Response Scales for Utility Estimation.

Richard J. Kaplan

Expert InsightsPublished 1967

An experiment conducted for the purpose of choosing a scale for the extraction of value judgments from subjects who will participate in a future study on target values. The four scales chosen for comparison were ratio, difference, direct, and paired comparisons. The value judgments made in the experiment were concerned with the price of automobiles, the Kelly Blue Book being used as the price reference. On the basis of the data collected, the difference technique was selected. Although, for the purposes of the future study, there is little difference between the difference method and the direct method, the former is more appealing on intuitive grounds. The reason for this is the presence of a standard in the difference method that will lend stability to the scale in the absence of a known dimension for the measure. 9 pp. Ref.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1967
  • Pages: 9
  • Document Number: P-3573

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Kaplan, Richard J., Response Scales for Utility Estimation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1967. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3573.html.
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