviewee
Categorized in terms of place of conduction
At-Home Interviews: interview takes place at respondent’s
home. The interviewer asks the respondents study-related
questions and records the responses. It involves considerable
time and cost. It is used with observation to ascertain
lifestyle of the respondents.
Mall-intercept interviews: conducting interviews with the
respondents as they are shopping in the malls. Advantage: a
large number of respondents are accessible in a short time
period. Thus it is both cost and time effective.
Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI): the
respondent faces an assigned computer terminal and answers
 Interview Method
 Advantages
Interviewer can collect supplementary information about
respondent’s personal characteristics and environment which has
value in interpreting results
Non Responses are generally low
Allows respondents to describe what is important to them
There is greater flexibility; due to restructuring questions can be
done.
 Disadvantages
Respondent may give bias information
Expensive method
Some Executive people are not approachable so data collected
may be inadequate
Takes more time when samples are more
 Projective techniques
Projective techniques involve indirect questioning.
The respondent is given a relatively ambiguous stimuli
and the underlying assumption is that the respondents
would project their underlying needs, emotions, beliefs
and attitudes on to this object .
Projective techniques
Association techniques
Completion techniques
Construction techniques
Choice or ordering techniques
Expressive techniques
 Association techniques
Involve presenting a stimulus to the respondent and he or she
needs to respond with the first thing that comes to his or her
mind.
Borrowed from clinical psychology
Rorschach Inkblot test and Word association test are techniques
that present a stimulus to the respondent and try to interpret
his/her unconscious tendencies.
Obtained responses/answers are measured in terms of: similarity
of responses, unique responses, time taken for a response, non-
response
UsedTest words Responses
to measure a person’s attitude and feelings related to the
Health Care(3) Bad(2) Good(1)
topic
Life Difficult(2) Relaxed(3) Good (1)
Medicines Necessity(3) Prevention( Avoid(1)
2)
 Completion techniques
Presenting an incomplete object to the respondent, which
can be completed by the respondent in any way that
he/she deems appropriate.
Sentence completion used to map a respondent’s attitude
towards a product/situation/service
Example: Old age is…………., Working at IBM is
…………….. , McDonald is…….
Story Completion technique: the individual is given an
incomplete story or idea. One provides a backdrop and a
background for a possible topic. However, the possible
end is left open-ended. The subject is supposed complete
the story and provide a conclusion.
 Construction technique
 Similar to completion technique
 Focus is on the completed object, which could be a story, picture, a dialogue, or a
description
 Thematic Appreciation test(TAT) or Story construction test(Henry,1956):
 A set of pictures(20 pictures, most of them having the profile of a man, woman or child
either clearly visible or diffused) are given to the respondent and he/she is asked: What
is happening here? What happened or led to this? What do you think is going to
happen now?
 Most of the times a person puts himself or herself into the shoes of the protagonist and
actually indicates how he/she would respond in the given situation. it gives an
indication of a person’s personality and need structure.
 Usage: selection and recruitment process
 Cartoon Tests(Masling,1952):
 Use of animated characters in a particular situation
 The cartoon has a picture that has two or more characters talking to each other; usually
the statement or question by one character is denoted and one needs to fill in the
response made by the other character.
 The picture has a direct relation with the topic under study and is assumed to reveal the
respondent’s attitude, feeling or intended behaviour
 Easiest to administer, analyse and score
 Choice or ordering techniques
 Presenting the respondents with an assortment of stimuli-in the form
of pictures or statements-related to the study topic.
 The subject is supposed to sort them into categories based on the
study instructions given.
 Example, in a study on measuring desired supervisor-subordinate
relations, a set of Tom and Jerry cartoon pictures were used, some in
which Tom is overpowering Jerry, some neutral pictures where they
are carrying out their respective tasks and others where Jerry, the
mouse outwits Tom.
 The respondent needs to sort them into good, neutral and bad pictures
piles
 The pictures carry an expert score
 The higher the selection of pictures with extreme scores, the more
rigid the respondent’s attitude and the task of modification or
enhancement, if required, would be more difficult.
 Used to measure attitudes and strength of the existing attitude
Expressive techniques
The subject needs to express not his/her own feelings
and opinions but those of the protagonists in a given
verbal or visual situation.
Role playing: respondents are asked to assume the
behaviour of someone else
Third person technique: the respondent is presented
with a verbal or visual situation and needs to express
what might be the person’s beliefs and attitudes. The
person may be a friend, neighbour, colleague, or a
typical person
Measurement and Scaling
Meaning of Measurement and Scaling
Measurement: The term ‘measurement’ means
assigning numbers or some other symbols to the
characteristics of certain objects. When numbers are used,
the researcher must have a rule for assigning a number to
an observation in a way that provides an accurate
description.

