A proposed metric scale for expressing opinion

This paper deals with issues on measuring scales. It begins with a discussion of an ongoing debate between measurement theorists regarding measurement of intangible variables in social sciences. The three measurement theories namely Representational, Operational and Classical measurement theories are presented. It then reviews several scales developed by researchers focusing on the ubiquitous Likert scale. Several shortcomings of the Likert scale are briefly elaborated. This paper then reviews attempts made by researchers to overcome the shortcomings. Finally it proposes a metric scale that is expected to be more in line with the operational measurement theory and hopefully more functional in measuring attitude. A number of features of the scale are discussed. A survey intending to find out the usability of the scale was conducted and results are presented. A future research to dig into other issues in measurement is recommended.