Scales and Scaling
In social sciences the term“scaling” encompasses specific processes tomeasure properties such as sentiment, opinions, attitudes, and so on. “To scale” can mean very different things: by scaling techniques such as Likert scales or Guttman scales the researcher can rank people along a specific dimension; other techniques, if the requirements for their application are met, allow the researcher to quantify the distances among people along a dimension. Moreover, scaling techniques differ in terms of the cognitive put to the respondent.