Measuring the Unmeasured: Combining Technology and Behavioral Insights to Improve Measurement of Business Outcomes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Anderson ◽  
Christy Lazicky ◽  
Bilal Zia
Keyword(s):  
Business Outcomes ◽  
Improve Measurement

D-test: A New Test for Analyzing Scale Invariance Using Symbolic Dynamics and Symbolic Entropy

Methodology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose A. Martínez ◽  
Manuel Ruiz Marín
Keyword(s):  
Symbolic Dynamics ◽  
Scale Invariance ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Marketing Research ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Improve Measurement ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
The Difference

The aim of this study is to improve measurement in marketing research by constructing a new, simple, nonparametric, consistent, and powerful test to study scale invariance. The test is called D-test. D-test is constructed using symbolic dynamics and symbolic entropy as a measure of the difference between the response patterns which comes from two measurement scales. We also give a standard asymptotic distribution of our statistic. Given that the test is based on entropy measures, it avoids smoothed nonparametric estimation. We applied D-test to a real marketing research to study if scale invariance holds when measuring service quality in a sports service. We considered a free-scale as a reference scale and then we compared it with three widely used rating scales: Likert-type scale from 1 to 5 and from 1 to 7, and semantic-differential scale from −3 to +3. Scale invariance holds for the two latter scales. This test overcomes the shortcomings of other procedures for analyzing scale invariance; and it provides researchers a tool to decide the appropriate rating scale to study specific marketing problems, and how the results of prior studies can be questioned.

Experiences that matter? The motivational experiences and business outcomes of gamified services

2020 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Wolf ◽  
Welf H. Weiger ◽  
Maik Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Business Outcomes

scholarly journals Estimating Measurement Error of the Patient Activation Measure for Respondents with Partially Missing Data

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Linden
Keyword(s):  
Missing Data ◽  
Measurement Error ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Patient Activation ◽  
Percentage Error ◽  
Missing Responses ◽  
Improve Measurement ◽  
Patient Activation Measure ◽  
Minimum Score ◽  
Missing Items

The patient activation measure (PAM) is an increasingly popular instrument used as the basis for interventions to improve patient engagement and as an outcome measure to assess intervention effect. However, a PAM score may be calculated when there are missing responses, which could lead to substantial measurement error. In this paper, measurement error is systematically estimated across the full possible range of missing items (one to twelve), using simulation in which populated items were randomly replaced with missing data for each of 1,138 complete surveys obtained in a randomized controlled trial. The PAM score was then calculated, followed by comparisons of overall simulated average mean, minimum, and maximum PAM scores to the true PAM score in order to assess the absolute percentage error (APE) for each comparison. With only one missing item, the average APE was 2.5% comparing the true PAM score to the simulated minimum score and 4.3% compared to the simulated maximum score. APEs increased with additional missing items, such that surveys with 12 missing items had average APEs of 29.7% (minimum) and 44.4% (maximum). Several suggestions and alternative approaches are offered that could be pursued to improve measurement accuracy when responses are missing.

Business outcomes of healthy food service initiatives in schools: A systematic review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney P. Thorpe ◽  
Tara Boelsen‐Robinson ◽  
Adrian J. Cameron ◽  
Miranda R. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Business Outcomes

scholarly journals Immediate newborn care and breastfeeding: EN-BIRTH multi-country validation study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tazeen Tahsina ◽  
◽  
Aniqa Tasnim Hossain ◽  
Harriet Ruysen ◽  
Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Newborn Care ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Delayed Cord Clamping ◽  
Cord Clamping ◽  
Improve Measurement ◽  
Immediate Newborn Care ◽  
Skin To Skin

Abstract Background Immediate newborn care (INC) practices, notably early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), are fundamental for newborn health. However, coverage tracking currently relies on household survey data in many settings. “Every Newborn Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals” (EN-BIRTH) was an observational study validating selected maternal and newborn health indicators. This paper reports results for EIBF. Methods The EN-BIRTH study was conducted in five public hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Tanzania, from July 2017 to July 2018. Clinical observers collected tablet-based, time-stamped data on EIBF and INC practices (skin-to-skin within 1 h of birth, drying, and delayed cord clamping). To assess validity of EIBF measurement, we compared observation as gold standard to register records and women’s exit-interview survey reports. Percent agreement was used to assess agreement between EIBF and INC practices. Kaplan Meier survival curves showed timing. Qualitative interviews were conducted to explore barriers/enablers to register recording. Results Coverage of EIBF among 7802 newborns observed for ≥1 h was low (10.9, 95% CI 3.8–21.0). Survey-reported (53.2, 95% CI 39.4–66.8) and register-recorded results (85.9, 95% CI 58.1–99.6) overestimated coverage compared to observed levels across all hospitals. Registers did not capture other INC practices apart from breastfeeding. Agreement of EIBF with other INC practices was high for skin-to-skin (69.5–93.9%) at four sites, but fair/poor for delayed cord-clamping (47.3–73.5%) and drying (7.3–29.0%). EIBF and skin-to-skin were the most delayed and EIBF rarely happened after caesarean section (0.5–3.6%). Qualitative findings suggested that focusing on accuracy, as well as completeness, contributes to higher quality with register reporting. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of tracking EIBF despite measurement challenges and found low coverage levels, particularly after caesarean births. Both survey-reported and register-recorded data over-estimated coverage. EIBF had a strong agreement with skin-to-skin but is not a simple tracer for other INC indicators. Other INC practices are challenging to measure in surveys, not included in registers, and are likely to require special studies or audits. Continued focus on EIBF is crucial to inform efforts to improve provider practices and increase coverage. Investment and innovation are required to improve measurement.

