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For some analyses, each answer of Highest through Lowest
and Don't Know received a point-based score which was
then prorated to transform it into a percentage.
| Highest |
100 |
| High |
80 |
| Medium |
60 |
| Low |
40 |
| Lowest |
20 |
| Don't Know |
0 |
| Blank |
blank |
Consider the following example:
| Respondent |
Water Quality |
Drinking Water |
Biodiversity |
Growth Planning |
Flood Protection |
| #1 |
Highest
|
High
|
Medium |
Low |
Lowest |
| 100 |
80 |
60 |
40 |
20 |
| #2 |
High |
High |
High |
Medium |
Medium |
| 80 |
80 |
80 |
60 |
40 |
| #3 |
Medium |
Don't Know |
Medium |
High |
Don't Know |
| 60 |
0 |
60 |
80 |
0 |
| Average |
80 |
53.3 |
66.7 |
60 |
20
|
| Rank |
1 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
Each respondent has a different scheme of prioritization.
#1 uses the entire spread of points, #2 ranks everything
on the high side, #3 leaves some topics blank. In a
straight averaging situation, the topics marked "Don't
Know" are penalized and the topics with the more
inflated ranking are given an unfair advantage.
By prorating the scores, however, and turning each
point value into a percentage of the total points allotted,
we can more accurately reflect the respondents relative
priorities.
| Example |
Water Quality |
Drinking Water |
Biodiversity |
Growth Planning |
Flood Protection |
Total Points |
| #1 |
Highest
|
High
|
Medium |
Low |
Lowest |
|
| 100 |
80 |
60 |
40 |
20 |
300
|
| 33% |
27% |
20% |
13% |
7% |
|
| #2 |
High |
High |
High |
Medium |
Medium |
|
| 80 |
80 |
80 |
60 |
60 |
360 |
| 22% |
22% |
22% |
16% |
16% |
|
| #3 |
Medium |
Don't Know |
Medium |
High |
Don't Know |
|
| 60 |
0 |
60 |
80 |
0 |
200 |
| 30% |
|
30% |
40% |
|
|
| Average |
28% |
24.5% |
24% |
23% |
12% |
|
| Rank |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
As you can see in this example, the rating of "High"
in Respondent #1's scheme is rewarded with a prorated
score of 27% whereas the rating of "High"
in Respondent #2's scheme takes into consideration "score
inflation" and returns a pro-rated score of 22%.
Likewise, in #3's scheme, the rating of "High"
makes up a total 40% of all the points awarded.
For some other methods of analysis, see Sensitivity.
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