Social Research Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Home
Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2012-24, Social Research Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/
This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for additions or amendments.
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Scale
A scale is a measurement device and scaling is the process of assigning numerical values to objects of study.
In the social sciences such objects of study include characteristics of individuals, stimulii to behaviour, responses to questions, etc.
An appropriate measurement scale (or level of measurement) must be used to reflect the kind of data being used.
The basic assumption of any attempt at scaling is that the objects being scaled are characterised some kind of underlying continuum.
Such continua may have a single dimension (unidimensional) or several dimensions (multidimensional).
Some commentators regard scaling as referring to the activity of assigning values only where the underlying continua is latent, that is, it is postulated and is not directly observable. So the measurement of time using a chronometer would not be an example of scaling, in this sense.
Scaling normally refers to ordered scales and would not then include simple categorisation of data into nominal classes as no continuum is implied in such cases (or else the data would presumabaly be ordinal).
Attitude measurement is an attempt to scale attitudes.
See also
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