González del Pozo, Raquel
A icle
Quali a i e in o ma ion: A p oposal o measu emen o quan i y eh
e ec s o COVID-19 on he emo ional well-being o women and men by
means o p oximi ies
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Uni e sidad Pablo de Ola ide, Se illa
Sugges ed Ci a ion: González del Pozo, Raquel (2025) : Quali a i e in o ma ion: A p oposal o
measu emen o quan i y eh e ec s o COVID-19 on he emo ional well-being o women and men
by means o p oximi ies, Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa, ISSN
1886-516X, Uni e sidad Pablo de Ola ide, Se illa, Vol. 39, pp. 1-15,
h ps://doi.o g/10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/323911
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
ARTÍCULOS 1
Cómo ci a : González-Pozo, R. (2024). In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a emocional de muje-
es y homb es median e p oximidades. Re is a De Mé odos Cuan i a i os Pa a La Economía Y La Emp esa, (39), 1-15. 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a
cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
Quali a i e in o ma ion: a p oposal o measu emen o
quan i y eh e ec s o COVID-19 on he emo ional well-
being o women and men by means o p oximi ies
Raquel González-Pozo
Uni e sidad Complu ense de Mad id (Spain)
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-2827-9256
[email p o ec ed]
RESUMEN
El bienes a emocional es un ac o undamen al que in luye di ec amen e en la
p oduc i idad indi idual desde una pe spec i a económica. Recien emen e, la
pandemia de la COVID-19 ha sido un ac o signi ica i o que ha a ec ado al bienes a
emocional. Es a c isis ha enido g a es epe cusiones en las economías y las sociedades,
así como impo an es e ec os psicológicos y sociales en la población, ales como
ansiedad, es és y ans o maciones en la educación y el empleo. Pa a medi es os
aspec os, es muy habi ual u iliza encues as basadas en escalas cuali a i as. El mé odo
más popula pa a maneja la in o mación cuali a i a consis e en asigna alo es
numé icos a las ca ego ías de espues a de es as escalas cuali a i as. Sin emba go,
es a p ác ica puede p oduci una in e p e ación dis o sionada de los da os, ya que se
pueden ob ene esul ados di e en es según cómo se asignen los alo es numé icos.
El obje i o de es e abajo es analiza el impac o del co ona i us en de e minados
aspec os emocionales de muje es y homb es en España median e un indicado basado
en el concep o de medidas de p oximidad o dinal. La base de da os u ilizada en es e
es udio se ob u o del Cen o de In es igaciones Sociológicas de España.
PALABRAS CLAVE
Escalas cuali a i as; COVID;19; Cen o de In es igaciones Sociológicas; Medidas de p oximidad o dinal.
ABSTRACT
Emo ional well-being is a undamen al ac o ha di ec ly in luences indi idual
p oduc i i y om an economic pe spec i e. Recen ly, he COVID-19 pandemic has
been a signi ican ac o ha has a ec ed emo ional well-being. I has had se ious
epe cussions on economies and socie ies, as well as signi ican psychological
and social e ec s on he popula ion, such as anxie y, s ess, and ans o ma ions
in educa ion and employmen . To measu e hese aspec s, i is e y common o
use su eys based on quali a i e scales. The mos popula me hod o managing
Uni e sidad Pablo de Ola ide (España)
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
núme o 39, 2025
ISSN: 1886-516X
DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545
Sección: A ículos
Recibido: 15-01-2024
Acep ado: 06-09-2024
Publicado: 26-06-2025
Páginas: 1-15
ARTÍCULOS 2
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
quali a i e in o ma ion in ol es assigning nume ical alues o he esponse
ca ego ies o hese quali a i e scales. Howe e , his p ac ice can p oduce a dis o ed
in e p e a ion o he da a, as di e en esul s can be ob ained depending on how
he nume ical alues a e assigned. The aim o his pape is o analyze he impac o
he co ona i us on ce ain emo ional aspec s o women and men in Spain using an
indica o based on he concep o o dinal p oximi y measu es. The da abase used in
his s udy was ob ained om he Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain.
KEYWORDS
Quali a i e scales; COVID;19; Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain; O dinal p oximi y measu es.
Clasi icación JEL: C20; C83.
