What measurement scales are used in the sample questions provided (Exhibit OL-3)? Why might the lottery attitude and lottery importance questions have presented the most challenge to the professional researchers?

Answer:

There were 2 different measuring scales that used that same size scale 1-7 to determine what the attribute meant to the person taking the survey. These scales use a number based system with 7 being the most important or strongest agreeing and 1 being the not important or strongest disagreeing. This system is good for creating a median answer about the attribute in question.

Also it allows for a larger group of questions to be combined under a similar topic. This is not always a good thing since it can lead to questions being answered on feelings and attitudes. This was shown with questions 25 and 29 on the survey. These two questions rely on the person’s self-evaluation about the topic in question and how they feel about each question. Since each person has a different level of importance to items in their life the data might not show how the general population feels about the question. Since these questions are relying on attitudes and opinions it’s hard to verify the data with proper support. These questions have no real hard data but only show how the person feels about the lottery and its system.