Quantitative Data From Rating Scales: An Epistemological and Methodological Enquiry

Area of Science:

• * Philosophy of Science
• * Psychology
• * Social Sciences
• * Metrology

Background:

• * Rating scales are widely used for person-generated quantitative data.
• * Foundations of rating scales face increasing scholarly challenges.
• * Ensuring systematic encoding of properties is crucial for meaningful data analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To provide epistemological and methodological analyses of person-generated quantification.
• * To explore psychological and social-science measurement concepts using the Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science Paradigm for Research on Individuals (TPS-Paradigm).
• * To compare psychometric theories with metrology principles for scientific measurement.

Main Methods:

• * Application of the TPS-Paradigm.
• * Comparative analysis of representational measurement theory, psychometric theories, psychophysics, and metrology.
• * Deconstruction of rating method demands on individuals and comparison with other quantitative methods (e.g., ethological observations).

Main Results:

• * Rating methods often fail to sufficiently specify phenomena, data systems, or assignment rules.
• * Individual differences in interpretation lead to subjectivity in data generation.
• * Recoding scale categories into numbers creates a twofold break in data traceability, impacting interpretability and questioning reliability/validity concepts.

Conclusions:

• * Rating methods standardize data formats but not data generation processes.
• * Scientific measurement requires adapting data generation to phenomena and individual capabilities, not solely to statistical analysis needs.
• * Further research is needed to understand how individuals generate ratings and specify underlying representational systems.