MSC2010: 62C12; 62C86
1. INTRODUCTION
Quali a i e in o ma ion plays a undamen al ole in he analysis o economic and social ac o s. I is
used o assessing aspec s such as quali y o li e, sa is ac ion wi h public se ices and he impac o
social policies. In addi ion, his ype o in o ma ion is essen ial o e alua ing ou physical and men al
heal h, since i p o ides a comple e unde s anding o how people expe ience and manage hei well-
being, emo ions and social ela ionships (Khaneja e al., 2022, Po ss, e al., 2023, Wang e al., 2020).
The emo ional well-being o he people is a e y impo an ac o ha di ec ly in luences indi-
idual p oduc i i y om an economic pe spec i e. When people ha e a good s a e o men al
heal h, hey end o be mo e p oduc i e, c ea i e and can con ibu e mo e e ec i ely o he
economy. Howe e , wi h he co ona i us pandemic, i has been shown ha he de e io a ion o
emo ional well-being has a ec ed he pe sonal and p o essional li es o indi iduals, and conse-
quen ly, he economy as a whole (Anglim and Ho wood, 2021; Godinić and Ob eno ic, 2020; Rus-
so e al., 2021). This c isis has no only changed habi s and he way we ela e o each o he , bu
has also exace ba ed gende , social, and economic inequali ies, a ec ing ou amily si ua ions
and ou men al heal h (Aguila -Palacio e al., 2018; Dahl, 1993; Vi anen e al., 2003). Al hough
gende inequali ies ha e no been de ini i ely p o ed o be he eason why women a e mo e
likely han men o su e om anxie y and dep ession, hese dispa i ies a e s ill conside ed con-
ibu ing ac o s. Women a e o en mo e a ec ed by domes ic iolence, ha e ewe oppo uni-
ies o social in eg a ion, expe ience home con inemen , and ace social expec a ions ela ed
o hei ep oduc i e oles, all o which can ha e signi ican implica ions o hei men al heal h
(Fishe and Ryan, 2021; Mi al and Singh, 2020).
Since he beginning o he pandemic, nume ous o ganiza ions and s a is ical agencies ha e been
wo king o analyze he e ec s and consequences o he i us. To achie e hese objec i es, hey
ha e designed and conduc ed se e al su eys ocused on collec ing da a on how he COVID-19
pandemic has a ec ed indi iduals’ li es. To measu e men al, physical, and spi i ual well-being
(Bech e al., 2003; Genia, 2001; Machu e al., 2022; S ewa -B own e al., 2009, Vella-B od ick and
Allen, 1995), su eys and ques ionnai es o en employ o de ed quali a i e scales composed o
labels o linguis ic e ms, such as Like - ype scales (Like , 1932). These scales a e he mos po-
pula ools o measu ing a i udes, knowledge, opinions and o he quali a i e aspec s. They a e
equen ly used in he ields o Economics, Psychology and Sociology o assess and de e mine he
le el o well-being o a popula ion (Bamb a e al., 2020; Fe agu and Fie o, 2012; Pon in e al., 2013).
A cha ac e is ic o hese scales is ha hey use he same o de ed quali a i e scale o e alua e
all he i ems o s a emen s, which a e usually assigned he same weigh o impo ance wi hin
he ques ionnai e. Al hough in Like - ype scales, elemen s can be analyzed indi idually, i is e y
common o calcula e he sum o he a e age o he esponses. To ca y ou hese a i hme ic
ope a ions wi h i ems, nume ical encodings a e equi ed, which a e a bi a y in mos cases.
ARTÍCULOS 3
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
Assigning nume ical alues o sco es o he labels o linguis ic e ms o he scales is he mos
popula me hod o managing quali a i e in o ma ion (Fielding, 1993; Robe s, 1979). Ne e he-
less, he main c i icism o his me hod is he subjec i i y in oduced when nume ical alues a e
used o ep esen quali a i e in o ma ion (Cala a a Requena, 1977). This is because using nu-
me ical alues can imply ha he e is some so o p opo ional ela ionship be ween he es-
ponse ca ego ies. Howe e , his ela ionship is no necessa ily p esen , as in o de ed quali a i e
scales he di e ences be ween nume ical alues do no measu e any meaning ul magni ude
(see Ag es i, 2010; Knapp, 1990; S e ens, 1946, 1951).
The e o e, he ea men o quali a i e in o ma ion equi es a ca e ul s a is ical and ma hema i-
cal analysis, since he e a e no uni e sally es ablished c i e ia abou he echniques o p ocedu-
es o be applied. The li e a u e p esen s se e al p ocedu es and me hods o managing quali-
a i e da a. These include models based on uzzy numbe s and membe ship unc ions (He e a
e al., 2008), linguis ic ep esen a ion models such as he 2- uple model in oduced by He e a
and Ma inez (2000), cumula i e models (McCullagh, 1980; Tu z, 2012) and CUB (Combina ion o
Uni o m and Binomial) models in oduced by Piccolo (2003).
