Test bank herman aguinis – performance management ch13

Chapter 13—Measurement
TRUE/FALSE
1. Measurement is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon, usually by assigning
numbers, in a reliable and valid way.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 293

2. In measurement, whenever a number is used to assign a value to an observation, the researcher must
assign this number according to some predetermined rule.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 293

3. All measurement, particularly in the social sciences, contains error.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 295

4. A scale can be thought of as a generalized idea that represents something of meaning.
ANS: F
This is a concept. Scales measure concepts.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 295

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

5. Correspondence analysis is the process of identifying scale devices that correspond to properties of a
concept involved in a research process.
ANS: F
This is called operationalization.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 295

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6. A construct is a term used for concepts that are measured with single variables.
ANS: F
Constructs are measured with multiple variables.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 296

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

7. How we define a construct will affect the way we measure it.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 296

8. An ordinal scale is the simplest type of measurement scale.

ANS: F
A nominal scale is the most elementary level of measurement.
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


PTS: 1

REF: p. 297

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

9. The most sophisticated form of data analysis for a nominal scale is the average of the scores.
ANS: F
Nominal scale properties mean the numbering system simply identifies things, so mathematical
functions like averaging should not be performed.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 297

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

10. A measurement scale in which respondents are asked to rank items based on their preferences is called
a nominal scale.
ANS: F
This is an ordinal scale.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 298

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

11. The Fahrenheit temperature scale is an example of a ratio scale.
ANS: F
It is an example of an interval scale.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 300

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

12. Interval scales represent the absolute meaning of the numbers on the scale.
ANS: F
Ratio scales do this. Interval scales do capture information about differences in quantities of a
concept, though.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 300

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

13. In ratio scales, the location of the zero point is arbitrary.
ANS: F
Ratio scales have an absolute zero. This is what distinguishes a ratio scale from an interval scale
because zero in a ratio scale has meaning in that it represents an absence of some concept.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 300

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

14. "Money" is an example of a ratio scale.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

15. Mathematical operations cannot be performed with numbers from nominal scales.
ANS: F
While it is true that mathematical operations can be performed with numbers from nominal scales, the
result may not have a great deal of meaning.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 301

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


16. Concrete measures are those that take on only one of a finite number of values.
ANS: F
These are discrete measures.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 301

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

17. Continuous measures are those assigning values anywhere along some scale range in a place that
corresponds to the intensity of some concept.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 302

18. Interval scales are considered continuous when three or more categories are used.
ANS: F
They are considered continuous when five or more categories are used.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 303

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

19. An attribute is a single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 303

20. Inverse coding means the researcher treats the value for a response oppositely from the other items.
ANS: F
This is called reverse coding.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 304

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

21. The three major criteria for evaluating measurements are reliability, validity, and sensitivity.
ANS: T
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 305

22. A measuring instrument is valid when the results can be repeated at subsequent measurements of the
concept.
ANS: F
This is reliability. Validity refers to the extent to which a score truthfully represents a concept.
PTS: 1

REF: pp. 305-306

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

23. Coefficient beta is the most commonly applied estimate of a composite scale’s reliability.
ANS: F
Coefficient alpha is most commonly used.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 306

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


24. Content validity is the ability of a measure to correlate with other standard measures of similar
constructs or established criteria.
ANS: F
This is criterion validity.
PTS: 1

REF: pp. 307-308

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

25. Discriminant validity is another way of expressing internal consistency.
ANS: F
This is convergent validity. Discriminant validity represents how unique or distinct is a measure.
PTS: 1

REF: p. 308

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. _____ is the process of describing some property of a phenomenon, usually by assigning numbers, in a
reliable and valid way.
a. Research
b. Analysis
c. Validation
d. Measurement

ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 393

2. Age, gender, brand loyalty, and corporate culture are all examples of:
a. concepts
b. scales
c. ratios
d. codes
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 295

3. Researchers measure concepts through a process known as:
a. summation
b. operationalization
c. assessment
d. matching
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 295

4. Which of the following provides correspondence rules that indicate that a certain value corresponds to
some true value of a concept?

a. operations
b. reliability
c. sensitivity
d. scale
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 295

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


5. Which of the following refers to concepts measured with multiple variables?
a. operation
b. construct
c. concept
d. scale
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 296

6. In an observation study, when "shopping time in a supermarket" is defined as: "Using a stopwatch,
start the stopwatch the moment the customer enters the store and stop the stopwatch as soon as the
customer is handed a receipt by the checkout clerk," this is best described as an example of a(n):
a. nominal scale
b. equivalent-form scale

c. operational definition
d. test-retest method
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: pp. 295-296

7. Scales that assign a value to an object for identification or classification purposes are called _____
scales.
a. ordinal
b. nominal
c. interval
d. ratio
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 297

8. Coding household income into "Above $100,000," "Between $50,000 and $100,000," and "Below
$50,000" is an example of a(n) _____ scale.
a. interval
b. test-retest
c. criterion
d. nominal
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 297

9. Which type of scale is, at the most, a ranking scale?
a. ratio
b. interval
c. nominal
d. ordinal
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 298

