Measurement Scales PaperMarketers use scales to measure the assignment of numbers to objects or people to represent quantities in relation to their attributes (Aaker, 2007). This includes measuring agreement or disagreement related to attitudes or objects. For example, measurement consists of two parts, the item part and the evaluative part. It is important to understand the level of characteristics of scales such as nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio because the scales differ with respect to scaling characteristics. Nominal scales label objects. Ordinal scales rank the order and difference in size of respondents or their responses. Interval scales represent the equal distance between the descriptor. Finally, ratio scales have a true zero point such as a real number. These types of scales can be beneficial for an organization that needs to measure and understand various characteristics when analyzing questionnaires. This helps determine what can or cannot be said about the object and helps determine what statistical analysis should be used. NominalNominal scales are a type of measurement most commonly used when conducting market research. This type of scale divides the data into different categories that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhausted so that the data is classified into a group (McDaniel, 2006). Nominal scales use numbers to identify objects, groups, or individuals. When working with a questionnaire, nominal scales will allow the researcher to measure results by labeling and identifying objects by number. The numbers are not added and have no true numerical value but are used as a reference to identify responses in the questionnaire. For example, if there was a questionnaire that was......in the middle of a sheet of paper......ls. Ratio scales incorporate nominal, ordinal, and interval characteristics with a true zero point. Interval and ratio scaled data are also called metric data and parametric and non-parametric tests can be performed on the data. Properties must be examined at different scales to evaluate the measurement and ensure accuracy. Information is knowledge and finding data for decision making can improve logistics, sales, promotions, new product development, brand management and pricing (McDaniel & Gates, 2006). Works Cited Aaker, DA, Kumar, V. and Day, GS (2007). Marketing Research (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Burns, A.C., Bush, R.F. (2006). Marketing Research: Online Research Applications (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. McDaniel, C. and Gates, R. (2006). Marketing Research (7th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.