Measurement Levels, Interval

An interval-level scale is a sophisticated form of scaling that assumes that the distances between the points of measurement are meaningful. Interval scales are more sophisticated than ordinal scales because the distances between the points of measurement are assumed to be of equal size. Equal unit size assumes that the distance between 2 and 3 is the same as the distance between 5 and 6 on a 7-point scale. Thus, with an interval-level scale, a researcher can claim that one observation is greater or less than another and specify by how many units. The additional information about the distance between points allows for more meaningful conclusions to be drawn than from an ordinal or nominal scale. Interval scaling is less sophisticated than ratio ...

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