Within research the first, and most important thing to do is distinguish variables. Then you must choose how to measure them. The most important and widely used are the four key scales of measurement of these variables. Nominal, Ratio, Ordinal, and Interval. Each scale also contingent on the variable. Nominal scale of measurement is used with variables that have numbers with no value or that are not numeric. They cannot go in any order. “Nominal measurement scales denote to those measurements when the only meaningful results are the delineations that one thing is different from another (www.adprima.com).” Nominal scales label variables with no quantative worth. The advantage of using the nominal scale of measurement is classification, by names or labels only. The disadvantage is it is the nascent structure with no quantative value being found. Some examples of using a nominal scale are such as multiple choice questions, or such as going to the hospital and they ask you to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten. Having a true or false question or asking your gender on a questionnaire is also examples of the Nominal scale of measurement. The Ratio scale of measurement provides the decisive interval value and order. True zero can be identified which allows for one to calculate ratios which is a big advantage. Ratio scales” are the same as ordinal scales but with the important difference of one thing, the Ratio scale contains a zero, which allows for negative values to be expressed in relation to positive values (www.adprima.com).”Some examples of the ratio scale of measurement are height and weight measurements, map scales, breaking down percentages, annual income, and response time. Ordinal scale of measurement “involves classification of discrete variables (Drummond, 2010, p. 44).”The Ordinal scale of measurement puts order of values from what is significant but a disadvantage to this is the dissimilarities between them are unknown. It is usually used for measuring non-numeric perceptions. For example, measuring ones happiness or their pain level. A business having a survey asking how satisfied the customer was with the service the business provided is another example of the ordinal scale of measurement. Another example is “the assigning of grades based on scores such as an A as a grade is not only different in value than the grade C, but it is also of greater value (www.adprima.com).” Some disadvantages to the Ordinal scale of measurement is that some of the intervals may be unequal in size. “Comparing ranking across groups may vary and the numbers used for rankings do not reflect anything quantative about the variable being ranked (Drummond, 2010, p. 44).” The Interval scale of measurement are scales of numerical numbers where the order is known as well as the precise differences known between the values. “The interval scale is at a higher level than the ordinal scale of measurement (Drummond, 2010, p. 44).” The Interval scale of measurement has equal elements of measurement making it simpler to decipher the order of scores as well as how much distance is between them. It measures equal intervals. The intervals scale of measurement also has no zero point. The interval scales “refer to measurements where the results indicate only that one big thing is either greater or lesser than another (www.adprima.com).” An example of the interval scale of measurement is measuring temperature. There is always a temperature and it can always be measured, such as the difference from the morning temperature of 40 degrees and the evening temperature of 90 degrees is measures at 50 degrees. The disadvantage to this, as it is very useful but it cannot calculate ratios.

References http://www.adprima.com/measurementscales.htm Drummond, R., & Jones, K. (2010). Assessment procedures for counselors and helping professionals (7th ed., p. 44). Boston: Pearson.