scholarly journals Paradata analyses to inform population-based survey capture of pregnancy outcomes: EN-INDEPTH study

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Sergeevich Gordeev ◽  
◽  
Joseph Akuze ◽  
Angela Baschieri ◽  
Sanne M. Thysen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Electronic Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Improve Measurement ◽  
Population Based Survey

Abstract Background Paradata are (timestamped) records tracking the process of (electronic) data collection. We analysed paradata from a large household survey of questions capturing pregnancy outcomes to assess performance (timing and correction processes). We examined how paradata can be used to inform and improve questionnaire design and survey implementation in nationally representative household surveys, the major source for maternal and newborn health data worldwide. Methods The EN-INDEPTH cross-sectional population-based survey of women of reproductive age in five Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites (in Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Uganda) randomly compared two modules to capture pregnancy outcomes: full pregnancy history (FPH) and the standard DHS-7 full birth history (FBH+). We used paradata related to answers recorded on tablets using the Survey Solutions platform. We evaluated the difference in paradata entries between the two reproductive modules and assessed which question characteristics (type, nature, structure) affect answer correction rates, using regression analyses. We also proposed and tested a new classification of answer correction types. Results We analysed 3.6 million timestamped entries from 65,768 interviews. 83.7% of all interviews had at least one corrected answer to a question. Of 3.3 million analysed questions, 7.5% had at least one correction. Among corrected questions, the median number of corrections was one, regardless of question characteristics. We classified answer corrections into eight types (no correction, impulsive, flat (simple), zigzag, flat zigzag, missing after correction, missing after flat (zigzag) correction, missing/incomplete). 84.6% of all corrections were judged not to be problematic with a flat (simple) mistake correction. Question characteristics were important predictors of probability to make answer corrections, even after adjusting for respondent’s characteristics and location, with interviewer clustering accounted as a fixed effect. Answer correction patterns and types were similar between FPH and FBH+, as well as the overall response duration. Avoiding corrections has the potential to reduce interview duration and reproductive module completion by 0.4 min. Conclusions The use of questionnaire paradata has the potential to improve measurement and the resultant quality of electronic data. Identifying sections or specific questions with multiple corrections sheds light on typically hidden challenges in the survey’s content, process, and administration, allowing for earlier real-time intervention (e.g.,, questionnaire content revision or additional staff training). Given the size and complexity of paradata, additional time, data management, and programming skills are required to realise its potential.

scholarly journals Enterprise search: A state of the art

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-69
Author(s):  
Paul H Cleverley ◽  
Simon Burnett
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Search Task ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Feedback Loops ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Business Outcomes ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Enterprise Search ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Systems Thinking Approach

Enterprise search is changing. The explosion of information within organizations, technological advances and availability of free OpenSource machine learning libraries offer many possibilities. Eighteen informants from practice, academia, search technology vendors and large organizations (Oil and Gas, Governments, Pharmaceuticals, Aerospace and Retail) were interviewed to assess challenges and future directions. The findings confirmed the existence of the ‘Google Habitus’, technology propaganda and a need to transcend disciplines for a Systems thinking approach toward enterprise search. This encompasses information management, user search literacy, governance, learning feedback loops as well as technology. A novel four-level model for enterprise search use cases is presented, covering search as a utility, search as an answer machine, search task apps and a discovery engine. This could be used to reframe enterprise search perceptions, expanding possibilities and improving business outcomes.

Encouraging millennials to collaborate and learn on the job

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Trees
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Outcomes ◽  
Wide Range

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present enterprise social networking and gamification as two potential tools to help organizations engage Millennial employees in collaboration and learning. Design/methodology/approach – The research provides general descriptions of enterprise social networking and gamification approaches, shares data on adoption of these approaches from APQC’s “2015 Knowledge Management Priorities Data Report” (based on a January 2015 survey of 524 knowledge management professionals) and includes four company examples adapted from APQC’s Connecting People to Content and Transferring and Applying Critical Knowledge best practices studies. The methodology for APQC’s best practices studies involves screening 50 or more organizations with potential best practices in a given research scope area and identifying five or six with proven best practices. APQC then conducts detailed site visits with the selected organizations and publishes case studies based on those site visits. Findings – Enterprise social networking platforms are in place at 50 per cent of organizations, with another 25 per cent planning to implement them by the end of 2015. By providing near-immediate access to information and answers, enterprise social networking helps Millennials learn the ropes at their new workplaces, gives them direct access to more knowledgeable colleagues who can assist and mentor them, and helps them improve their business outcomes by reusing knowledge and lessons learned across projects. Younger workers can also harness the power of social networking to create a sense of belonging and build their reputations in large, dispersed firms, where it is particularly difficult for them to gain visibility. A recent APQC survey indicates that 54 per cent of organizations either currently employ gamification to encourage collaboration or expect to implement it within the next three years. The rush to gamify the enterprise is, at least in part, a reflection of employers’ desire to satisfy Millennials and make them feel connected to a community of co-workers. Although games appeal to a wide range of age groups, Millennials grew up with digital interaction and tend to prefer environments that emphasize teamwork, social learning and frequent feedback – all of which can be delivered through gamification. Originality/value – The value of this paper is to introduce the value of and relationship between enterprise social networking and gamification platforms to human resource (HR) professionals looking to increase engagement and retention rates for Millennial employees.

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