We can describe the scales of measurement used in everyday examples in terms of their abstract number properties (see main page). Presented below are a series of everyday examples of each of the four primary scales of measurement.

• nominal
• ordinal
• interval
• ratio

The fifth scale -approximately interval- will not be reviewed in this section, because it only applies to psychological research. Once you have progressed through each of these examples, you will explore examples drawn from psychological research.