Measurement Scales

 

Measurement Scales- Types of Measurement Scale include:

Interval Scale

• The interval scale is a type of measurement scale where the interval between successive points can be measured using a defined numerical scale, however, the zero point does not indicate the absence of the characteristic being measured, but is arbitrary or undefined. Calendar time and temperature, in degrees centigrade, are examples of interval scales.
• Examples of interval scales are fairly rare, but it is important to recognize them because some mathematical operations, including multiplication and division, are not valid for interval scales.
• A scale that has the characteristics of an interval scale, but also zero does indicate the absence of the characteristic being measured (eg. length, weight) is known as a Ratio Scale.

Nominal Scale

• The nominal scale is a type of measurement scale. Nominal data are data that can be placed into categories, but those categories do not have a natural order eg. red, yellow, green, blue. This contrasts with the ordinal scale where there is a natural order eg. good, better, best.

Ordinal Scale

• The ratio scale is a measurement scale where the interval between successive points can be measured using a defined numerical scale and where the zero point means the absence of the characteristic being measured.
• Weight is measured using a ratio scale because zero weight means the absence of weight. A measurement scale that has the same characteristics except that zero does not mean the absence of the character is called an Interval Scale.

Ratio Scale

• The ratio scale is a measurement scale where the interval between successive points can be measured using a defined numerical scale and where the zero point means the absence of the characteristic being measured.
• Weight is measured using a ratio scale because zero weight means the absence of weight. A measurement scale that has the same characteristics except that zero does not mean the absence of the character is called an Interval Scale.

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