Categories: Business Research

What are the General Issues in Scaling ?

Scaling is considered to be the branch of measurement in which items are assigned according to a rule. It can also be stated as allocating meaningful numbers to an object. Most commonly many people found it difficult to understand scaling. Scaling is usually done on the text statements for example attitudes and believes. In order to present the text statements on scale, numbers are assigned to such statements which are provided by the ruler. “According to a rule” means that the text statements as proceed to higher scale they become more constrained and limited with their design. Scaling is properly defined in general issues in scaling that briefly explains the distinctions between response format and a scale. Responses are actually the feedback that is taken from the people in different forms for example questionnaires and by using different scales like interval scale, ratio scale and ordinary scale etc. in this if one provides a response scale then it is not considered as scale because a scale involves the measures of the independent respondents in which numerical value be concluded. In actual scaling that is done for the research includes the proper formation of scales as well as the responses are gathered by the respondents. The responses cannot be presented as by assigning some scales for different items. Difference of a scale and response are describes as;

• The scale is concluded from the process where as the response are assembled on each and every question.

• Scale value is given to every object in scale while there is no connection of scale value for any item in responses.

• Responses are taken on every single object separately but scale involves the set of objects.

Purpose of Scaling

Actually the scaling is not only done to assign values to different objects but it is usually used for three different factors;\

Testing Hypothesis:
Scaling is used for testing the hypothesis to know that either one dimensional or multidimensional concepts are used.

Exploration:
To know about the factors those are rated in the dimensions.

Scoring:
Scaling is applied for scoring the context or to allocate values for the participants.

Dimensions

Dimensions in scale are considered as the number line in which the object can be easily presented. Dimensions are of two types

• One-dimensional

• Multidimensional

One-dimensional concept is very easy for the viewers to understand. Presentation is only on the basis of yes or no, longer or smaller and taller or shorter etc. it is more preferably used by the examiners because it clearly explains the factors which are very close to the reality. One-dimensional method includes three important scaling as types that are Summative scaling, Thurston scaling and Cumulative scaling. [linkunit]

The concept of multidimensional involves more than one dimension and one dimensional concept provides foundation to the multidimensional concept. But if any of the projects is in nature multidimensional then it is not compiled through one-dimension. For example, the measurement of the academic achievements is not stated in the single dimension.