Functions of attitudinal scales

If you want to find out the attitude of respondents towards an issue, you can ask either a closed or an open-ended question. For example, let us say that you want to ascertain the attitude of students in a class towards their lecturer and that you have asked them to respond to the fol­lowing

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Difficulties in developing an attitudinal scale

In developing an attitudinal scale there are three problems: Which aspects of a situation or issue should be included when seeking to measure an atti­tude? For instance, in the example cited above, what aspects of teaching should be included in a scale to find out the attitude of students towards their lecturer? What procedure

Types of attitudinal scale

There are three major types of attitudinal scale: the summated rating scale, also known as the Likert scale; the equal-appearing interval scale or differential scale, also known as the Thurstone scale; the cumulative scale, also known as the Guttman scale. 1. The summated rating or Likert scale The summated rating scale, more commonly known

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Attitudinal scales and measurement scales

Different attitudinal scales use different measurement scales. It is important to know which attitudinal scale belongs to which measurement scale as this will help you in the interpretation of respondents’ scores. Table 10.1 shows attitudinal scales in relation to measurement scales. Source: Kumar Ranjit (2012), Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE Publications

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Attitudes and qualitative research

As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, in qualitative research you can only explore the spread of the attitudes. Whatever methods of data collection you use — in-depth interviewing, focus group, observation — you can explore the diversity in the attitudes but cannot find other aspects like: how many people have a particular

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The concept of validity of a research instrument

To examine the concept of validity, let us take a very simple example. Suppose you have designed a study to ascertain the health needs of a community. In doing so, you have devel­oped an interview schedule. Further suppose that most of the questions in the interview schedule relate to the attitude of the study

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Types of validity in quantitative research

There are three types of validity in quantitative research: face and content validity; concurrent and predictive validity; construct validity. 1. Face and content validity The judgement that an instrument is measuring what it is supposed to is primarily based upon the logical link between the questions and the objectives of the study. Hence, one

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The concept of reliability of a research instrument

We use the word ‘reliable’ very often in our lives. When we say that a person is reliable, what do we mean? We infer that s/he is dependable, consistent, predictable, stable and honest. The concept of reliability in relation to a research instrument has a similar meaning: if a research tool is consistent and

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Factors affecting the reliability of a research instrument

In the social sciences it is impossible to have a research tool which is 100 per cent accurate, not only because a research instrument cannot be so, but also because it is impossible to control the factors affecting reliability. Some of these factors are: The wording of questions – A slight ambiguity in the

Methods of determining the reliability of an instrument in quantitative research

There are a number of ways of determining the reliability of an instrument and these can be classified as either external or internal consistency procedures. 1. External consistency procedures External consistency procedures compare findings from two independent processes of data collection with each other as a means of verifying the reliability of the measure.

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Validity and reliability in qualitative research

One of the areas of difference between quantitative and qualitative research is in the use of and the importance given to the concepts of validity and reliability. The debate centres on whether or not, given the framework of qualitative research, these concepts can or even should be applied in qualitative research. As you know,

The differences between sampling in quantitative and qualitative research

The selection of a sample in quantitative and qualitative research is guided by two opposing philosophies. In quantitative research you attempt to select a sample in such a way that it is unbiased and represents the population from where it is selected. In qualitative research, number considerations may influence the selection of a sample

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Sampling in quantitative research

1. The concept of sampling Let us take a very simple example to explain the concept of sampling. Suppose you want to estimate the average age of the students in your class. There are two ways of doing this. The first method is to contact all students in the class, find out their ages,

Sampling in qualitative research

As the main aim in qualitative enquiries is to explore the diversity, sample size and sampling strategy do not play a significant role in the selection of a sample. If selected carefully, diversity can be extensively and accurately described on the basis of information obtained even from one individual. All non-probability sampling designs —

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The research proposal in quantitative and qualitative research

All research endeavours, in both qualitative and quantitative research, in every academic and professional field are preceded by a research proposal. It informs your academic supervisor or potential research contract provider about your conceptualisation of the total research process that you propose to undertake so that they can examine its validity and appropriateness. In

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Contents of a research proposal

A research proposal should contain the following information about your study: an introduction, including a brief literature review; theoretical framework that underpins your study; conceptual framework which constitutes the basis of your study; objectives or research questions of your study; hypotheses to be tested, if applicable; study design that you are proposing to adopt;

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Work schedule in management research

You must set yourself dates as you need to complete the research within a certain time-frame. List the various operational steps you need to undertake and indicate against each the date by which you aim to complete that task. Remember to keep some time towards the end as a ‘cushion’ in case the research

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Ethics: the concept in management research

All professions are guided by a code of ethics that has evolved over the years to accommodate the changing ethos, values, needs and expectations of those who hold a stake in the profes­sions. Some professions are more advanced than others in terms of the level of development of their code of ethics. Some have

Stakeholders in research

There are many stakeholders in research, whether it is quantitative or qualitative. It is important to look at ethical issues in relation to each of them. The various stakeholders in a research activity are: the research participants or subjects; the researcher; the funding body. Who should be considered as a research participant varies from

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Ethical issues to consider concerning research participants

There are many ethical issues to consider in relation to the participants of a research activity. 1. Collecting information One could ask: why should a respondent give any information to a researcher? What right does a researcher have to knock at someone’s door or to send out a questionnaire? Is it ethical to disturb

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