Chapter 11

MEASUREMENT

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives

Understand . . .
The distinction between measuring objects,
properties, and indicants of properties.
The similarities and differences between the four
scale types used in measurement and when each
is used.
The four major sources of measurement error.
The criteria for evaluating good measurement.

11-2
Pull Quote

“You’re trying too hard to find a correlation

here. You don’t know these people, you
don’t know what they intended. You try to
compile statistics and correlate them to a
result that amounts to nothing more than
speculation.”

Marc Racicot, former governor of Montana

and chairman of the Republican Party
11-3
Review of Terms

Operational
Concept Construct Variable
Definition

11-4
Measurement

Select
measurable phenomena

Develop a set of
mapping rules

Apply the mapping rule

to each phenomenon

11-5
Characteristics of Measurement

11-6
Types of Scales

Nominal
Nominal

Ordinal
Ordinal

interval
interval

Ratio
Ratio

11-7
Levels of Measurement

Classification
Classification
Nominal
Nominal

Ordinal
Ordinal

interval
interval

Ratio
Ratio

11-8
Nominal Scales

Mutually
Mutually Exclusive
Exclusive

Collectively
Collectively Exhaustive
Exhaustive Categories
Categories

Classification
Classification Only
Only

11-9
Levels of Measurement

Classification
Classification
Nominal
Nominal

Classification
Classification
Ordinal
Ordinal Order
Order

interval
interval

Ratio
Ratio

11-10
Ordinal Scales

Nominal
Nominal Scale
Scale Characteristics
Characteristics

Order
Order

Implies
Implies greater
greater than
than or
or less
less than
than

11-11
Levels of Measurement

Classification
Classification
Nominal
Nominal

Classification
Classification
Ordinal
Ordinal Order
Order
Classification
Classification Distance
Distance
interval
interval Order
Order

Ratio
Ratio

11-12
Interval Scales

Ordinal
Ordinal Scale
Scale Characteristics
Characteristics

Equality
Equality of
of interval
interval

Equality
Equality of
of distance
distance between
between numbers
numbers

11-13
Levels of Measurement

Classification
Classification
Nominal
Nominal

Classification
Classification
Ordinal
Ordinal Order
Order
Classification
Classification Distance
Distance
interval
interval Order
Order
Classification
Classification Distance
Distance
Ratio
Ratio Order
Order Natural
NaturalOrigin
Origin

11-14
Ratio Scales

Interval
Interval Scale
Scale Characteristics
Characteristics

Absolute
Absolute Zero
Zero

11-15
Examples of Data Scales

11-16
From
Investigative to
Measurement
Questions

11-17
Sources of Error

Respondent Situation

Measurer Instrument

11-18
Evaluating Measurement Tools

Validity

Criteria
Criteria

Practicality Reliability
Reliability

11-19
Validity Determinants

Content

Criterion Construct

11-20
Increasing Content Validity

Literature
Literature
Search Content Etc.
Etc.
Search

Expert
Expert Question
Question
Interviews
Interviews Database
Database
Group
Group
Interviews
Interviews

11-21
Validity Determinants

Content

Construct

11-22
Increasing Construct Validity

New
New measure
measure of
of trust
trust

Known
Known measure
measure of
of trust
trust

Empathy
Empathy

Credibility
Credibility

11-23
Validity Determinants

Content

Criterion Construct

11-24
Judging Criterion Validity

Relevance
Relevance

Freedom
Freedom from
from bias
bias
Criterion
Reliability
Reliability

Availability
Availability

11-25
Summary of Validity Estimates

11-26
Understanding
Validity and
Reliability

11-27
Reliability Estimates

Stability

Internal
Equivalence
Consistency

11-28
Reliability Estimates

Stability

Internal
Equivalence
Consistency

11-29
Reliability Estimates

Stability

Internal
Equivalence
Consistency

11-30
Summary of Reliability Estimates

11-31
Practicality

Economy Convenience Interpretability

11-32