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Modification and simplification of thurstone scaling method, and its demonstration with a crime seriousness assessment

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Abstract

The paper aims to improve the Thurstone scaling method by reducing the workload of data collection and simplifying the procedures of application. It proposes a hierarchical structure for organizing items that are to be scaled. Instead of making paired comparisons, the respondents would be asked to rank the items. The ranks of the items would then be transformed into paired comparisons. Workload of data collection can hence be greatly reduced. As an alternative to Thurstone model, the use of three models, i.e., linear, exponential and information, to compute serious scores is also demonstrated.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by a research grant from The Hong Polytechnic University Research Committee.

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Correspondence to W. C. Ip.

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Ip, W.C., Kwan, Y.K. & Chiu, L.L. Modification and simplification of thurstone scaling method, and its demonstration with a crime seriousness assessment. Soc Indic Res 82, 433–442 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9040-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9040-z

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