1. Business Research Methods William G. Zikmund
Chapter 13:
Measurement

2. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc.
All rights reserved. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be mailed to the following address: Permissions Department, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida

3. CONCEPT
A GENERALIZED IDEA ABOUT A CLASS OF OBJECTS, ATTRIBUTES, OCCURRENCES, OR PROCESSES.
Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
specifies what the researcher must do to measure the concept under investigation
Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
Media skepticism
Media skepticism is the degree to which individuals are skeptical toward the reality presented in the mass media. Media skepticism varies across individuals, from those who are mildly skeptical and accept most of what they see and hear in the media to those who completely discount and disbelieve the facts, values, and portrayal of reality in the media.
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
“Please tell me how true each statement is about the media. Is it very true, not very true, or not at all true?”
1. The program was not very accurate in its portrayal of the problem.
2. Most of the story was staged for entertainment purposes.
3. The presentation was slanted and unfair.
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCALE
SERIES OF ITEMS
ARRANGED ACCORDING TO VALUE
FOR THE PURPOSE OF QUANTIFICATION
A CONTINUOUS SPECTRUM
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
NOMINAL SCALE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
ORDINAL SCALE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
INTERVAL SCALE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
RATIO SCALE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCALE PROPERTIES
UNIQUELY CLASSIFIES
PRESERVES ORDER
EQUAL INTERVALS
NATURAL ZERO
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. NOMINAL SCALE PROPERTIES
UNIQUELY CLASSIFIES
Sammy Sosa # 21
Mark McGwire # 25
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. ORDINAL SCALE PROPERTIES
UNIQUELY CLASSIFIES
PRESERVES ORDER
WIN, PLACE & SHOW
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. INTERVAL SCALE PROPERTIES
UNIQUELY CLASSIFIES
PRESERVES ORDER
EQUAL INTERVALS
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (BASE 100)
FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. RATIO SCALE PROPERTIES
UNIQUELY CLASSIFIES
PRESERVES ORDER
EQUAL INTERVALS
NATURAL ZERO
WEIGHT AND DISTANCE
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
INDEX MEASURES
ATTRIBUTES A single characteristic or fundamental feature that pertains to an object, person, or issue.
COMPOSITE MEASURE A composite measure of several variables to measure a single concept; a multi-item instrument.
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. THE GOAL OF MEASUREMENT VALIDITY
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. The ability of a scale to measure what was intended to be measured.
Validity
The ability of a scale to measure what was intended to be measured.
Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. Reliability
The degree to which measures are free from random error and therefore yield consistent results.
Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. Reliability and Validity on Target
Old Rifle New Rifle New Rifle Sunglare
Low Reliability High Reliability Reliable but Not Valid
(Target A) (Target B) (Target C)
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
VALIDITY
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
RELIABILITY
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. Copyright © 2000 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.
SENSITIVITY
A measurement instrument’s ability to accurately measure variability in stimuli or responses.
Copyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.