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ii. Itemized rating scale

It is a scale having numbers or brief descriptions associated
with each category. The categories are ordered in terms of scale
position and the respondents are required to select one of the ◆ Series of statements
limited numbers of categories that best describes the product,
brand, company, or attribute being rated. It presents a series of
statements from which a respondent selects one as best reflecting
his evaluation. These statements are ordered progressively in
terms of more or less of some property. It is also called numerical
scale.

Itemized rating scale can be again classified into:
a. Likert scale / Summated scale
Likert scale is developed by Rennis Likert. The Likert scale
requires the respondents to indicate a degree of agreement or
disagreement with each of a series of statements about the stimulus
objects. The scale is extremely popular for measuring attitudes,
because the method is simple to administer. The respondents
indicate their own attitudes by checking how strongly they agree
or disagree with carefully worded statements that range from very
positive to negative towards the attitudinal objects. It includes a ◆ Five alternatives
number of items or statements. Each respondent is asked to circle
his opinion on a score against each statement. The final score for
the respondent on the scale is the sum of their rating for all the
items. The very purpose of Likert scale is to ensure that the final
items evoke a wide response and discriminate among those with
positive and negative attitudes. Respondents generally choose
from five alternatives (Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor
disagree, Disagree, Strongly disagree). The disadvantage is that
it is difficult to know what a single summated score means. It is
easy to construct, administer and understand but is more time
consuming.
b. Semantic differential scale

Semantic differential scale is a seven-point rating scale with
endpoints associated with bipolar labels (such as good and bad,
complex and simple) that have semantic meaning. It can be used
to find whether a respondent has a positive or negative attitude
towards an object. It has been widely used in comparing brands,
products, and company images. In the semantic differential ◆ Seven point rating
scale, only extremes have names. The extreme points represent scale
the bipolar adjectives with the central category representing the
neutral position. In this, the phrases used to describe the object
form a basis for attitude formation in the form of positive and
negative phrases. The negative phrases are sometimes put on the
left side of the scale and sometimes on the right side. This is done
to prevent a respondent with a negative attitude checking on the

SGOU - SLM - MCom Research Methodology 109