Escalamiento Multidimensional

The present chapter offers a conceptual approach to the Multidimensional Scalling technique (MDS), which is a popular statistical technique applied in social science and behavioural research in order to uncover underlying patterns in judgments made by individuals, based on a system of proximities and distances among these judgments (Arce, De Francisco Arce, 2010). These attributions are represented on a dispersion graphic or "perceptual map" in which the axis represent latent dimensions and the points represent opinions, beliefs or estimations present in subjects. Distances between groups of points reflect subjective distances among the responses collected from subjects in a sample. The chapter explores some emprical examples and areas of application, and facilitates comprehension.