Scaling: Scaling is an extension of measurement. Scaling

involves creating a continuum on which measurements on
objects are located.
Types of Measurement Scale
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
 Nominal Scale
This is the lowest level of measurement. Here, numbers are assigned
for the purpose of identification of the objects. Any object which is
assigned a higher number is in no way superior to the one which is
assigned a lower number.
Example:
Are you married?
(a) Yes (b) No
Married person may be assigned a no. 101.
Unmarried person may be assigned a no. 102.
 In which of the following departments do you study?
a) Economics (2)
b) Commerce (3)
c) Business Administration (1)
d) Psychology (4)
e) Statistics (5)
f) Any other, (please specify)(6)
 Nominal Scale
 The assigned numbers cannot be added, subtracted,
multiplied or divided. The only arithmetic operations
that can be carried out are the count of each category.
Therefore, a frequency distribution table can be
prepared for the nominal scale variables and mode of
the distribution can be worked out.
 Nominal Scale measurements are used for identifying
food habits (vegetarian or non-vegetarian), gender
(male/female), caste, brands, attributes, stores, the
players of cricket team and so on.
 Ordinal Scale
 This is the next higher level of measurement. One of the limitations of the
nominal scale measurements is that we cannot say whether the assigned number
to an object is higher or lower than the one assigned to another option. The
ordinal scale measurement takes care of this limitation. An ordinal scale
measurement tells whether an object has more or less of characteristics than
some other objects.
 Example:
 Rank the following attributes while choosing a restaurant for dinner. The most
important attribute may be ranked one, the next important may be assigned a
rank of 2 and so on.
 Ordinal Scale
The ordinal scale tells us the relative positions of the
objects and not the difference between the magnitudes of
the objects.
Example: quality ranking, rankings of the teams in the
tournament, ranking of preference of colours, soft-drinks,
socio-economic class and occupational status and so on.
In the ordinal scale, the assigned ranks cannot be
added, multiplied, subtracted or divided.
One can compute median, percentiles and quartiles of
the distribution. The other major statistical analysis
which can be carried out is the rank order correlation
coefficient, sign test.
 Interval Scale
Interval scale: The interval scale measurement is the next higher level of
measurement.
 It takes care of the limitation of the ordinal scale measurement where the
difference between the score on the ordinal scale does not have any meaningful
interpretation.
 In the interval scale the difference of the score on the scale has meaningful
interpretation.
 It is assumed that the respondent is able to answer the questions on a continuum
scale.
 The mathematical form of the data on the interval scale may be written as
Y=a+bX where a ≠ 0
 Ratio of the score on this scale does not have a meaningful interpretation.
 Example:

The numbers on this scale can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided. One
can compute arithmetic mean, standard deviation, correlation coefficient and
conduct a t-test, Z-test, regression analysis and factor analysis.
Interval Scale: Example
 Ratio Scale
This is the highest level of measurement and takes care of the
limitations of the interval scale measurement, where the ratio of the
measurements on the scale does not have a meaningful interpretation.
 The mathematical form of the ratio scale data is given by Y = b X.
 In ratio scale, there is a natural zero (origin).
Example:
 How many chemist shops are there in your locality?
 How many students are there in the BBA programme at
Ravenshaw University?
 How much distance do you need to travel from your residence to
reach the airport?
 All mathematical and statistical operations can be carried out using
the ratio scale data.
Definition of Attitude
An attitude is viewed as an enduring disposition to
respond consistently in a given manner to various
aspects of the world, including persons, events and
objects.

