Composite measure

Composite measure in statistics and research design refer to composite measures of variables, i.e. measurements based on multiple data items.

An example of a composite measure is an IQ test, which gives a single score based on a series of responses to various questions.

Three common composite measures include:

• indexes - measures that summarize and rank specific observations, usually on the ordinal scale;
• scales - advanced indexes whose observations are further transformed (scaled) due to their logical or empirical relationships;
• typologies - measures that classify observations in terms of their attributes on multiple variables, usually on a nominal scale.