While critics note that measuring perceptions of corruption is not the same as measuring corruption itself, the latter is almost impossible to do - as the corrupt are usually keen to cover up their tracks, hard data on graft and bribery is notoriously difficult to come by.

The concept of measuring global perceptions of countries across several dimensions (culture, governance, people, exports, tourism, investment and immigration) was developed by Simon Anholt.

On a 2006 index compiled by Transparency International that measures perceptions of how corrupt countries are, Germany ranks 16th, suggesting it is more corrupt than Austria, Sweden or Britain.

The association also said its affordability index, which measures perceptions of travel costs, fell 18.3 percent in the second quarter, showing there is a greater concern among consumers that travel has become expensive.

Although SERVQUAL's face and construct validity are in doubt, it is widely used in published and modified forms to measure customer expectations and perceptions of service quality.

That is the lowest rating he has received since the Times/CBS News Poll began measuring public perceptions of him in October 1991.

Early hostile media effect studies measured perceptions of a media message designed to be unbiased.

Over the last 30 years, the Eurobarometer has been a very useful tool for measuring public opinion, perceptions and orientations.