In addi ion, ano he p ocedu e o handling quali a i e da a is he c ea ion o indica o s. Ac-
co ding o Mond agón Pé ez (2002), al hough he e is no o icial de ini ion om any na ional o
in e na ional o ganiza ion, indica o s a e “ ools o cla i y and de ine, mo e p ecisely, objec i es
and impac s”. They can be ei he quali a i e o quan i a i e, hough he la e a e mo e com-
mon. When o de ed quali a i e scales a e used o design indica o s, analys s and esea che s
o en assign nume ical sco es o he esponse ca ego ies o he scales. Fo example, o c ea e
he Consume Con idence Index, he Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain (CIS in Spanish) as-
sumes equidis ance be ween he esponse ca ego ies and assigns he sco es {0, 25, 50, 75, 100}
o he scale {“Ve y bad”, “Bad”, “So-so”, “Good”, “Ve y good”} 1. Howe e , hese conside a ions
can dis o he esul s ob ained om o de ed quali a i e scales, as di e en ou comes can a ise
depending on how he esponse ca ego ies a e coded (Bashkansky and Gad ich, 2008; F an-
ceschini e al., 2004; Gad ich, 2015; Molina Ma ínez and González del Pozo, 2024).
On he o he hand, ano he ac o ha can in luence he analysis o quali a i e da a is how indi i-
duals pe cei e quali a i e scales. Some imes, common sense, he seman ic alue o wo ds, cul u al
di e ences, o e en an indi idual’s pe sonali y can cause quali a i e scales o be pe cei ed as non-
uni o m. In his sense, an o de ed quali a i e scale can be conside ed non-uni o m i indi iduals
pe cei e di e en psychological p oximi ies be ween he consecu i e linguis ic e ms o he scale
(Ga cía-Lap es a and Pé ez-Román, 2015). Fo example, he o de ed quali a i e scale used o cons-
uc he Consume Con idence Index could be conside ed as non-uni o m i indi iduals pe cei e
he e m “Bad” o be psychologically close o “So-so” han o “Ve y bad,” o i he e m “Good” is
pe cei ed o be psychologically close o “Ve y good” han o “So-so”. Thus, he di e en ways o
pe cei ing he p oximi ies o he scales may a ec how indi iduals in e p e and espond o he
scale, which could lead o inconsis encies in he da a (González del Pozo and Ga cía-Lap es a, 2019).
Gi en he signi ican impac o emo ional well-being on he p oduc i i y o employees and con-
side ing ha he COVID-19 c isis has been one o he mos se e e challenges in ecen yea s,
his pape aims o analyze he impac o he pandemic on he emo ional well-being o men and
women in Spain. Using a da ase om he Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain, he pape in-
oduces an emo ional well-being indica o based on he concep o o dinal p oximi y measu e
in oduced by Ga cía-Lap es a and Pé ez-Román (2015). This concep conside s he psycho-
logical p oximi ies be ween he linguis ic e ms o he o de ed quali a i e scales and has been
implemen ed o de elop new decision-making p ocedu es ha add ess non-uni o m quali a-
i e scales (F anceschini and Ga cía-Lap es a, 2019; Ga cía-Lap es a and Pé ez-Román, 2018;
González del Pozo and Ga cía-Lap es a, 2021). Addi ionally, i has been applied in a ious socio-
logical and poli ical con ex s (González del Pozo and Ga cía-Lap es a, 2019).
1 The me hodology used by he Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain is a ailable in: h ps://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/EN/11_ba ome os/me odologia.h ml#ISE
ARTÍCULOS 4
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
The es o his pape is o ganized as ollows. Sec ion 2 ecalls he concep o o dinal p oximi y
measu e and p esen s he me hodology used o c ea e indica o s om quali a i e in o ma ion.
Sec ion 3 shows an applica ion in which he e ec s o he COVID-19 a e measu ed by indica o s
based on o dinal p oximi y measu es. Sec ion 4 p esen s a b ie discussion o he esul s ob ai-
ned. Finally, Sec ion 5 p o ides some concluding ema ks and sugges ions o u u e esea ch.
