BEM 311(2)

Marketing Research

Theme 5 (chapter 10):

Application Questions

Levels of Scale Measurement

Nominal:
• Most basic – number or letter used to identify an element
Ordinal:
• A number or letter that has a value (e.g marks at school
A, B, F etc)
Interval:
• Shows one is higher / lower than another AND by how
much i.e. this has a quantity element (temp)
Ratio:
• There is the existence of an absolute zero (e.g. in the
measurement of temperature or monetary value, O
degrees or R0 is the absolute zero.

Case Study 1
Q1.Listed below are various shopping
Atterbury Value Mart
centres in the Pretoria East area. Which
Brooklyn Mall
of these centres have you visited in the Faerie Glen
Hypermarket Centre
past month? (Please tick all the centres
Glenfair Centre
that you have visited in the past month) Hatfield Plaza
Hillcrest Boulevard
What is the concept, scale design and
Lynnridge Mall
level of measurement?
Menlyn Retail Park

A: Menlyn Shopping
Centre
Concept: All shopping centres Olympus Plaza
respondent visited in past month
Basic scale design: Multiple choice,
multiple response (checklist question)
Level of measurement: Nominal
 Atterbury Value Mart 1
Q2. Which shopping centre
Brooklyn Mall 2
was the last centre that you Faerie Glen Hypermarket 3

visited? (Please tick only the Centre

Glenfair Centre 4

last centre that you have Hatfield Plaza 5

visited) Hillcrest Boulevard 6

Lynnridge Mall 7
A:
Menlyn Retail Park 8
Concept: Last shopping centre visited
Menlyn Shopping Centre 9
by the respondent
Basic scale design: Multiple choice, Olympus Plaza 10

single response (determinant-choice Other 11

question) (please specify)

Level of measurement: Nominal

Q3. Listed below is a set of attributes Variety of Restaurants

stores
(reasons) many people use when
selecting a shopping centre to visit.
Convenient Specific
Think back to the last shopping centre location store
you’ve visited and then rank order
these attributes from 1 to 8, with 1 Safety Special
events
being the most important and 8 being
the least important reason for visiting
Entertainment Atmosphere
that specific centre. Please make sure
that you rank order all eight the
attributes (reasons).

A:
Concept: Relative importance of different reasons for visiting
a specific shopping centre
Basic scale design: Rank order scale
Level of measurement: Ordinal

Q6. During your most recent visit to a shopping

centre, approximately how much time (in
hours) did you spend at the shopping centre?
± ________ hours

A:
Concept: Amount of time spend in shopping centre
during last visit
Basic scale design: Open-ended question that
provides numeric data
Level of measurement: Ratio
Q7. During your most recent visit to a shopping
centre, approximately how much money did you spend
on goods and services? (Please tick one option only)

Less than R50 1

A:
Concept: Amount of money spent R50 to R100 2

during last visit to a shopping centre R101 to R200 3

R201 to R400 4
Basic scale design: Multiple
choice, single response R401 to R600 5

(determinant-choice question)
R601 to R800 6

Level of measurement: Ordinal More than R800 7

because there is a definite ranking in

the response options from low to
high

Q9. In the past month, have you seen or

heard any advertisements for shopping
centres in the Pretoria East area?
Yes (1) No (2)
A:
Concept: Respondent’s recall of advertisements
for shopping centres in the Pretoria East area

Basic scale design: Dichotomous

Level of measurement: Nominal

Q10. People differ in what motivates them to shop

at a shopping centre or shopping mall. A number of
statements describing different motives or reasons
why people shop appear below. Please read each
statement carefully and then indicate the extent to
which you agree or disagree that the statement
describes how you generally feel about shopping.

A:
Concept: Respondent’s general shopping motives
Basic scale design: Likert scale
Level of measurement: Interval
Q13. Listed below are pairs of descriptive words that one could use to
describe a shopping centre. For each pair of descriptive words, choose the
position on the scale that, in your view, best describes the ATTERBURY
VALUE MART. Please note that, in some cases, the positive word is listed on
the left, while in other cases it is listed on the right.
Pleasant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Unpleasant
Friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Unfriendly
Cold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Warm

A:
Concept: The image a respondent has of the Atterbury
Value Mart shopping centre in the last two months
Basic scale design: Numeric scale
Level of measurement: Interval

Q16. How would you rate the overall attractiveness

of the Atterbury Value Mart relative to other
shopping centres of the same size? Is the Atterbury
Value Mart …

A lot less Somewhat less Equally Somewhat A lot more

attractive attractive attractive more attractive attractive

1 2 3 4 5

A:
Concept: A respondent’s perception of the overall
attractiveness of the Atterbury Value Mart relative to other
similar sized centres.
Basic scale design: Category scale
Level of measurement: Ordinal

Q17. How satisfied were you with your last visit to the
Atterbury Value Mart. Please make a cross (X) on the
horizontal line below to indicate how satisfied you
were.

