The Four Scale Properties Principle

A scale may have from 1 to 4 properties, and these properties are...

• Labels - words or symbols that designate scale differences (e.g., male versus female, 3 gallons)

• Order - relative size differences between the labels

• Distance - equal distances between adjacent labels

• Origin - a true zero point (vs. a neutral answer)

Scales with fewer properties have less information

One property - LEAST information

While...

Scales with more properties have more information

Four properties - MOST information

1. Here is a handy table that helps to identify the scaling assumptions of measures.

Question	Answer
If Yes	If No
Does it have a true zero?	Ratio Scale Stop	Not Ratio
Are the distances between the scale points equal?	Interval Scale. Stop	Not Interval
Are the scale points greater than or less than one another?	Ordinal Scale. Stop	Not Ordinal
Are the scale points unique categories that you can't say are greater than or less than one another?	Nominal Scale. Stop	Not Nominal
If you arrive here, you have made a mistake.	Repeat from the top	Repeat from the top

Scaling Characteristics and Scale Type of A Question

Question	Answer each question by circling "Yes" or 'No"
Is there an origin?	Is there equal distance between adjacent labels?	Is each label greater than or less than its adjacent label(s)?	There are labels (Note: all scales have labels).	Write in the name of the type of scale in the question
Do you own an Nintendo Wii home video game console? __X_ Own ___Lease	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?
About how many times per week do you use your Wii? __2__ Times	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No??	Yes? No?
"I enjoy playing the sports games on my Wii." ___ Strongly Agree _X_ Agree ___ No Opinion ___ Disagree ___ Strongly Disagree	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?
For a new Wii game, would you prefer to buy one that is primarily: _X_ Educational ___ Amusement ___ Sports skill	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?	Yes? No?

All information is given.