The Measurement of Valuation

Abstract

Researchers often wish to understand how much consumers value a product. To do this, they need to decide on the best way to determine these valuations. Past research in social sciences has developed various elicitation tasks to capture valuations. In this paper, we review that research and offer guidelines for best practices in measuring valuations. We begin with a discussion of the challenges in gauging valuations. We then critically review the different methods for measuring valuations, discussing the strengths and limitations of each. From this review, we develop guidelines for designing studies to assess valuations. Our guidelines focus on three key considerations: (1) selecting the sample for eliciting valuations, (2) determining how to present information to participants, and (3) taking into account research goals and constraints. Our aim is to improve the quality of studies measuring valuations, helping researchers draw more accurate inferences from their work.