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 ...