{"id":920,"date":"2015-05-05T10:26:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T10:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hamilton.global\/index.php\/2015\/05\/05\/knowing-more-about-the-maximum-difference-scaling-max-diff\/"},"modified":"2015-05-05T10:26:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T10:26:00","slug":"knowing-more-about-the-maximum-difference-scaling-max-diff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamilton.global\/en\/knowing-more-about-the-maximum-difference-scaling-max-diff\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowing more about the Maximum Difference Scaling (MAX DIFF)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maximum Difference Scaling, also known as Best-Worst Scaling, is an approach for understanding the preference and importance scores allowing researchers to analyze a higher number of items<\/b> generating discriminating results<\/b> as respondents are asked to choose the 'Best' and 'Worst' option which simulates real-world behavior<\/b>. Max diff is a powerful tool<\/b> used by Hamilton to further understand and identify which attributes in a product \/service \/ offer are most important.<\/span><\/span>

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Traditionally, to determine the importance of the items for the interviewee, the attributes have been asked through Rating Scales and\/or Ranking Scales. Listed below are the main characteristics of each one:<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Rating Scales<\/span><\/i><\/b>: asking the respondents to choose one response category from several arranged in hierarchical order. In example: how much do you agree or how satisfied are you, etc. The main benefits<\/b> of the rating scales are that are easy to ask, provide data that can be analyzed statistically and are stable on repeated measures. By contrast, the main problems with rating are that the results may not be discriminating because some respondents rate everything as important, the scale is arbitrary and doesn't tell the strength of importance and, also, rating scales cannot handle a long list of items and depending on the country the rating scales used are different.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Example of Rating Scale:<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Ranking Scales<\/span><\/i><\/b>: asking the respondents to rank their views on a list of related items, comparing different objects to one another. Through the use of these scales, interviewees can establish what matters and what doesn't matter. The main benefits<\/b> of the ranking scales are that each element receives a unique ranking because respondents cannot assign the same value to each item, also, the question technique forces discrimination between choices, which provides more statistical power. Otherwise, the main cons with ranking scales are that respondents are good at picking the extremes but their preferences for any item in between might be fuzzy and inaccurate, this technique only explains the order of importance but not the strength of importance and, as rating scales , cannot handle a long list of items \/ characteristics.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Example of Ranking Scale:<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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What are the main characteristics and benefits of Max Diff Scales?<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n