MEASUREMENT IN RESEARCH
In our daily life we are said to measure when we use some yardstick to
determine weight, height, or some other feature of a physical object. We
also measure when we judge how well we like a song, a painting or the
personalities of our friends. We, thus, measure physical objects as well
as abstract concepts. Measurement is a relatively complex and
demanding task, specially so when it concerns qualitative or abstract
phenomena. By measurement we mean the process of assigning numbers
to objects or observations, the level of measurement being a function of
the rules under which the numbers are assigned.
MEASUREMENT SCALES
From what has been stated above, we can write that scales
of measurement can be considered in terms of their
mathematical properties. The most widely used
classification of measurement scales are:
1. nominal scale;
2. ordinal scale;
3. interval scale;
4. ratio scale.
1. Nominal scale:
Nominal scale is simply a system of assigning number symbols to events in order to label
them. The usual example of this is the assignment of numbers of basketball players in
order to identify them. Such numbers cannot be considered to be associated with an
ordered scale for their order is of no consequence; the numbers are just convenient labels
for the particular class of events and as such have no quantitative value. Nominal scales
provide convenient ways of keeping track of people, objects and events. One cannot do
much with the numbers involved. For example, one cannot usefully average the numbers
on the back of a group of football players and come up with a meaningful value. Neither
can one usefully compare the numbers assigned to one group with the numbers assigned
to another.
The counting of members in each group is the only possible arithmetic operation
when a nominal scale is employed. Accordingly, we are restricted to use mode as
the measure of central tendency. There is no generally used measure of dispersion
for nominal scales. Chi-square test is the most common test of statistical
significance that can be utilized, and for the measures of correlation, the
contingency coefficient can be worked out. Nominal scale is the least powerful
level of measurement. It indicates no order or distance relationship and has no
arithmetic origin. A nominal scale simply describes differences between things by
assigning them to categories. Nominal data are, thus, counted data. The scale
wastes any information that we may have about varying degrees of attitude, skills,
understandings, etc. In spite of all this, nominal scales are still very useful and are
widely used in surveys and other ex-post-facto research when data are being
classified by major sub-groups of the population.
2. Ordinal scale:
The lowest level of the ordered scale that is commonly used is the ordinal scale. The
ordinal scale places events in order, but there is no attempt to make the intervals of the
scale equal in terms of some rule. Rank orders represent ordinal scales and are
frequently used in research relating to qualitative phenomena. A student’s rank in his
graduation class involves the use of an ordinal scale. One has to be very careful in
making statement about scores based on ordinal scales. For instance, if Ram’s position
in his class is 10 and Mohan’s position is 40, it cannot be said that Ram’s position is
four times as good as that of Mohan. The statement would make no sense at all.
Ordinal scales only permit the ranking of items from highest to lowest. Ordinal
measures have no absolute values, and the real differences between adjacent ranks may
not be equal. All that can be said is that one person is higher or lower on the scale than
another, but more precise comparisons cannot be made.
Thus, the use of an ordinal scale implies a statement of ‘greater than’ or
‘less than’ (an equality statement is also acceptable) without our being
able to state how much greater or less. The real difference between ranks
1 and 2 may be more or less than the difference between ranks 5 and 6.
Since the numbers of this scale have only a rank meaning, the
appropriate measure of central tendency is the median. A percentile or
quartile measure is used for measuring dispersion. Correlations are
restricted to various rank order methods. Measures of statistical
significance are restricted to the non-parametric methods.
3. Interval scale
In the case of interval scale, the intervals are adjusted in terms of
some rule that has been established as a basis for making the units equal.
The units are equal only in so far as one accepts the assumptions on
which the rule is based. Interval scales can have an arbitrary zero, but it
is not possible to determine for them what may be called an absolute zero
or the unique origin. The primary limitation of the interval scale is the
lack of a true zero; it does not have the capacity to measure the complete
absence of a trait or characteristic. The Fahrenheit scale is an
example of an interval scale and shows similarities in what
one can and cannot do with it.
One can say that an increase in temperature from 30° to
40° involves the same increase in temperature as an increase
from 60° to 70°, but one cannot say that the temperature of
60° is twice as warm as the temperature of 30° because both
numbers are dependent on the fact that the zero on the scale is
set arbitrarily at the temperature of the freezing point of water.
The ratio of the two temperatures, 30° and 60°,,means nothing
because zero is an arbitrary point. Interval scales provide
more powerful measurement than ordinal scales for interval scale
also incorporates the concept of equality of interval.
As such more powerful statistical measures can be used
with interval scales. Mean is the appropriate measure of
central tendency, while standard deviation is the most widely
used measure of dispersion. Product moment correlation
techniques are appropriate and the generally used tests for
statistical significance are the ‘t’ test and ‘F’ test.
4. Ratio scale
Ratio scales have an absolute or true zero of measurement. The term ‘absolute
zero’ is not as precise as it was once believed to be. We can conceive of an
absolute zero of length and similarly we can conceive of an absolute zero of time.
For example, the zero point on a centimeter scale indicates the complete absence
of length or height. But an absolute zero of temperature is theoretically
unobtainable and it remains a concept existing only in the scientist’s mind. The
number of minor traffic-rule violations and the number of incorrect letters in a
page of type script represent scores on ratio scales. Both these scales have
absolute zeros and as such all minor traffic violations and all typing errors can be
assumed to be equal in significance.
With ratio scales involved one can make statements like “Jyoti’s” typing
performance was twice as good as that of “Reetu.” The ratio involved does
have significance and facilitates a kind of comparison which is not possible in
case of an interval scale. Ratio scale represents the actual amounts of variables.
Measures of physical dimensions such as weight, height, distance, etc. are
examples. Generally, all statistical techniques are usable with ratio scales and
all manipulations that one can carry out with real numbers can also be carried
out with ratio scale values. Multiplication and division can be used with this
scale but not with other scales mentioned above. Geometric and harmonic
means can be used as measures of central tendency and coefficients of
variation may also be calculated.
