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Level of measurement or scale of measure is a classification that describes the nature of information within the values assigned to variables. [1] Psychologist Stanley Smith Stevens developed the best-known classification with four levels, or scales, of measurement: nominal , ordinal , interval , and ratio .
For example, a scaling technique might involve estimating individuals' levels of extraversion, or the perceived quality of products. Certain methods of scaling permit estimation of magnitudes on a continuum, while other methods provide only for relative ordering of the entities. The level of measurement is the type of data that is measured.
At the micro level, also referred to as the local level, the research population typically is an individual in their social setting or a small group of individuals in a particular social context. Examples of micro levels of analysis include, but are not limited to, the following individual analysis type approach:
The format of a typical five-level Likert item, for example, could be: Strongly disagree; Disagree; Neither agree nor disagree; Agree; Strongly agree; Likert scaling is a bipolar scaling method, measuring either positive or negative response to a statement. Sometimes an even-point scale is used, where the middle option of "neither agree nor ...
Ordinal data is a categorical, statistical data type where the variables have natural, ordered categories and the distances between the categories are not known. [1]: 2 These data exist on an ordinal scale, one of four levels of measurement described by S. S. Stevens in 1946.
For example, methods based on covariance matrices are typically employed on the premise that numbers, such as raw scores derived from assessments, are measurements. Such approaches implicitly entail Stevens's definition of measurement, which requires only that numbers are assigned according to some rule.
The measurement of a property may be categorized by the following criteria: type, magnitude, unit, and uncertainty. [citation needed] They enable unambiguous comparisons between measurements. The level of measurement is a taxonomy for the methodological character of a comparison. For example, two states of a property may be compared by ratio ...
The appropriate statistical feature to maximize or minimize to obtain estimates depends on the variables' levels of measurement (estimation is generally easier with interval level measurements than with nominal or ordinal measures), and where a specific variable appears in the model (e.g. endogenous dichotomous variables create more estimation ...