Ch 12 Instrument
Types of response scales
1. Nominal
-- Answers are absolute
-- Answers are not ordinal
-- Assigning a numbers to different categories
-- Assigning numbers to the results of an instrument or test
-- Shows the differences in the distribution of scores on an
instrument or a test
-- Transfers a name to a number
-- Enables the researcher to determine the mode, percentage
values and the chi-square
Example: race, gender, species
Types of response scales (Continued 1)
• Ordinal
-- Data can be rank ordered
-- Numbers are assigned to categories
-- Intervals between scores not equal
-- Expresses relative magnitude
-- Ranks data: high to low or least to most
Example: places in a race, Likert scale data
Types of response scales (Continued 2)
• Interval
-- Scores are in equal intervals
-- Data has no absolute zero
Example: Fahrenheit temperature, IQ test scores
• Ratio
-- Data can be rank ordered
-- Data has an absolute zero
Example: centigrade temperature, length, age, percentage
• Scales are important in determining how the researcher is
going to analyze their data
• Statistical procedures are based on using certain scales
• Some scales are inappropriate for certain statistics