Very satisfied Very

dissatisfied

A:
Concept: A respondent’s overall satisfaction with
his/her last visit to the Atterbury Value Mart.
Basic scale design: Graphic rating scale
Level of measurement: Interval
 Q18.What was the main reason for your last
visit to the Atterbury Value Mart? (Please be
as specific as possible)
____________________________________
____________________________________

A:
Concept: The main reason for the respondent’s last visit to
the Atterbury Value Mart.
Basic scale design: Open-ended question that provides
verbal data.
Level of measurement: Not applicable.

Q23. How many children live with you at

home? ______________ children

A:
Concept: The number of children that lives with
the respondent at home.
Basic scale design: Open-ended question that
produces numeric data.
Level of measurement: Ratio

Q25. Please indicate your gender.

Are you …

Male (1)
Female (2)

A:
Concept: The respondent’s gender
Basic scale design: Dichotomous question
Level of measurement: Nominal
 Case Study
Carefully study the extract and then reconstruct (i.e.,
recreate) the questions that the authors have used to
measure the following concepts as they most likely
appeared in the survey questionnaire used:

• Gender
• The perceived importance of the specific service
attributes tested in the study
• Age
• Education level
• Income
• Season ticket status

The intent of this study was to investigate the importance of service attributes
sports fans use when evaluating the quality of the service experienced at
sporting events. In the spirit of exploratory research, a pool of 35 service
attributes was generated based on existing sports marketing and service
quality literature, and from pretest information provided from an MBA
Services Marketing class and two undergraduate Sports Marketing classes.
The perceived importance of the service attributes was determined through a
multiple-item seven-point numerical scale with anchors of Least Important (1)
and Most Important (7).
In addition to the 35 service attributes included in the perceived importance
scale, a set of classification questions was also included on the survey. The
classification questions included questions on: gender, age, education,
marital status, income, attendance rate, university affiliation, distance traveled
to the game, season ticket holder status, and athletic foundation member
status.
All of the demographic and fan identification items included on the survey
were categorical in nature.
Age was measured through a multiple-choice, single response scale with
groupings of 18–30, 31–45, 46–55, and Over 55.
Education level was measured with three levels: high school degree, college
degree, and advanced degree.

The income level of the fans was measured through a

categorical variable with groupings of below US$20,000;
US$20,000 to US$30,000; US$30,000 to US$40,000;
US$40,000 to US$50,000; and over US$50,000.
The following fan identification characteristics were considered:
whether the fan was a member of the university’s Athletic
Foundation, whether the fan was a season ticket holder, the
number of games typically attended per season, and the fan’s
affiliation with the university.
Athletic foundation membership and season ticket status were
determined through dichotomous (yes/no) questions.
The number of games typically attended per season was
measured categorically. Respondents selected from the
following alternatives: one to two games, three to five games, or
more than five games.
The respondent’s university affiliation was determined through a
categorical question with the following response choices:
Alumnus, Employee, Student, Active Booster, or Casual Fan.
Data analysis
As a first step in data analysis, the mean importance value for each of the
service quality attributes was calculated.
Perhaps not surprisingly, initial examination of these mean values reveals
that the quality of the game (5.94) and outcome of the game (5.44) were the
most important attributes considered in the survey. Other important attributes
included cleanliness of the arena (5.27), security in the parking area (5.13),
seat location (5.05), parking location (5.04), and cleanliness of the restrooms
(5.01).
Of the 35 attributes considered in the item pool, only 11 had mean
importance values lower than the midpoint on the seven-point scale used in
the survey.
The attributes with mean importance ratings below the scale midpoint
included: friendliness of concession workers (3.95); scoreboard graphics
(3.92); friendliness of ushers (3.89); helpfulness of concession workers
(3.78); concession food quality (3.77); helpfulness of ushers (3.62); price of
programs (3.53); concession lines (3.43); price of souvenirs (3.36); ushers
(3.36); and concession location (3.22)

Solution:
• Gender
• Please indicate your gender with an X.
Are you …
Male (1) Female (2)

OR
• Please indicate your gender with an X.
Male (1)

Female (2)

