Data sources and measurement scales

Data sources and measurement scales

1. Sources

   • Primary
     • Collected by researchers
       • Eg interview, observation, action research, case studies, life histories, questionnaires, ethnographic research, longitudinal studies
   • Secondary
     • Data that already exists
       • Eg Previous research, Official statistics, Mass media products, Diaries, Letters, Government reports, Web information, Historical data and information

2. Measurement Scales

   • Nominal
     • Name - Eg Gender M or F
   • Ordinal
     • Order, measurements of non-numeric concepts - Eg satisfaction, happiness etc
   • Interval
     • Know differences between each value - Space between - Eg weight, temperature.  No such thing as zero temperature
   • Ratio
     • Tells us order, exact value between units and has absolute zero - Eg height, weight.