Components of Attitude:
Cognitive component
Affective component
Intention or action component
Cognitive Component
 Represents an individual’s information and knowledge about an
object
 Includes awareness of the existence of the object, beliefs about the
characteristics or attributes of the object and judgement about the
relative importance of each attributes
 Example:
 The products of Tupperware are of high quality, non-toxic and can be
used in parties
 A mutton dish can be cooked in a pressure cooker in less than 30
minutes
 The alto car gives a very high mileage as compared to the other small
cars
 Individuals can form beliefs or judgements about the characteristics
of a product through advertisements, word of mouth, peer groups, etc.
Affective Component
Summarizes a person’s overall feeling or emotions
towards the objects.
Example:
The plastic products produced by Pearl Pet are cheaper
than Tupperware products; however, the quality of
Tupperware products is better than that of Pearl Pet.
Among the various soft drinks like Pepsi, Coke, Sprite,
and Limca, the respondents might have to indicate the
most preferred soft drinks, the second preferred one
and so on
Intention or action component
 Also called behavioural component
 Reflects a predisposition to an action by reflecting the
consumer’s buying or purchase intention
 Also reflects a person’s expectations of future behaviour
towards an object.
 Example:
 How likely a person is to buy a designer carpet may range
from most likely to not at all likely, reflecting the purchase
intention.
 Factors to be kept in mind while talking about purchase
intention:Time horizon, information regarding willingness to
pay, purchasing power
 Attitude scaling techniques
Paired comparison
Rank order
Constant sum
Semantic differential
Itemized ratings
Likert Scale
 Paired comparison
 A respondent is presented with two objects and is asked to select one
according to whatever criterion he/she wants to use.
 Example:-Let us assume that there are five brands-A,B,C,D & E and a
paired comparison with two brands at a time is presented to the
respondent with the option to choose one of them.
 Paired comparison data conversion of data into 0 to 1 form

 The column brand I preferred over the row brand

 D is the most preferred brand, followed by B, A, C and E.
 Rank order
Respondents are presented with several objects
simultaneously and asked to order or rank them according to
some criterion.
Example:- Rank the following soft drinks in order of your
preference, the most preferred soft drink should be ranked
one,Soft
theDrinks
second most preferred
Rank should be ranked two and so
on. Coke
Pepsi
Sprite
Thums up
Mirinda
Seven up
Fanta
Maaza
Mountain Dew
 Constant sum
The respondents are asked to allocate a total of 100 points
between various objects and brands.
Example:- Allocate a total of 100 points among various
schools into which you would like to admit your child.
Schools Points
Delhi Public School
DAV Public School
St Xavier’s Public School
SAI International School
Queen Mary’s School
Cambridge school
St. Joseph’s Public School
Stewart School
Total Points 100
 Semantic differential
A respondent is required to rate each attitude or object on a
number of five-or-seven point rating scale
This scale is bounded at each end by bipolar adjectives or
phrases.
Example:-Comparing Company A and Company B
 Itemized ratings

The respondents are provided with a scale that has

number of brief descriptions associated with each of
the response categories.
Example:- How important is price to you in buying a
new car?
Very important
Relatively important
Neither important nor unimportant
Relatively unimportant
Very unimportant
 Likert Scale
 The respondents are given a number of items(statements) on which they
are asked to express their degree of agreement or disagreement.
 Also called summated scale as the scores on individual items can be
added together to produce a total score for the respondent.
 Example:- Score on Image of the company