2. METHODOLOGY
The use o indica o s is qui e common o e alua ing quali a i e da a wi hin he amewo k o
Social Sciences, such as Sociology, Poli ical Science, and Economics. These indica o s y o
syn hesize in o ma ion ela ed o a ce ain se o a iables by means o he use o nume ical a-
lues alloca ed o he esponse ca ego ies o he scales. Fo example, he Sociological Resea ch
Cen e o Spain alloca es equidis an sco es o c ea e some economic indica o s such as: he
Economic T us , he Cu en Economic Si ua ion and he Economic Fo ecas .
To a oid using a bi a y nume ical alues and o conside he non-uni o mi y o scales, his
sec ion p esen s a p oposal o c ea ing indica o s using quali a i e in o ma ion om di e en
quali a i e scales. These indica o s a e based on he concep o o dinal p oximi y measu e in-
oduced by Ga cía-Lap es a and Pé ez-Román (2015), which collec s in o ma ion abou how
indi iduals pe cei e he p oximi ies be ween he linguis ic e ms o an o de ed quali a i e scale.
An ad an age o o dinal p oximi y measu es is ha hey espec he o dinal in o ma ion o he
scale as much as possible and can be applied in he con ex o non-uni o m quali a i e scales.
2.1. O dinal p oximi y measu es
To de ine o dinal p oximi y measu es, we need o conside an o de ed quali a i e scale L={l1 , … ,lg }
whose e ms a e a anged om wo s o bes : l1 ≺⋯≺ lg , wi h g≥3 .
This concep is based on a se o deg ees o p oximi y ∆={δ1 ,…,δh} , wi h δ1 ≻⋯≻ δh , whe e δ1 and
δh ep esen he maximum and minimum deg ees o p oximi y, espec i ely. I is impo an o
highligh ha he elemen s o ∆ a e no numbe s, hey a e abs ac objec s ha ep esen di e-
en deg ees o p oximi y.
De ini ion 1. An o dinal p oximi y measu e on L wi h alues in ∆ is a mapping π: L × L → ∆, whe e
π(l ,ls) = π s ep esen s he deg ee o p oximi y be ween l and ls sa is ying he ollowing con-
di ions:
1. Exhaus i eness: Fo e e y δ ∈ ∆, he e exis s l ,ls ∈ L such ha δ = π s .
2. Symme y: πs = π s , o all , s ∈ {1, …, g}.
3. Maximum p oximi y: π s = δ1 ⇔ = s, o all , s ∈ {1, …, g}.
4. Mono onici y: π s ≻ π and πs ≻ π , o all , s, ∈ {1, …, g} such ha <s< .
E e y o dinal p oximi y measu e can be ep esen ed by a g x g symme ic ma ix wi h coe icien s
in ∆, whe e he elemen s o he main diagonal a e π = δ1, = 1, …, g:
ARTÍCULOS 5
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
The abo e ma ix is called p oximi y ma ix associa ed wi h π.
To iden i y he ma ices associa ed wi h o dinal p oximi y measu es, he subsc ip s o he ma-
ices (A’s) co espond o he subsc ip o he δ’s which appea in he coe icien s jus o e he
main diagonal, and hey co espond o he compa isons be ween all he pai s o consecu i e
linguis ic e ms.
To illus a e how o cons uc and ep esen o dinal p oximi y measu es in hei co esponding
ma ices, Figu e 1 illus a es an example o an o de ed quali a i e scale o med by ou linguis-
ic e ms: {“No a all”, “A li le bi ”, “Qui e a bi ”, “Ve y much”}. Speci ically, he o dinal p oximi y
measu es conside ed a e hose associa ed wi h he p oximi y ma ices A432 and A243 (see Figu e
1a and Figu e 1b, espec i ely).
Figu e 1. O dinal p oximi y measu es associa ed wi h he p oximi y ma ices A432 and A243.
Figu e 1a. A432.
Figu e 1b. A243.
ARTÍCULOS 6
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
Likewise, o es ablish an o dinal p oximi y measu e, i is necessa y o indi iduals o exp ess hei
opinions abou he p oximi ies be ween he linguis ic e ms o he scale. To collec his in o ma-
ion, he i s s ep in ol es compa ing he p oximi ies be ween consecu i e e ms o he scale.
