Levels

Levels of
of
Measurement
Measurement
Levels of
Measurement

Data Collection
Methods
 Group
Activity 4
 Levels of
Measurement
 Nominal
arises when we have variables
that are categorical
and non-numeric or where the
numbers have no sense of
ordering
 Nominal
Examples:
sex, marital status,
religious affiliation
 Ordinal
deals with categorical variables
like the nominal level, but in this
level, ordering is important.
 Ordinal
Examples:
socio economic status (A to E, where A is
wealthy, E is poor), difficulty of questions in
an exam (easy, medium difficult), rank in a a
contest (first place, second place, etc.), and
perceptions in Likert scales.
 Interval
tells us that one unit differs
by a certain amount of
degree from another unit.
 Interval
Zero is arbitrary as it does not
mean the value does not exist.
Zero only represents an
additional measurement point.
 Interval
Examples:
IQ Level, Temperature
 Ratio
tells us that one unit has so
many times as much of the
property as does another
unit.
 Ratio
The ratio level possesses a
meaningful (unique and non-
arbitrary) absolute, fixed zero
point and allows all arithmetic
operations.
 Ratio
Examples:
mass, heights, weights, energy
and electric charge
 Take Note!
BASIC EMPIRICAL
LEVEL PROPERTY OPERATION
Nominal No order, distance, origin Determination of equivalence
Has order but no distance or unique Determination of greater and
Ordinal
origin lesser values

Both with order and distance but Determination of equality of

Interval
no true zero intervals or difference

Has order, distance and has true Determination of equality of

Ratio
zero ratios or means
Data Collection
Methods
 Objective

Methods
Primary
of Subjective
Data
Collection Use of Existing
Secondary Records
 Objective
uses any or combination of
the five senses (sense of sight,
touch, hearing, taste and
smell) to measure the
variable.
 Subjective
obtains data by getting
responses through a
questionnaire.
Use of existing records
uses secondary
data
 Take Note!
• Four levels of measurement: Nominal,
Ordinal, Interval and Ratio
• Knowing what level the variable was
measured or observed will guide us to
know the type of analysis to apply.
 Take Note!
• Three methods of data collection include
objective, subjective and use of existing
records.
• Using the data collection method as basis,
data can be classified as either primary or
secondary data.
 Group
Activity 5