In this unit, you have learned about data collection and measurement. For this assignment, write an essay assessing measurement’s role in marketing research. Please address the following questions in

Everyone understands the concept of a cup of water or a gallon of milk. A pint, quart, gallon, liter, inch, feet , etc. are all ways of measuring tangible items. How does one measure the intangible? Marketing and management decision -makers want to know about customer’s preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. These important elements can be very difficult to measure ac curately. Measuring the intangible is the concern of marketers all over the world. Step 1: Define the Problem Step 2: Develop an Approach to the Problem Step 3: Formulate a Research Design Step 4: Collect the Data Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 4 of 22 Sli de 4 - Slide 4 Measurement Defined Measurement can be defined as the task that develops methods of characterizing or quantifying information that is being analyzed. This quantifiable information can be about people, events, ideas, or other objec ts of interest. Marketing researchers tend to measure characteristics of the item versus the item itself. Therefore, it is understood that consumers are not directly measured; however, their attitudes, preferences, behaviors, and other relevant characteris tics can be measured. For an example of how measurement could be used by a company, go to the next slide. (Geralt, 2012) Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 5 of 22 Slide 5 - Slide 5 Measurement Defined EXAMPLE Jeans clo thing giant, Levi Strauss & Co., has been a staple in the jeans industry for decades. For a long time, Levi jeans were known for their quality but not necessarily their fit. They fit fine like jeans were supposed to fit, however, they were not necessarily the go -to for high fashion stylish jeans. To compete in the areas of fashion and style, Levi would have to enhance its image and add new features to its jeans.

Decision -makers correctly assumed that without changing their image, they would be missing out o n a part of the market that prefers more stylish and form -fitting jeans. One of the latest features added to jeans is stretch material that creates a more form -fitting element to denim. If Levi Strauss & Co. wanted to know if consumers would like its new jean line with flexible features, it would simply have to ask its customers. Levi’s wants to know how important the new features are to consumers. A consumer may marginally like a new feature, or it may be number one on their list. This could be the diffe rence between the customers buying the Levi’s brand versus another brand. To measure the consumers’ affinity for the new features, Levi Strauss & Co. would send out a questionnaire asking customers to rank features on a scale of one to 10. Assigning a numb er measures the degree of preference for the new features. Understanding the degree of importance of the new features would help Levi’s make the decision to develop or forego the new jeans line. Think about this example as you progress through this lesson. (3dman_eu, 2015) Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 6 of 22 Slide 6 - Slide 6 Constructs The two main parts of measurement are construct and scale development. In order to collect accurate data, researchers must have a clear understanding of what they are attempting to measure. C onstruct development involves determining the abstract concept that is to be measured. For example, there are many reasons why consumers might like a particular product. Construct development helps researchers establish the attributes of the product that are the drivers of why a customer likes a product. The construct is the concept that is formed in a person’s mind. EXAMPLE Think back to the Levi’s jeans example. Years ago, if you were asked to imagine a pair of Levi’s jeans, wh at would they look like? Sturdy and quality would likely be two adjectives that would come to mind. Soft, flexible, and form -fitting would be adjectives that would have come to mind. However, if Levi’s were looking to upgrade their line, flexible, stretch, and form -fitting would be adjectives that they would use on the questionnaire for Levi’s jeans’ consumers. The objective would be to tweak the consumer’s perception of their line. Levi’s still wants to be thought of as producing quality and sturdy jeans, but it also wants consumers to think of its jeans when they think of stylish, fashionable, and form -fitting jeans. To see the possible variables Levi’s might use to measure customer satisfaction, click here .  Jeans are sturdy and made of quality denim.  Jea ns are fashionable and stylish.  Jeans are made to last.  Jeans are flexible and stretchy.  Jeans are made to fit well.  Jeans are made in all sizes. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 7 of 22 Slide 7 - Slide 7 Scales Once the construct is established, a scale must be chose n to measure the response. The accuracy and quality of responses associated with questionnaires and other techniques depend on the scale measurements used by the researcher. The scale is simply a set of responses from which the consumer may choose. The sca le components are known as descriptors. Scale measurements also assign degrees of intensity to the responses. The scale descriptors can be labels such as “Strongly Agree” or “Strongly Disagree” or numbers such as 1 -10 that are assigned. In the Levi’s exam ple, researchers may want to know how important each feature listed is to the consumer. In the questionnaire, researchers may ask customers to rank their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10 or they may ask them if they are satisfied in areas listed above an d to respond if they strongly agree or disagree with the elements listed. Other labels might include classifying an attribute as very important, not very important, or not important at all. When numbers are used, a scale of 1 to 10 could mean a rating of 1 0 is the most important or the high rating with 1 being the least important or the lowest rating. (3dman_eu, 2015) Click the example image to the left for two examples of scales. After viewing the two examples, click next to advance to the ne xt slide. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 8 of 22 Slide 8 - Slide 8 Scale Examples On a scale of 1 to 10, please rate the importance of the following features. Jeans are made of quality denim. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jeans are made to fit well. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jeans are flexible and stretchy. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jeans are fashionable and stylish. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 9 of 22 Slide 9 - Slide 9 Scale Examples Please rate the importance of the following features. Vertical Column : Price , Comfort , Design and Color , Quality , Fit , Fashion and Style , Brand Horizontal Column : Not important at all , Somewhat Important , Very Important Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 10 of 22 Slide 10 - Slide 10 Types of Scales: Nominal The nominal method is the most straightforward of all of the methods. However, it is also the least exact and precise. Nominal scales do not contain a level of i ntensity. The questions are very general and basic. Levi’s would use this type of scale to collect data on how many men versus women responded to the questionnaire or if the respondents wear jeans. The following is an example of a nominal scale: Please indicate your gender. Male Female Transgender Do you wear jeans? Yes No Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 11 of 22 Slide 11 - Slide 11 Types of Scales: Ordinal The ordinal scale is more powerful and precise. The ordinal scale establishes a relationship among the choices that are offered. The yes or no questions from the previous slide in the nominal scale example do not leave any wiggle room, which means there could be other responses to this question that may help the researcher. Some people may not wear jea ns often or may only wear them rarely. With this type of scale, there is a measurement, instead of the yes or no questions about jeans, Levi may ask the following question: How often do you buy new jeans? Extremely Often Very Often Moderately Often Slightly Often Not at all often Ordinal is easy to remember because as its name implies, it is the order that matters. However, when using this type of scale the researcher still will not know a specific amount of time that jeans are purchased. