Measurement scales of variables

1. As part of a test preparation course, students are asked to take a practice

version of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). This is a standardized
test. Scores can range from 200 to 800 with a population mean of 500 and a
population standard deviation of 100.

Choose the appropriate scale of measurement

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Approximately
Interval

GRE scores have the properties of identity, magnitude and equal intervals
between scale points.

2. Children in elementary school are evaluated and classified as non-readers

(0), beginning readers (1), grade level readers (2), or advanced readers
(3). The classification is done in order to place them in reading groups.
Choose the appropriate scale of measurement

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Approximately
Interval
The numbers identify and order the level of reading skill. They have the
properties of identity and magnitude.

3. During a clinical interview, survivors of a tornado are asked to state “no”

or “yes” to whether they have experienced specific symptoms of Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the past week. The number “0” is
assigned to “no” and the number “1” is assigned to “yes”.

Choose the appropriate scale of measurement

Nominal
 Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Approximately
Interval
The numbers in this rating system identify the presence or absence of a
symptom in the past week. The only numerical property of this scale is
identity.

4. Emory University wants to know which dormitories the students

prefer. The administration counts the number of applications for each
dorm. Administrators assign a rank to each dorm based on the number of
applications received.

Choose the appropriate scale of measurement

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Approximately Interval
Your Answer: Interval
Sorry, this is incorrect. This ranking system identifies and orders student
preferences but the interval between each rank is not equal. It does not tell
us how much each dorm is preferred (or not) over the others.
Ordinal, Correct. This ranking system has the properties of identity and
magnitude.

5. During a clinical interview, survivors of a tornado are asked to state “no”

or “yes” to whether they have experienced specific symptoms of Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the past week. The interviewer adds
up the total number of “yes” responses to create a Total PTSD Symptoms
scale.

Choose the appropriate scale of measurement.

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
 Ratio
Approximately
Interval
Correct. Counting the number of "yes" responses creates a scale with the
properties of identity, magnitude, equal interval, and true zero. The "0"
score is a true zero indicating that the person interviewed reported
experiencing no symptoms of PTSD in the past week.

Nominal, sorry, this is incorrect. The yes/no responses to each symptom are
measured on a nominal scale, but the total score counts of the number of yes
responses.

1. The abstract number properties that apply to ordinal scales are identity and magnitude.
True
False

2. Interval scales are exactly like ratio scales, except that they have a true zero point.
True
False

3. The nominal scale of measurement classifies objects into mutually exclusive categories.
True
False

4. The abstract number properties that apply to interval scale of measurement include identity,
magnitude, equal interval, and summation.
True
False
Incorrect. Interval data have properties of identity, magnitude, and equal interval; there is no true zero
point.

5. Your local police force wants to install cameras that can "catch" drivers who run red lights.
They choose a busy intersection, install a test camera, and determine whether each car stops safely
or "runs" the light. Choose the correct scale of measurement.
a. Ratio.
b. Nominal.
c. Interval.
d. Ordinal.
e. Approximately interval.

6. Your counseling center uses a standardized interest inventory as part of its career-counseling
program. The test yields t scores on 20 different interest areas. The population mean for each area
is 50, and the standard deviation is 10. What scale of measurement is most likely for this
standardized test?
a. Ratio.
b. Ordinal.
c. Nominal.
d. Approximately interval.
e. Interval.

7. You are interested in whether women who participated in a company-based mentor program
were satisfied with their experience. You find a short questionnaire that asks women to rate their
satisfaction (on a 4-point Likert scale) with eight different areas of mentoring (e.g., giving advice,
networking, and providing emotional support). The scoring system averages responses across all
eight areas. This questionnaire uses which scale of measurement?
a. Ordinal.
b. Nominal.
c. Approximately interval.
d. Ratio.
e. Interval.
Incorrect. Multiple Likert ratings are averaged; this is an approximately interval scale.

8. School administrators sponsor a study of bullying on elementary school playgrounds. Trained

observers record the number of incidents of aggression that occur during consecutive 10-minute
periods. Aggression is measured on which of the following scales of measurement?
a. Ordinal.
b. Nominal.
c. Ratio.
d. Interval.
e. Approximately interval.

9. Every 10 years, the federal government sponsors a national survey of health and health
practices (NHANES). One question in the survey asks participants to rate their overall health
using a 5-point rating scale. What is the scale of measurement used for this question?
a. Nominal.
b. Ratio.
c. Approximately interval.
d. Interval.
e. Ordinal.
Incorrect. This is a single Likert item; the scale is ordinal.
 Scales of Measurement

One of the most influential distinctions made in the field of

measurement was Stevens' (1946, 1957) classification of scales

of measurement. He described nominal, ordinal, interval, and

ratio scales of measurement, which are briefly defined below. A

more detailed discussion of these scales can be found in

Chapter 4 of the text.