The perceived importance of the specific

service attributes tested in the study

The following is a list of attributes (aspects) that may

influence a sports fan’s satisfaction when attending a
live basketball game. Please rate how important
each of these attributes are to you when you attend
a live basketball game. Use a scale of 1 to 7. If a
particular aspect is most important to you, circle a 7.
If a particular item is least important to you, circle a
1. You may also circle any number in between to
indicate how important a particular aspect is to you.
 Least Most

Important Important

1 Quality of the game 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 Cleanliness of the arena or stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 Security in the parking area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 Seat location 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5 Parking location 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6 Cleanliness of the restrooms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Friendliness of the concession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7
workers
8 Scoreboard graphics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9 Friendliness of the ushers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Helpfulness of the concession 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10
workers
11 Concession food quality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12 Helpfulness of the ushers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13 Price of programs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 Concession lines 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 Price of souvenirs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

16 Ushers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 Concession location 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Note:
• Of the 35 attributes measured in the original questionnaire,
only 18 are listed in the articles. To obtain other attributes
get a copy of the original questionnaire.
• The scales “least” and “most important” may indicate a
ranking task – may be better to use “not at all important” and
“very important” for a rating task.
• Conventional to rate highest level of a concept with higher
number and to have the highest level on the right hand side
of the scale.
• One could have measured the same concept through a
multiple item category scale. In this case, a five-point scale
with labels “not at all important”, “not so important”, “neutral”,
“fairly important” and “very important” may be used.

Note continue..….
• When constructing a rating scale, all the columns
containing scale points have equal widths.
• In this particular case, many of the scale items have
unclear wording. It is important that the scale items
wording should be clear, specific and unambiguous.
A proper pre-testing of the questionnaire should
point out vague wording.
• The scale point labels should be repeated at the top
of each page if the question breaks across two
pages.
 Age

Please indicate the age group in which you

fall by ticking (
) the appropriate option.

18-30 1

31-45 2

46-55 3

Over 55 4

Education

Please indicate the highest educational

qualification that you have obtained by ticking
(
) the appropriate option.

High school 1

degree
Note that these response
College degree 2
options will have to be
Advanced degree 3 reworded and expanded
to fit into a South African
context.

Income
• Please indicate your annual net household income
(after tax) by ticking (
) the appropriate option. This
formation will be used for classification purposes
only. Your answers are also anonymous and
confidential.
Below US$20 000 1 NOTE:
• Define exactly what income
US$20 000 to US$30 000 2
(gross / personal etc)
US$30 000 to US$40 000 3 • Response options should be
mutually exclusive – they are not
US$40 000 to US$50 000 4 in this case
• Sensitive question, therefore
Over US$50 000 5
explain why this info is needed
 Season ticket status

• Are you a season ticket holder? Please tick (
)

the appropriate option.

Yes 1

No 2

Alternative approaches for determining the importance of

the 8-10 most important service quality aspects mentioned
in the extract

Option 1: Use a ranking scale

The following is a list of 10 aspects that people often

regard as important when attending a live basketball
game. Please rank-order these ten aspects based on
how important they are to you. Place a 1 next to the
item you regard as most important, a 2 next to the
second most important aspect and so on. Please
rank-order all 10 the aspects. No two aspects may
have the same ranking.

Quality of the game

Cleanliness of the arena or stadium
Security in the parking area
Seat location
Parking location
Cleanliness of the restrooms
Friendliness of the concession workers
Scoreboard graphics
Friendliness of the ushers
Helpfulness of the concession workers
 Option 2: Use a constant sum scale

“Below is a list of 10 aspects that people often

regard as important when attending a live
basketball game. Please allocate 100 points
among these features so that the allocation
reflects how important each feature is to you
when you attend a live basketball game. The
more points you assign to a feature, the more
important the feature is to you. Please ensure
that your total adds up to 100.”

Features Number of points

Quality of the game

Cleanliness of the arena or stadium

Security in the parking area

Seat location

Parking location

Cleanliness of the restrooms

Friendliness of the concession workers

Scoreboard graphics

Friendliness of the ushers

Helpfulness of the concession workers

100

Alternative approaches for age, income and the number of

games a respondent typically attends per season

• All three these concepts can also be measured

through open-ended questions that produce
numeric data at a ratio level of measurement. With
regard to income, experience suggests that
respondents find an open-ended question more
intimidating than multiple-choice single response
question.
• Where one has a choice, one should always opt for
the scale design that gives the highest level of
measurement as this allows one to do a wider array
of statistical analyses on the data.
Alternative wording and response options for the current
measures of a) income and b) education level if study is to
be repeated in South Africa

• The response options for income will

obviously have to be changed to Rands.
• The number and width of the response
options are determined arbitrarily by the
researcher given the nature of the target
population.
• The appropriateness of the response
options should be tested in a pre-test.