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 12 of 22 Slide 12 - Slide 12 Types of Scales: Inter val An interval scale is a more powerful and precise scale than nominal or ordinal. Interval scales can measure the absolute differences between scale points. This means we can also establis h a mean or average. Rating the attributes of jeans on a scale of 1 to 10 is an interval scale. Levi may want to know how its features contribute to customer satisfaction. The following questions may be asked using interval scale: Please rank your satisfaction level with the following aspects of Levi’s jeans on a scale of 1 -10, with 10 being extremely satisfied and 1 being least satisfied. Quality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fashion and Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 This interval scale helps us to compare the relative level of satisfaction for each of the attributes listed. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 13 of 22 Slide 13 - Slide 13 Types of Scales: Rational The rational scale offers the most precise measurement. The rational scale enables the researchers to not only identify absolute differences between scale points, but also mak e absolute comparisons between the responses. The main difference between the interval and rational scale is that the rational scale adds the component of absolute zero. For example, with the rational scale, a question on the Levi’s questionnaire could h ave an answer of zero. Therefore, central tendency and standard deviation can be measured. Another great thing about ratio scales is that generally they ask respondents to provide specific numerical values as their response. To understand exactly how man y pairs of jeans are purchased in a time period, researchers may ask the following question: In the past six months, how many pairs of new jeans have you purchased? _____ # of jeans Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 14 of 22 Slide 14 - Slide 14 There are several different formats for scales. Click on each format below to learn more. Likert Scale Of all the different scale formats, the Likert Scale is arguably one of the most widely used formats. The Likert Scale gives the respondents the choice to demonstrate their agreement or disagreement to a statement. Semantic Different Scales The semantic diff erential scale uses adjectives like like/dislike, helpful/unhelpful, etc. to help respondents select the most relevant answer. Behavioral Intention Scale The behavioral intention scale is also widely used in marketing research and is used to assess the likel ihood of a particular behavior. Questions will use such descriptors as definitely will, probably will, or not sure. Comparative Rating Scale A comparative rating scale is used when the respondent is asked to express his or her feelings or attitudes about an object or its attributes when being compared to another object. Non -Comparative Rating Scale A non -comparative scale is just the opposite when respondents are asked to express their feelings or attitudes about an object independent of other features. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 15 of 22 Slide 15 - Slide 15 Check Your Knowledge! Take the short quiz on the next few slides to test your knowledge of the material covered in this lesson. (Andrea_S., 2008) Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 16 of 22 Slide 16 - Slide 16 True/False Measurement is how information is characterized or quantified so that it is able to be analyzed. A) True B) False You must answer the question before continuing. Incorrect -This statement is true. Measurement allows information to be formatted in a way that can be analyzed and used by researchers. Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Correct - Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Try again Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 17 of 22 Slide 17 - Slide 17 Multiple Choice What are the tw o main parts of measurement? A) Data and analyzation B) Data and scales C) Scales and constructs D) Constructs and data You must answer the question before continuing. Correct - Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Incorrect - Scales and constru cts are the two parts of measurement. Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Try again Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 18 of 22 Slide 18 - Slide 18 Multiple Choice Which scale type is the most powerful and precise? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Rat ional You must answer the question before continuing. Incorrect - Ordinal scales are the most powerful and precise because they establish a relationship between the variables. Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Correct - Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Try again Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 19 of 22 Slide 19 - Slide 19 Multiple Choice What is the most straightforward, but least exact, of all scale methods? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Rational You must answer the question befo re continuing. Incorrect - The nominal scale is the most straightforward and least exact as it does not contain a level of intensity. Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Correct - Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Try again Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 20 of 22 Slide 20 - Sli de 20 True/False The main difference between the interval and rational scales is the addition of an absolute zero. A) True B) False You must answer the question before continuing. Incorrect - In rational scales, absolute zero is added, allowing central tendency and standard deviation can be determined. Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Correct - Click anywhere or press ‘y’ to continue. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 21 of 22 Slide 21 - Slide 21 Understanding scales and measurements helps researchers to develop meaningful questions that are relevant to the goals of the project and will provide accurate results. Data Collection Methods You have completed the lesson for Unit IV! Click “Next” if you would like to view the references for this presentation or click “Finish” to exit this presentation. Adobe Captivate Wednesd ay, October 30, 2019 Page 22 of 22 Slide 22 - Slide 22 References 3dman_eu. (2013, June 29). Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/business -card -contract -presentation -1026403/ Andrea_S. (2008, October 26). checkmark -on -circle [Image]. Retrieved from https://openclipart.org/detail/19803/checkmarkoncircle Geralt. (2012, October 30). Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/ball -http -www -crash -administrator - 63527/