An R package and tutorial for case 2 best–worst scaling

Abstract

Case 2 (profile case) best–worst scaling (BWS) is a question-based survey method for measuring preferences for attribute levels. Several existing R packages help to implement the construction of Case 2 BWS questions (profiles) and the discrete choice analysis of the responses to the questions. Structuring the dataset for Case 2 BWS analysis is, however, complicated: there are several model variants for the analysis, and independent variables are set according to the variants. This complexity makes it difficult for non-expert users to prepare datasets for Case 2 BWS analysis. To improve the capability of R with respect to Case 2 BWS and facilitate easier data analysis, the package support.BWS2 has been developed. The package provides a function to map raw survey data into a format suitable for analysis, and also includes other useful functions, such as a function to calculate count-based BWS scores. A free online tutorial for Case 2 BWS in R has also been made available. These works make it easier for those new to Case 2 BWS to complete research using R, and facilitate the use of Case 2 BWS in various research fields.