10. When respondents are asked to place local shopping malls so that their first choice is 1, their second
choice is 2, and so forth, this is best-described as an example of a(n) _____ scale.
a. ordinal
b. ratio
c. interval
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


d. nominal
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 298

11. A scale which arranges brands in an ordered sequence in which there is an equal interval between each

point on the scale is an example of a(n) _____ scale.
a. interval
b. ratio
c. nominal
d. ordinal
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 299

12. The Fahrenheit temperature scale is best described as an example of a(n) _____ scale.
a. ratio
b. nominal
c. interval
d. ordinal
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

13. Which type of scale represents the highest form of measurement?
a. nominal scale
b. ordinal
c. ratio
d. interval
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

14. How much a person weighs is best described as an example of a(n) _____ scale.
a. ordinal
b. interval
c. ratio
d. nominal
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

15. Which of the following is a defining characteristic in determining between ratio and interval scales?
a. number of items
b. absolute zero
c. number of intervals
d. nominal values
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

16. All of the following can be measured using ratio scales EXCEPT:
a. gender
b. income
c. temperature
d. weight

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 300

17. Measures that can take on only one of a finite number of values are called:
a. discrete measures
b. neutral measures
c. limited measures
d. continuous measures
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 301

18. Which of the following is a discrete measure?
a. nominal scales
b. sensitive scales
c. ratio scales
d. all of the above
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 301

19. Measures that reflect the intensity of a concept by assigning values that can take on any value along
some scale range are called:
a. discrete measures
b. continuous measures
c. absolute measures
d. valid measures
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 302

20. A(n) _____ is a single characteristic or fundamental feature of an object, person, situation, or issue.
a. concept
b. variable
c. attribute
d. construct
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 303

21. Carla is using education, income, and occupation to develop a measure of social class. What type of
measure for social class is she developing?
a. index measure
b. valid measure
c. reliable measure

d. concurrent measure
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 303

22. Which type of measure assigns a value to an observation based on a mathematical derivation of
multiple measures?
a. conglomerate measure
b. derivative measure
c. summated measure
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


d. composite measure
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 303

23. A researcher is measuring consumers’ attitudes toward product placement in movies using five attitude
items. She created a scale by simply summing the response to each item making up the composite
measure. This composite measure is called a(n):
a. derived scale
b. additive scale
c. summated scale
d. primary scale

ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 303

24. Which of the following means that the value assigned for a response is treated oppositely from the
other items in a scale?
a. reverse coding
b. indexing
c. alpha coding
d. convergence
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 304

25. Which of the following is an indicator of a measure’s internal consistency?
a. reliability
b. validity
c. coefficient beta
d. sensitivity
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 305

26. When a researcher measures the reliability of an instrument by comparing the results of the oddnumbered questions with the results of the even-numbered questions, this is an example of _____

reliability.
a. test-retest
b. split-half
c. equivalent-forms
d. criterion
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 306

27. The most commonly applied estimate of a composite scale’s reliability is:
a. coefficient alpha
b. coefficient beta
c. criterion coefficient
d. an index coefficient
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 306

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


28. A researcher who administers the same scale to the same respondents at two separate times to test for
stability is using which method of assessing the scale’s reliability?
a. coefficient alpha
b. split-half method

c. test-retest method
d. before/after method
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 306

29. The ability of a measuring instrument to measure what it is supposed to measure is the basic purpose
of _____.
a. reliability
b. validity
c. sensitivity
d. indexing
ANS: B
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 307

30. When a group of experts agrees that a measuring instrument measures what it is intended to measure,
we say that the instrument has _____ validity.
a. face
b. criterion
c. test-retest
d. equivalent-forms
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 307

31. Which type of validity addresses the question, “Does my measure correlate with measures of similar
concepts or known quantities?”
a. face validity
b. reliability validity
c. criterion validity
d. discriminant validity
ANS: C
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 308

32. Which of the following is a component of construct validity?
a. face validity
b. discriminant validity
c. convergent validity
d. all of the above
ANS: D
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 308

33. When a two-point scale (e.g. agree/disagree) is expanded to include five categories (e.g. strongly
disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree), we say that the _____ of the scale has been
increased.
a. sensitivity
b. reliability

c. predictive validity
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


d. criterion validity
ANS: A
PTS: 1
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

REF: p. 309

COMPLETION
1. A generalized idea that represents something of meaning is called a(n) ____________________.
ANS: concept
PTS: 1

REF: p. 295

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

2. The process involving identifying scales that correspond to properties of a concept is called
____________________.
ANS: operationalization
PTS: 1

REF: p. 295

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

3. Scales provide ____________________ rules that indicate that a certain value on a scale corresponds
to some true value of a concept.
ANS: correspondence
PTS: 1

REF: p. 295

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

4. A scale in which letters (e.g. A,B,C) are assigned to objects to serve as identification labels for the
objects is called a(n) ____________________ scale.
ANS: nominal
PTS: 1

