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3. Levels of Measurement -

The document outlines the four levels of measurement in scientific research: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio, each representing increasing complexity and precision. Nominal data can only be categorized, while ordinal data can be ranked; interval data allows for equal spacing but lacks a true zero, and ratio data includes all previous properties with a true zero point. Understanding these levels is crucial for proper data analysis and determining valid mathematical operations.

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4 views

3. Levels of Measurement -

The document outlines the four levels of measurement in scientific research: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio, each representing increasing complexity and precision. Nominal data can only be categorized, while ordinal data can be ranked; interval data allows for equal spacing but lacks a true zero, and ratio data includes all previous properties with a true zero point. Understanding these levels is crucial for proper data analysis and determining valid mathematical operations.

Uploaded by

cristinaleonjoseline
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Levels of Measurement | Nominal, Ordinal,

Interval and Ratio


Also called scales of measurement, tell you how precisely variables are recorded. In scientific
research, a variable is anything that can take on different values across your data set (e.g.,
height or test scores).

There are 4 levels of measurement:

• Nominal: the data can only be categorized

• Ordinal: the data can be categorized and ranked

• Interval: the data can be categorized, ranked, and evenly spaced

• Ratio: the data can be categorized, ranked, evenly spaced, and has a natural zero.

Depending on the level of measurement of the variable, what you can do to analyze your data
may be limited. There is a hierarchy in the complexity and precision of the level of
measurement, from low (nominal) to high (ratio).

Nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio data

Going from lowest to highest, the 4 levels of measurement are cumulative. This means that
they each take on the properties of lower levels and add new properties.

Nominal level Examples of nominal scales

You can categorize your data by labelling them in mutually • City of birth
exclusive groups, but there is no order between the categories.
• Gender

• Ethnicity

• Car brands

• Marital status

Ordinal level Examples of ordinal scales

You can categorize and rank your data in an order, but you • Top 5 Olympic medallists
cannot say anything about the intervals between the rankings.
• Language ability (e.g.,
Although you can rank the top 5 Olympic medallists, this scale beginner, intermediate,
does not tell you how close or far apart they are in number of fluent)
wins.
• Likert-type
questions (e.g., very
dissatisfied to very
satisfied)

Interval level Examples of interval scales

https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/levels-of-measurement/
You can categorize, rank, and infer equal intervals between • Test scores (e.g., IQ or
neighboring data points, but there is no true zero point. exams)

The difference between any two adjacent temperatures is the • Personality inventories
same: one degree. But zero degrees is defined differently
• Temperature in Fahrenheit
depending on the scale – it doesn’t mean an absolute absence
or Celsius
of temperature.

The same is true for test scores and personality inventories. A


zero on a test is arbitrary; it does not mean that the test-taker
has an absolute lack of the trait being measured.

Ratio level Examples of ratio scales

You can categorize, rank, and infer equal intervals between • Height
neighboring data points, and there is a true zero point.
• Age
A true zero means there is an absence of the variable of interest.
• Weight
In ratio scales, zero does mean an absolute lack of the variable.
• Temperature in Kelvin
For example, in the Kelvin temperature scale, there are no
negative degrees of temperature – zero means an absolute lack
of thermal energy.

Practice

Identify the data set´s level of measurement

a) Hair color of women on a high school tennis team. (Nominal)

b) Numbers on the shirt of a girl soccer team. ( Nominal)

c) Ages in statistics class ratio. ( ratio )


d) Temperatures of 22 elected refrigerator. (Interval)
e) Number of pages in your statistics book. ( ratio )

f) Marriage status of the faculty at the local community college.( Nominal )

Main Difference between Types of Variables and Levels of Measurement

While the types of variables tell us what kind of data we have (qualitative or quantitative), the
levels of measurement determine how we can analyze them statistically and what
mathematical operations are valid (ordering, adding, calculating averages, etc.). The levels of
measurement are applied to organize and better understand the type of variable in an
analytical context.

https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/levels-of-measurement/
Variables represent the characteristics or properties we observe, measure, and analyze in a
dataset.

Levels of measurement define how a variable's data can be quantified, categorized, and
analyzed.

https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/levels-of-measurement/

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