Thurstone Scales - Mass Media Research.pptx

Thurstone scales are also called equalappearing interval scales because of the technique used to develop them and are typically used to measure the attitude toward a given concept or construct. To develop a Thurstone scale, a researcher first collects a large number of statements (Thurstone recommends at least 100) that relate to the concept or construct to be measured.
Next, judges rate these statements along an 11-category scale in which each category expresses a different degree of favorableness toward the concept. The items are then ranked according to the mean or median ratings assigned by the judges and are used to construct a questionnaire of 20 to 30 items that are chosen more or less evenly from across the range of ratings.

1. Thurstone scales are also called equalappearing interval scales because of the technique used to develop them and are typically used to measure the attitude toward a given concept or construct. To develop a Thurstone scale, a researcher first collects a large number of statements ( Thurstone recommends at least 100) that relate to the concept or construct to be measured. Next, judges rate these statements along an 11-category scale in which each category expresses a different degree of favorableness toward the concept. The items are then ranked according to the mean or median ratings assigned by the judges and are used to construct a questionnaire of 20 to 30 items that are chosen more or less evenly from across the range of ratings. 10/14/2022 Thurstone Scales Muhammad Awais (facebook.com/awwaiis)

2. The statements are worded so that a person can agree or disagree with them. The scale is then administered to a sample of respondents whose scores are determined by computing the mean or median value of the items agreed with. A person who disagrees with all the items has a score of zero. One advantage of the Thurstone method is that it is an interval measurement scale. On the downside, this method is time consuming and labor intensive. Thurstone scales are not often used in mass media research, but they are common in psychology and education research. 10/14/2022 Muhammad Awais (facebook.com/awwaiis)