REF: p. 297

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

5. A scale which arranges objects in order according to their relative magnitude to one another is called
a(n) ____________________ scale.
ANS: ordinal
PTS: 1

REF: p. 298

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6. A scale which arranges objects so that they are equally-distant from one another is called a(n)
____________________ scale.
ANS: interval

PTS: 1

REF: p. 299

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

7. A ____________________ scale has an absolute zero point.
ANS: ratio
PTS: 1

REF: p. 300

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


8. Measures that take on only one of a finite number of values are called ____________________
measures.
ANS: discrete
PTS: 1

REF: p. 301

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

9. Measures that assign values anywhere along some scale range in a place that corresponds to the
intensity of some concept are called ____________________ measures.
ANS: continuous

PTS: 1

REF: p. 302

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

10. ____________________ means that the value assigned for a response is treated oppositely from the
other items.
ANS: Reverse coding
PTS: 1

REF: p. 304

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

11. The degree to which a measurement instrument yields consistent results is called the
____________________ of the instrument.
ANS: reliability
PTS: 1

REF: p. 305

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

12. The ability of a measuring instrument to measure what it is supposed to measure is called its
____________________.
ANS: validity
PTS: 1

REF: p. 307

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

13. A scale that logically appears to reflect what was intended to be measured possesses
____________________ validity.
ANS: face
PTS: 1

REF: p. 307

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

14. ____________________ validity represents the uniqueness or distinctiveness of a measure.
ANS: Discriminant
PTS: 1

REF: p. 308

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

15. The ability of a scale to measure the variability of a concept is called that scale’s
____________________.
ANS: sensitivity
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


PTS: 1

REF: p. 309

NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking

ESSAY
1. Compare and contrast the four different levels of scale measurement.
ANS:
The four levels or types of scale measurement are:
(1) Nominal scale - represents the most elementary level of measurement. It assigns a value to an
object for identification or classification purposes. The value can be a number, but does not have to
be, because no quantities are being represented.
(2) Ordinal scale - ranking scales allowing things to be arranged based on how much of some
concepts they possess. They have nominal properties, but they also allow things to be arranged based
on how much of some concept they possess.
(3) Interval scale - has both nominal and ordinal properties, but also captures information about
differences in quantities of a concept. Unlike ordinal scales, it captures relative quantities in the form
of distances between observations.
(4) Ratio scale - represents the highest form of measurement in that is has all the properties of an
interval scale with the additional attribute representing absolute quantities. Interval scales represent
only relative meaning whereas ratio scales represent absolute meaning. Therefore, zero has meaning
in that it represents an absence of some concept.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 296-301
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
2. Explain how indexes or composite measures are formed.
ANS:
Multi-item instruments for measuring a construct are either called index measures or composite
measures. An index measure assigns a value based on how characteristic an observation is of the
thing being measured. Indexes often are formed by putting several variables together. For example, a
social class index is based on three weighted variables: income, occupation, and education. With an
index, the different attributes may not be strongly correlated with each other. Composite measures

also assign a value based on a mathematical derivation of multiple variables. For most practical
applications, composite measures and indexes are computed in the same way. However, composite
measures are distinguished from index measures in that the composite’s indicators should be both
theoretically and statistically related to each other.
PTS: 1
REF: p. 303
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
3. List the three criteria for good measurement.
ANS:
Reliability, validity, and sensitivity.
PTS: 1
REF: p. 305
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
4. Explain what reliability is and discuss how it is assessed.
ANS:
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.


Reliability is an indicator of a measure’s internal consistency. A measure is reliable when different
attempts at measuring something converge on the same result. When a measuring process provides
reproducible results, the measuring instrument is reliable. Internal consistency is a term used to
represent a measure’s homogeneity and can be measured by correlating scores on subsets of items
making up a scale. The split-half method of checking reliability is performed by taking half the items
from a scale (e.g., odd-numbered items) and checking them against the results from the other half
(even-numbered items). The two scale halves should correlate highly. Coefficient alpha is the most
commonly applied estimate of a composite scale’s reliability by computing the average of all possible
split-half reliabilities from a multiple-item scale. This coefficient demonstrates whether or not the
different items converge and ranges from 0 to 1, with values between 0.80 and 0.96 considered to have
very good reliability. The test-retest method of determining reliability involves administering the

same scale or measure on the same respondents at two separate times to test for stability.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 305-306
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication
5. Name and describe the components of construct validity.
ANS:
Construct validity exists when a measure reliably measures and truthfully represents a unique
concept. It consists of several components:
(1) Face validity - refers to a scale’s content logically appearing to reflect what was intended to be
measured.
(2) Content validity - the degree that a measure covers the breadth of the domain of interest.
(3) Convergent validity - another way of expressing internal consistency. Highly reliable scales
contain convergent validity.
(4) Criterion validity - addresses the question, “Does my measure correlate with measures of similar
concepts or known quantities?”
(5) Discriminant validity - represents how unique or distinct is a measure.
PTS: 1
REF: pp. 307-308
NAT: AACSB: Reflective Thinking| AACSB: Communication

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
whole or in part.