Measurement and Instruments

Measurement and Instruments for a Quantitative Research Plan

Abstract

In a Quantitative Research Plan, the measuring instrument is very important for the quality of the research outcome. The researcher strives to understand the meaning that people have constructed about an experience; he or she looks for a depth of understanding not for the future but for the present situation, the “here and now” of a setting. Because understanding the human experience is the goal of the research, this human mechanism is the most ideal means of collecting and analyzing data due to the flexibility, and immediacy brought to the task by the researcher.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Introduction4

Levels of Measurement4

The Nominal Level of Measurement5

The Ordinal Level of Measurement5

The Interval Level of Measurement5

The Ratio Level of Measurement5

Ensuring the Content Validity, Empirical Validity, and Construct Validity7

Definitions of Content validity, Empirical validity, and Construct validity7

Research Design7

References9

Appendix10

Randomization10

Sample Size10

Avoiding biases in Research11

Ensuring the Reliability of Measurement11

The Strengths and Limitations of the Measurement Instrument12

Conclusion13

Measurement and Instruments for a Quantitative Research Plan

Introduction

In a Quantitative Research Plan, the measuring instrument is very important for the quality of the research outcome. The researcher should discuss any data collection tools that may be used in the study. Instruments must be described clearly, and the researcher should specify how each will be used. In this section, it is essential to indicate which are existing instruments, as well as which instruments will be developed by the researcher.

Levels of Measurement

We need to choose from the four major levels of measurement namely, the nominal levels of measurement, the ordinal levels of measurement, the Interval levels of measurement, and the ratio levels of measurement. It is appropriate that we obtain a better understanding of each level of measurement to be able to select the most suitable level for our research plan (Carole & Almut, 2008).

The Nominal Level of Measurement

The nominal level of measurement depicts only the attribute name of the measures taken. The case of ordering is not taken into consideration in it.

The Ordinal Level of Measurement

In the ordinal level of measurement the order of ranks of the attributes are also considered. However, the distances between attributes are not taken into consideration. The interval between outcomes is not interpretable in an ordinal level of measurement (McNabb, 2009).

The Interval Level of Measurement

In interval measurement the distance between attributes is taken into consideration. It is a higher level of measurement and it mostly fit the social science researches.

The Ratio Level of Measurement

Finally, in ratio measurement there is always an absolute zero that is meaningful. This means that you can construct a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a ratio variable. Weight is a ratio variable. In applied social research most "count" variables are ratio, for example, the number of clients in past six months.

Having understood all the levels of measurements, we consider that the interval level of measurement would be the most suitable option for our research plan.

Reason for Choosing a Particular Level of Measurement



The levels of measurement possess a certain hierarchy as they go ...