levels of measurement

• what are the levels of measurement ?

  nominal, ordinal, interval
• what is nominal data ?

  frequency data, gathered by counting the frequency of occurrence of the target behaviour. discrete data because it is not on a scale of measurement e.g tally charts
• what is ordinal data ?

  continuous data as it represents scores along a scale. scale of measurement has exact quantities between points. allows you to rank order participants
• what is interval data ?

  continuous data but the scale of measurement features exact and equal intervals between points on a scale. each point on the scale represents equal quantities of the measured variable, telling you exactly how much each measure represents
• what is the use and evaluation of nominal data ?

  most simple and only limited calculations can be made using it. analysis is limited and superficial
• use and evaluation of ordinal data ?

  supports a more sophisticated analysis, enables comparisons using central tendency
• use and evaluation of interval data ?

  best type of data for analysis as it supports all types of calculation