Scale Construction Decisions
- What level of data is involved (nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio)?
- What will the results be used for?
- Should you use a scale, index, or typology?
- What types of statistical analysis would be useful?
- Should you use a comparative scale or a noncomparative scale?
- How many scale divisions or categories should be used (1 to 10; 1 to 7; −3 to +3)?
- Should there be an odd or even number of divisions? (Odd gives neutral center value; even forces respondents to take a non-neutral position.)
- What should the nature and descriptiveness of the scale labels be?
- What should the physical form or layout of the scale be? (graphic, simple linear, vertical, horizontal)
- Should a response be forced or be left optional?
Read more about this topic: Scale (social Sciences)
Famous quotes containing the words scale, construction and/or decisions:
“There is something in us, somehow, that, in the most degraded condition, we snatch at a chance to deceive ourselves into a fancied superiority to others, whom we suppose lower in the scale than ourselves.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than convictions.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“No one ever promised me it would be easy and it’s not. But I also get many rewards from seeing my children grow, make strong decisions for themselves, and set out on their own as independent, strong, likeable human beings. And I like who I am becoming, too. Having teenagers has made me more human, more flexible, more humble, more questioning—and, finally it’s given me a better sense of humor!”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 4 (1978)