Scale is a concept that is central to the natural sciences. However, scale is less explicitly discussed within the social sciences.
This study aimed to review existing types and definitions of scale and systematically investigate the ambiguities in these definitions through a survey and interviews with 150 scientists. This was done through a deductive and inductive approach.
Introduction
A scale is a series that climbs up or down. It might be the musical scale of do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do; a number scale used for pay or fees; the series of units drawn on a blueprint; or a spring scale that weighs objects to measure their mass or weight.
Most spring scales use a spring of known stiffness to measure mass (or weight). The more an object is added, the further the spring stretches or compresses. The scale measures this displacement using a variety of mechanisms that convert the mechanical effect into a numerical value for the weight of the object. Because gravity varies over the surface of the earth, these types of scales need to be calibrated at each location to accurately measure mass. Conventional electronic digital scales display weight as a number on a LCD screen. Depending on the scale design, this number may also be converted to a force (using a strain-gauge cell) or transmitted over a digital network to other computers for processing.
Body
Scale is the ratio of an original shape’s size to a smaller or larger one. It also refers to the size of a quantity or measurement. For example, a map projection is a scale that varies according to the geographical location on Earth.
For instance, a map of the country of France can vary in scale as a result of the Earth’s curvature and direction. This variation is accounted for by the use of Tissot’s indicatrix, a scale that relates distances to coordinates and can be used to calculate geographic measurements such as latitude and longitude.
It is important to note that many authors have reported that the failure to formally assess content validity is a limitation of scale development practices (see Guilford & McMaster, 1992). Content validity is “the degree to which a measure correlates with a criterion” or a question on an instrument that should be related to the construct under investigation. The criterion may be a previously established scale or information collected on a questionnaire such as sociodemographics.
Conclusion
In geoscience disciplines, scale is a key concept for understanding patterns in nature and the processes that cause them. However, the scale definitions used in such disciplines are often ambiguous and difficult to apply. Using a survey with 150 scientific researchers, we investigated the types and definitions of scale in geoscience disciplines and the level of knowledge and acceptance for these definitions.
Respondents were asked to rate the ambiguity of each of the provided scale definitions on a five star rating system, with one star indicating that the definition is extremely ambiguous and may therefore be difficult to apply. The ratings were re-evaluated on the basis of participants’ answers to question two.
The results suggest that future research on scale development should be concerned not only with the opinions of experts, but also with those of the target population to which a new scale is intended to be applied. The latter could help to reduce the risk of contamination due to social desirability response bias.
References
A scale is a ratio that represents the relationship between a model and an actual figure or object. Scale is used in maps and blueprints to represent real-world dimensions on a smaller area of paper.
In music, a musical scale is a set of pitch classes that can be used to compose melodies and chords. Scales are typically octave-repeating and have a specific starting note known as the tonic. Based on their interval patterns, scales can be classified into categories such as pentatonic, diatonic, chromatic, major, and minor.
When displaying a map, you can specify the desired map scale by using the Map Properties dialog box. By default, a map is displayed at its reference scale if it has one. You can also select a scale from the Map context menu by right-clicking the map name in the Contents pane and selecting Set Reference Scale or Zoom to Reference Scale. If you use either of these options, you must also select the appropriate map units to ensure that the correct scale is displayed.
