In a short essay, discuss the difference between comparative and noncomparative scales. Include an example of each scaling technique to support your answer

What will be an ideal response?

Comparative scales involve the direct comparison of two or more objects. For example, respondents might be asked whether they prefer Coke or Pepsi. A comparative scale gives the marketer data that measure relative differences. It has only ordinal or rank order properties. In noncomparative scales, objects are scaled independently of each other. The resulting data are generally assumed to be interval scaled. For example, respondents may be asked to evaluate Coke on a 1 to 7 preference scale (1 = not at all preferred, 7 = greatly preferred). Similar evaluations would be obtained for Pepsi and RC Cola. Noncomparative scales comprise continuous rating or itemized rating scales.