This document discusses different levels of measurement used in research. There are four main levels - nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Nominal measurement involves categorizing items without rank or order. Ordinal measurement ranks items but the distances between ranks are unknown. Interval measurement involves equal distances between ranks. Ratio measurement has a true zero point and allows for proportional comparisons. The key differences between quantitative and qualitative measurement are that quantitative research involves pre-defined variables while qualitative explores concepts during data collection.

1. Levels of Measurement

2. Why measure
• Physical World: weight, temperature ,volume, and
speed
• Such precise well developed measures, which we use in
our daily life are fundamental in natural sciences
• We also measure the non physical world in everyday
life , but in less exact terms.
• For e.g the restaurant is excellent, Rajiv is really smart ,
Karen has a negative attitude towards life , yesterdays
movie had a lot of violence, etc . However such
everyday judgments as ‘really prejudiced’, or ‘lot of
violence’ are imprecise, vague, or intuitive measures.

3. • Measurement also extends our senses. The astronomer
or biologist uses the telescope or the microscope to
extend natural vision . In contrast to our senses,
scientific measurement is more sensitive , varies less
with the specific observer and yield more specific and
precise information about temperature that touch can .
• In addition measurement helps people observe what is
otherwise invisible .Measurement extends human
senses. It lets us observe things that were once unseen
and unknown but were predicted by theory.

4. What to measure
• Before you can measure , you need a clear idea
about what you are interested in…..
• For e.g you cannot see or feel magnetism with
your natural senses . Magnetism comes from
theory about the physical world . You observe its
effects indirectly . Natural scientists have
invented thousands of measures to “see” very tiny
things(molecules) or very large things(huge
geological land masses or planets) that are not
observable through ordinary senses.

5. • Some of the things a social researcher is
interested in measuring are easy to see(e. g age,
sex , colour etc) but most cannot be directly
observed (e.g attitudes, ideology, deviance etc)
• Like the natural scientist who invents indirect
measures of the “invisible” objects and forces of
the physical world , the social researcher devises
measures for difficult –to-observe aspects of the
real world .

6. Quantitative and Qualitative
Measurement
• Both the methods use careful, systematic methods to
gather high quality data.
• In both styles data are empirical representations of
concepts, and measurement links data to concepts
• Yet differences in the style of research and the types of
data mean they approach the measurement process
differently.
• Designing measures of variables is a vital step in
planning a study for quantitative researches .
Qualitative researches measure with a wide variety of
techniques .

7. Differences
1) Quantitative researchers think about variables and
convert them into specific actions during a planning stage
that occurs before and separate from gathering and
analyzing data
Qualitative researchers measure during the data
collection process
2) The second difference involves the data itself .
Quantitative researchers develop techniques that produce
data in the form of numbers . The researcher moves
deductively from abstract ideas , to specific data
collection techniques, to precise numerical information
produced by the techniques. The numerical information is
an empirical representation of the abstract ideas.

8. Data for qualitative researchers sometimes is
ith form of numbers, ;more often , it includes
written or spoken words , actions, sounds,
symbols , physical objects or visual images
(e.g maps, pics, videos etc) . The qualitative
researcher does not convert all observation into
a single , common medium such as numbers .
Instead he or she may develop many flexible
ongoing processes that leave data in various
shapes , sizes and forms.

9. • Quantitative researchers contemplate and reflect
on concepts before they gather any data. They
construct measurement techniques that bridge
concepts and data.
• Qualitative researchers also reflect on ideas
before data collection , but they develop many, if
not most , of their concepts during data collection
They examine and reflects on the data and
concepts simultaneously and interactively.

10. Parts of the Measurement process
• When a researcher measures , he or she takes a concept , idea or construct
and develop a measure (i.e a technique, a process, a procedure etc) by
which he or she can observe the idea empirically . Quantitative researchers
begin with an abstract idea , follow with a measurement procedure and end
with empirical data that represent the ideas.
• Qualitative researchers primarily begin with empirical data, follow with
abstract ideas , relate ideas and data, and end with a mixture of ideas and
data.
• As a quantitative researcher develops measures , the constructs become
refined and clearer, and as the researcher applies the measures to gather
data, he or she often adjusts the measurement technique .
• As a qualitative researcher gathers data , he or she uses some pre-existing
ideas to assist in data collection , and will then mix old with new ideas that
are developed from the data .

11. • All researchers use two process
• Conceptualizations : The process of developing clear,
rigorous, systematic conceptual definition for abstract
ideas or concepts
• A conceptual definition is a definition in abstract ,
theoretical terms
• Operationalization in measurement : the process of
moving from a construct’s conceptual definition to
specific activities or measures that allow a researcher
to observe it empirically

12. Levels of measurement/Types of
Scales
• Scaling is “progressively arranging series of
items according to value or magnitude into
which an item can be placed according to its
quantification .”
• Its purpose is to represent quantitatively item’s
(person’s) place in the
spectrum(Zikmund,1988:256-57)

13. • The scales have been classified on two bases , one of
which is mathematical comparison basis . On this
basis four types of scales given are : nominal, ordinal,
interval and ratio. These are also called four levels of
measurement .
• On the other basis , four types of scales given are :
Bogardus, Thurstone, Likert and Guttman .

14. Nominal Scale
• This scale classifies individuals into two or more categories ,
the members of which differ w.r.t to the specific characteristic.
However the categories have no rank order, e.g males and
females , illiterate and educated , young and old, rural and
urban, rich and poor and the like .
• The rules for assigning numerals in nominal measurement are
simple . All the members of a set are assigned the same
numeral and no two sets are assigned the same numeral.
• For eg : males 1 , females 2
• They cannot be ranked ; they cannot be added

15. Ordinal Scale
• This scale ranks individuals along the continuum of the
characteristic being scaled say from highest to lowest , greatest to
least , first to last .
• For ex: asking a young girl to rate three boys A, B and C on their
suitability (as good , better, best, undecided) on a scale of 1 to 10
• A-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
• B- 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
• C-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
• The ordinal scale thus provides a rank order of categories and
arranges objects according to their magnitude in an ordered
relationship .
• It does not describe the distance or interval between the elements
/individuals

16. Interval Scale
• This scale has equal units of measurement which enables to
interpret the distances between them .The distance between
each of the numbers or units on the scale is equal and the
direction (greater, equal or less ) is known.
• Suppose two students one with an IQ of 100 and other with
IQ of 125.
• In nominal terms , this means that they have different IQ.
• In ordinal terms the first student has a lower IQ than the
second .
• In interval terms the IQ of second student is 25 percent
higher than the first student .
• In ratio terms , the ratio of the IQ of two students is 1:1.25

17. Ratio Scale
• This is the scale which has an absolute zero
point of origin and which explains proportion
of one value to another.
• For eg : the ratio of salay of a newly appointed
lecturer and a professor is 1:2 ie when a lecture
gets Rs 14,000 per month , a professor gets Rs
28,000.
• It is also referred to as absolute scales

18. A summary of scaling techniques
Criteria Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio
Properties of
measurement
Naming Naming and
ranking
Naming, ranking
and equal
intervals
Naming, ranking
and equal
intervals and
zero point
Nature of
measurement
Categorical Ranking Scoring Scoring
Examples Gender: M and
F
Residence: Rural
and urban
Caste: high ,
intermediate
Income: Upper ,
middle and low
IQ of A is 25%
higher than B
Age: A is twice
as old as B
IQ of A to B is
1:1.15
Nature of
underlying
construct
Discrete Discrete or
continuous
continuous continuous
Mathematical
function
None None Addition and
subtraction
Addition ,
subtraction,