Measurement Scales Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Measurement Scales - Research Paper Example The scale is often employed in labelling variables that lack any quantitative value such as the human gender, which fundamentally presents itself in two forms that is the male and female (Kendall et al, 2012). Additionally, nominal scales are used while placing data into categories without adhering to any order or structure. Physical examples of a nominal scale are the terms used for colors, as the underlying spectrum normally appear ordered while the names are nominal. Nominal scales are suitable for use in questionnaires, as they enable the parties involved to classify all the variables into specific groupings. At the same time, nominal scales make it easier for the researchers to analyze the collected data given that the information can be totaled. The example below demonstrates how a nominal scale can be used in a questionnaire. An ordinal scale is a feature of measurement that is used to determine non-numeric conceptions such as contentment, delight and discomfort. Under ordinal scales, the order of the values in question are the most important, implying that less significance is accorded to the difference between the variables (Aaker, 2010). Researchers have overtime reaffirmed the fact that the variables within an ordinal scale are easy to comprehend notably because they adhere to the order in which they appear. In like manner, it is far-reaching to note that the ideal way to determine the central tendency of a set of ordinal data is by using both the mode and median values and not the mean. Ordinal scales are normally used when analyzing data derived from questionnaires majorly because they ease the process of classification. Similarly, ordinal scales imply rank ordering as validated in the portion below. The term interval refers to the difference between two values. Interval scales are hence defined as the numeric scales that indicate both the