When choosing scales of measurement for quantitative research studies, researchers should strive to avoid floor and ceiling effects (also called scale attenuation effects). A floor effect (or basement effect) occurs when a measure or instrument produces consistently low scores (i.e., close to the minimum score possible, or “floor”) for most participants. For example, every participant in a research study provides a score of 0 or 1 on a suicidal ideation scale that can range from 0 to 10. A ceiling effect occurs when a measure produces consistently high scores (i.e., close to the maximum score possible, or “ceiling”) for most participants. For example, every participant in a study provides a score between 90 and 100 on a subjective well-being scale that can range from 0 ...

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