OSH 1162

Mathematics
CHAPTER 8
Levels of Measurement

SITTI RATNA CHE SOH

 Learning Objectives
• To determine levels of measurements (e.g. nominal, ordinal,
interval and ratio)

• To recognize applications associated with levels of

measurements
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
 Data is generally represented as numbers, but the numbers do
not always have the same meaning and cannot be used in the
same way.

 To distinguish the different ways in which numbers are used,

we traditionally have identified the level of measurement of
the variables as: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.

Slide 3
1. Nominal Level Variables
For nominal level variables, the
numbers are shorthand for
the categories of a variable,
e.g.

1 represents married persons,

2 represents divorced persons,
3 represents persons who have
never been married, etc.
 2. Ordinal Level Variables

Ordinal level variables are usually associated with labels as well, but the assignment
of numbers to the categories is ordered, from low to high, e.g.

•1 is assigned to high school graduates,

•2 is assigned to junior college graduates,
•3 is assigned to college graduates,
•4 is assigned to graduates with a masters degree, etc.

or from high to low:

•1 is assigned to graduates with a masters degree,

•2 is assigned to college graduates,
•3 is assigned to junior college graduates,
•4 is assigned to high school graduates , etc.

Slide 5
The legitimate mathematical operations we can perform on
ordinal data is sorting or ranking, as well as counting.

3. Interval Level Variables

Interval level variables have the additional characteristic that the
difference between numbers is the same for all possible
combinations, e.g.:
•the difference between 1 and 2 years of age is the same
amount as the difference between 21 and 22 years of age, or 50
and 51, or 65 and 66.
•the difference between a height of 60 inches and a height of 55
inches is the same amount of difference as a height of 72 inches
and a height of 67 inches.

Slide 6
4. Ratio Level Variables
Ratio level variables have the additional property of having a true zero value so that
ratios between values are meaningful, but practically speaking, ratio level data is
treated the same as interval level.
Quantitative and Categorical Variables
 The distinction between nominal and interval levels of variables is
substantial.
 The differences in the use of data at these levels has led many authors to
collapse the number of levels of measurement to two (2), substituting
terms like:

•quantitative or metric level instead of interval

•categorical, qualitative,
qualitative or non-metric instead of nominal

 In practice, ordinal level variable are sometimes treated as quantitative

and at other times as categorical.
 The numeric codes for scale variables (1=disagree, 2=neutral, 3=agree)
are generally treated as quantitative data and averaged.

Slide 9
When ordinal level variables are used as quantitative variables, we are emphasizing
the rank order of the categories, e.g. 3 ranks higher than 2 or 1, and 2 ranks higher
than 1. Since the ranks themselves are interval level data, it is argued that arithmetic
on the ordinal values is acceptable.

Multiple Variables Measuring the Same Construct

The same construct can be represented by variables at different levels of

measurement. Education can be represented as
•years of school (quantitative),
•diploma such as high school, college, or post-graduate (categorical, though we could
come up with a numbering scheme that made it quantitative)

The implication of these different representations is that we cannot base a correct

conclusion on the name of the variable or the construct it represents. A correct
understanding of a variable’s level of measurement requires that we look at the
numbers in the data set and the coding scheme (numeric codes and labels) applied to
the variable.

Slide 10
Thank You…