Consensus and dissention: A measure of ordinal dispersion

William J. Tastle; Mark J. Wierman

doi:10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024

Consensus and dissention: A measure of ordinal dispersion

William J. Tastle, Mark J. Wierman

Department of Computer Science, Design & Journalism

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

90 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new measure of dispersion is introduced as a representation of consensus (agreement) and dissention (disagreement). Building on the generally accepted Shannon entropy, this measure utilizes a probability distribution and the distance between categories to produce a value spanning the unit interval. The measure is applied to the Likert scale (or any ordinal scale) to determine degrees of consensus or agreement. Using this measure, data on ordinal scales can be given a value of dispersion that is both logically and theoretically sound.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	531-545
Number of pages	15
Journal	International Journal of Approximate Reasoning
Volume	45
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024
State	Published - Aug 2007

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Software
Theoretical Computer Science
Artificial Intelligence
Applied Mathematics

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024

Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Consensus and dissention: A measure of ordinal dispersion'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this

@article{aa165d1640f6405dafadb1af845afb4f,

title = "Consensus and dissention: A measure of ordinal dispersion",

abstract = "A new measure of dispersion is introduced as a representation of consensus (agreement) and dissention (disagreement). Building on the generally accepted Shannon entropy, this measure utilizes a probability distribution and the distance between categories to produce a value spanning the unit interval. The measure is applied to the Likert scale (or any ordinal scale) to determine degrees of consensus or agreement. Using this measure, data on ordinal scales can be given a value of dispersion that is both logically and theoretically sound.",

author = "Tastle, {William J.} and Wierman, {Mark J.}",

year = "2007",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "45",

pages = "531--545",

journal = "International Journal of Approximate Reasoning",

issn = "0888-613X",

publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Consensus and dissention

T2 - A measure of ordinal dispersion

AU - Tastle, William J.

AU - Wierman, Mark J.

PY - 2007/8

Y1 - 2007/8

N2 - A new measure of dispersion is introduced as a representation of consensus (agreement) and dissention (disagreement). Building on the generally accepted Shannon entropy, this measure utilizes a probability distribution and the distance between categories to produce a value spanning the unit interval. The measure is applied to the Likert scale (or any ordinal scale) to determine degrees of consensus or agreement. Using this measure, data on ordinal scales can be given a value of dispersion that is both logically and theoretically sound.

AB - A new measure of dispersion is introduced as a representation of consensus (agreement) and dissention (disagreement). Building on the generally accepted Shannon entropy, this measure utilizes a probability distribution and the distance between categories to produce a value spanning the unit interval. The measure is applied to the Likert scale (or any ordinal scale) to determine degrees of consensus or agreement. Using this measure, data on ordinal scales can be given a value of dispersion that is both logically and theoretically sound.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34249938123&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34249938123&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024

DO - 10.1016/j.ijar.2006.06.024

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:34249938123

VL - 45

SP - 531

EP - 545

JO - International Journal of Approximate Reasoning

JF - International Journal of Approximate Reasoning

SN - 0888-613X

IS - 3

ER -