Knowledge of the levels of measurement is vital to identifying and choosing the appropriate statistical analytical tools for data analysis (Bhandari, 2022). Understanding the four levels of measurement, nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio, is essential to quantitative research. In the mock study, the three variables are gender/sex and type of facility, independent variables, and stress level, dependent variable.

The first variable is the respondent's gender/sex; the measurement is nominal. Gender/sex is a category with no order or direction. The variable will categorize if female or male nurses are victimized differently. The second variable is the type of facility, and the measurement is nominal. The type of facility is a category with no order or direction. The second variable will categorize what type of medical facility experiences more violence toward nurses. The third variable is the respondent's stress level, and the measurement is ordinal. Stress levels can be ranked in order. The third variable will examine each nurse's stress level by ranking less severe to extremely severe.

Pupovac and Petrovecki (2011) underscored the practical implications of understanding levels of measurement: how you present your data, particularly in the form of descriptive statistics, can significantly impact your communication with the scientific community. This understanding is not just theoretical, but it directly affects the way you conduct and present your research. Data collection and summarization, crucial steps in research, are directly influenced by the levels of measurement. Moreover, this understanding equips future researchers with the knowledge of different statistical procedures that can enhance their future research.

Assignment

Read the above paragraph and briefly explain why you agree with the author level of measurement for each of the variables.