Business Research for Decision Making Sixth Edition by Duane Davis Chapter 7 Foundations of Measurem

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Business Research for Decision MakingSixth
EditionbyDuane DavisChapter 7Foundations
of Measurement

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Foundations of Measurement
Measurement

• concerned with the assignment of numbers to
  empirical rules according to a set of rules
• goal is to translate characteristics and
  properties of empirical events into a form that
  can be analyzed.
• Observable empirical events
• Use of numbers to represent these events
• A set of mapping rules

Necessary Components
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Example of the Relationships Among the Three
Components of Measurement
Figure 7.1
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The Measurement Process
Figure 7.2
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Levels of Measurement

• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval
• Ratio

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Three Basic Types of Validity in Measurement
Table 7.2
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Reliability

• Refers to the consistency and stability of a
  measurement scale.
• Generally use a coefficient of reliability
  to assess the reliability of a measure.
• Can range from 0 to 1.0, with 1.0 perfect
  reliability.
• Guidelines for Minimum Reliabilities
• 0.7 for exploratory research
• 0.8 for basic research
• 0.9 or better in applied settings where
  important decisions will be made from scales

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Methods for Reliability Assessment

• 1. Test-Retest Method
• 2. Alternative Forms
• 3. Internal Consistency
• - Split-half
• - Cronbach-Alpha/KR-20

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Illustrations of Possible Reliability/Validity
Situations in Measurement
Figure 7.3
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Managerial Considerations(Why get involved?)

• Bad measurement, no value to managers
• Scaling sets limits on analysis
• Global and international research compounds
  problems
• Measurement issues are early in the business
  research process compounds problems

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Managerial Strategies for Ensuring Good
Measurement

• Require clearly defined constitutive concepts
• Require operational definitions
• Require multi-item scales when possible
• Require validity, reliability and pretest
  assessments when possible
• Require analytical foresight

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Key Managerial Questions Pertaining to the
Measurement Process
Exhibit 7.2