Measurement scales are used to categorize or quantify variables.

Here describe the four scales of

measurement that are commonly used in statistical analysis:
1.Nominal scale.
2.Ordinal scale.
3. Interval scale.
4. Ratio scale.
Each scale of measurement satisfies one or more of the following properties of
measurement.

Identity. Each value on the measurement scale has a unique meaning.

Magnitude. Values on the measurement scale have an ordered relationship to one another.
That is, some values are larger and some are smaller.

Equal intervals. Scale units along the scale are equal to one another. This means, for
example, that the difference between 1 and 2 would be equal to the difference between 19
and 20.

A minimum value of zero. The scale has a true zero point, below which no values exist.

Nominal Scale:
Nominal scales are used for labeling variables, without any quantitative value. Nominal
scales could simply be called labels. A good way to remember all of this is that nominal
sounds a lot like name and
nominal scales are kind of like
names or labels.
Example: 1

Example: 2
Sometime numbers are used to designate category membership
Country of origin
1= united states
2= Canada
3= Pakistan
4= India
Or classifying people according to sex in common application of nominal scale
The number 0 is assigned to Male.
The number 1 assigned to Female.

Ordinal Scale
Ordinal scales are typically measures of non-numeric concepts like satisfaction, happiness,
discomfort.

Ordinal is easy to remember because it sounds like order and thats the key to remember
with ordinal scalesit is the order that matters, but thats all you really get from these.
With ordinal scales, it is the order of the values is whats important and significant, but the
differences between each one is not really known. Take a look at the example below. In each
case, we know that a 4 is better than a 3 or 2, but we dont knowand cannot quantify how much
better it is. For example, is the difference between OK and Unhappy the same as the
difference between Very Happy and Happy?
Example:
A researcher wishing to measure consumers' satisfaction with their microwave ovens might ask
them to specify their feelings as either
"very
dissatisfied,"
"somewhat
dissatisfied," "somewhat satisfied," or
"very satisfied." The items in this scale are
ordered, ranging from least to most
satisfied. This is what distinguishes
ordinal from nominal scales. Unlike
nominal scales, ordinal scales allow
comparisons of the degree to which two
subjects possess the dependent variable.

Interval Scale
Interval scales are numeric scales in which we know not
only the order, but also the exact differences between the
values. The classic example of an interval scale
is Celsius temperature because the difference between
each value is the same. For example, the difference
between 60 and 50 degrees is a measurable 10 degrees, as
is the difference between 80 and 70 degrees. Interval
scales are nice because the realm of statistical analysis on
these data sets opens up.
Example,
consider the Fahrenheit scale of temperature. The
difference between 30 degrees and 40 degrees represents
the same temperature difference as the difference between
80 degrees and 90 degrees. This is because each 10degree interval has the same physical meaning

Ratio Scale
The ratio scale of measurement is the most informative scale. It is an interval scale with the
additional property that its zero position indicates the absence of the quantity being measured.
You can think of a ratio scale as the three earlier scales rolled up in one. Like a nominal scale, it

provides a name or category for each object (the numbers serve as labels). Like an ordinal scale,
the objects are ordered (in terms of the ordering of the numbers). Like an interval scale, the same
difference at two places on the scale has the same meaning. And in addition, the same ratio at
two places on the scale also carries the same meaning.
The Fahrenheit scale for temperature has an
arbitrary zero point and is therefore not a ratio
scale. However, zero on the Kelvin scale is
absolute zero. This makes the Kelvin scale a ratio
scale. For example, if one temperature is twice as
high as another as measured on the Kelvin scale,
then it has twice the kinetic energy of the other
temperature.
Another example of a ratio scale is the amount of
money you have in your pocket right now (25
cents, 55 cents, etc.). Money is measured on a ratio
scale because, in addition to having the properties of an interval scale, it has a true zero point: if
you have zero money, this implies the absence of money. Since money has a true zero point, it
makes sense to say that someone with 50 cents has twice as much money as someone with 25
cents (or that Bill Gates has a million times more money than you do).