 Nominal: Nominal scales are naming scales. They

represent categories where there is no basis for ordering

the categories.

 Ordinal: Ordinal scales involve categories that can be

ordered along a dimension. However, we have no way of

knowing how different the categories are from one

another. We state the latter property by saying that we do

not have equal intervals between the items. Rankings also

represent ordinal scales, because we know the order but

do not know how different each person is from the next

person.
  Interval: Interval scales are very similar to standard

numbering scales, except that they do not have a true

zero. That means that the distance between successive

numbers is equal, but that the number zero does NOT

mean that there is none of the property being measured.

Many measures that involve psychological scales,

especially those that use a form of normal standardization

(e.g., IQ), are assumed to be interval scales of

measurement.

 Ratio: Ratio scales are the easiest to understand, because

they are numbers as we usually think of them. The

distance between adjacent numbers are equal on a ratio

scale and the score of zero on the ratio scale means that

there is none of whatever is being measured. Most ratio

scales are counts of things.

The most important reason for making the distinction between

these scales of measurement is that it affects the statistical

procedures that you will use in describing and analyzing your

data.

In this unit, we will be presenting dozens of examples of

measures at each of these levels of measurement, along with

some exercises to help you to refine your understanding of

these distinctions. We recommend that you complete the

exercises since the best way to learn anything is to actively

process the information by using it to solve real-life problems.

Examples of Each Scale of Measurement

Listed below are several examples of each scale of

measurement. We have focused on frequently used

psychological variables to help illustrate what each of the scales

represent. We have tried to provide a wide variety of examples

to help make these distinctions clear for you.

Nominal Scale Examples

 diagnostic categories

 sex of the participant

 classification based on discrete characteristics (e.g., hair

color)

 group affiliation (e.g., Republican, Democrat, Boy Scout,

etc.)

 the town people live in

 a person's name
  an arbitrary identification, including identification

numbers that are arbitrary

 menu items selected

 any yes/no distinctions

 most forms of classification (species of animals or type of

tree)

 location of damage in the brain

Ordinal Scale Examples

 any rank ordering

 class ranks

 social class categories

 order of finish in a race

Interval Scale Examples

 scores on scales that are standardized (i.e., with an

arbitrary mean and standard deviation, usually designed

to always give a positive score)

 scores on scales that are known to not have a true zero

(e.g., most temperature scales except for the Kelvin Scale)

  scores on measures in which it is not clear that zero means

none of the trait (e.g., a math test)

 scores on most personality scales based on counting the

number of endorsed items

Ratio Scale Examples

 time to complete a task

 number of responses given in a specified time period

 weight of an object

 size of an object

 number of objects detected

 number of errors made in a specified time period

 proportion of responses in a specified category

Exercises

Listed below are a number of exercises designed to familiarize

students with the classification of measures using Stevens'

classification system. For each of the measures listed, determine

what scale of measurement most closely approximates the

measure as described. Some of the examples are deliberately

ambiguous. To find out the correct answer, click on the word

answer at the end of the description of the item.

1. the number of questions asked by a customer during a

simulated encounter with a salesperson answer

2. the religious group that one affiliates with answer

3. the time it takes to complete a checking task answer

4. the score on a 35-item scale of ambivalence answer

5. the rank of a person's salary within the company answer

6. rank order based on IQ score in the sample answer

7. the square footage of each participant's house or

apartment answer

8. the size of the cerebellum expressed as a volume answer

9. the number of frustrated comments made during a

laboratory negotiation task answer

10. the time it takes for a couple to resolve a custody issue

during court ordered mediation answer

11. score on the Beck Depression Inventory (a pencil and

paper depression scale) answer

12. ratings of anger shown by those involved in courtroom

testimony answer

13. the number of pound lost during a six-week diet answer

14. the proportion of weight lost during a six-week

diet answer

15. the heart rate of the participant answer

16. the percent shift in heart rate over baseline during an

emotionally demanding task answer

17. the percent of errors made on a classification task answer

18. the number of false alarm responses in a monitoring

task answer

19. the types of grammatical errors made in a writing

sample answer

20. one's ice cream preference answer

21. how quickly a person gives up on an impossible task that

looks like it should be possible answer

22. a student's SAT score answer

23. the percentile rank from an achievement test answer

24. the type of categorization errors in a sorting task answer

25. the pattern of scores on the MMPI personality

inventory answer

26. the age at which one went on his or her first date answer

27. the number of children in your family answer

28. the score on an anxiety sensitivity scale answer

29. whether one has a pet answer

30. the teacher's rankings of cooperativeness in the

classroom answer