SOC 100 Chapter Chapter 6:

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 100
• Professor: Jennifer Anne Strickler

Document Summary

Scales and indexes are both ordinal measures of variables: they are both composite measures, meaning they are based on more than one date point. Measured by responses given to several questionnaire items. An index is accumulated scores that are assigned to individual indicators. A scale has scores assigned to patterns of responses: recognizes that some items reflect a relatively weak degree of the variable and others reflect a stronger degree. Takes advantage of differences in intensity among attributes of the same variable. Two misconceptions about scaling, cleared up: (1) particular sample being studied affects whether the combination of data items will yield a scale (2) use of a specific scaling technique does not guarantee a scale. Researcher examines the scores and those that the judges mostly agreed upon can then be included in a survey questionnaire: expensive and logistically time-consuming.