Fo he case o h ee linguis ic e ms g = 3, hese compa isons allow us o de e mine he h ee
possible o dinal p oximi y measu es. Howe e , when g > 3, he complexi y o ob aining o dinal
p oximi y measu es inc eases. In hese si ua ions, i is ad isable o apply an algo i hm ha ge-
ne a es he o dinal p oximi y measu e o each indi idual h ough an app op ia e sequence
o ques ions abou he p oximi ies be ween he linguis ic e ms o he scale (Ga cía-Lap es a
e al., 2018). The algo i hm s a s by asking indi iduals abou he o dinal p oximi ies be ween
consecu i e e ms o he scale. Subsequen ques ions di e depending on whe he one o he-
se p oximi ies is g ea e han he o he o i hey a e he same. The p ocedu e con inues wi h
simila ques ions compa ing he p oximi ies be ween he emaining pai s o e ms o he scale
un il he o dinal p oximi y measu e is de e mined. Howe e , when applying he algo i hm, i is
possible o ob ain di e en o dinal p oximi y measu es depending on how indi iduals pe cei e
he quali a i e scale. Fo his eason, Ga cía-Lap es a e al. (2018) p oposed a p ocedu e based
on minimizing dis ances o de e mine he collec i e o dinal p oximi y measu e ha agg ega es
and ep esen s indi idual opinions as ai h ully as possible.
On he o he hand, o de e mine o dinal p oximi y measu es on an o de ed quali a i e scale, i
is essen ial o men ion he impo ance o con ex and ques ion o mula ion. Indi iduals’ pe cep-
ions be ween he esponse ca ego ies can a y signi ican ly depending on whe he he ques-
ion pe ains o medical, poli ical, o sociocul u al issues.
2.2. Quali a i e indica o s based on o dinal p oximi y measu es
To c ea e indica o s based on he concep o o dinal p oximi y measu e, i is necessa y o know
he p oximi ies be ween he e ms o an o de ed quali a i e scale. To do ha , he algo i hm
men ioned in he p e ious sec ion can be applied (Ga cía-Lap es a e al., 2018).
Nex , o de e mine a nume ical alue o sco e o each linguis ic e m, his pape p oposes using
he o mula con ained in Equa ion [1], which is based on he app oaches in oduced by F ances-
chini and Ga cía-Lap es a (2019) and Ga cía-Lap es a and González del Pozo (2023):
(1)
Equa ion [1] ollows he app oach o he Technique o O de P e e ence by Simila i y o Ideal So-
lu ion (TOPSIS). In his me hod, in oduced by Hwang and Yoon (1981), he chosen solu ion should
ha e he sho es dis ance om he posi i e ideal solu ion (PIS) and he longes dis ance om he
nega i e ideal solu ion (NIS). The e o e, in Equa ion [1], he elemen π(li ,l1) measu es he p oximi y
be ween he linguis ic e m (li) and he lowes esponse ca ego y on he scale (l1). In con as , he
elemen π(li ,lg) conside s he p oximi y be ween he linguis ic e m (li) and he highes esponse
ca ego y (lg). Thus, ρ (π(li ,l1)) − ρ (π(li ,lg)) conside s he subsc ip s o he δ’s om π(li ,l1) and π(li ,lg).
In a way ha , i ha di e ence is posi i e, he linguis ic e m (li) is close o he highes esponse
ca ego y han o he lowes one. In addi ion, Equa ion [1] in oduces he elemen (h) o ensu e po-
si i e sco es. This elemen is de i ed om he subsc ip o he maximum deg ee o p oximi y (δh).
Since he p ocedu e can be applied o se e al o de ed quali a i e scales, which may ha e
a di e en numbe o esponse ca ego ies, i is ad isable o ca y ou a linea no maliza ion
ans o ma ion p ocess. The objec i e o his p ocess is o ob ain homogeneous sco es o he
esponse ca ego ies ac oss he di e en o de ed quali a i e scales. An example o his p o-
cess is as ollows:
ARTÍCULOS 7
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
(2)
whe e s’i ∈ [0, 1].
Finally, using he no malized sco es ob ained om Equa ion [2], an indica o is c ea ed based on he
objec i es o he esea ch s udy. Some o hese indica o s can be de ined in a ious ways:
(3.1)
(3.2)
(3.3)
3. EMOTIONAL INDICATORS FOR MEASURING WELL-BEING: AN APPLICATION
WITH REAL DATA
The e is a conside able li e a u e abou how o measu e well-being, quali y o li e, and well-
being in gene al (Bech e al., 2003; Hills and A gyle, 2002; Nieboe e al., 2005). Mo eo e , since
he COVID-19 pandemic, many s udies ha e ocused on iden i ying and assessing he impac o
co ona i us on emo ional well-being (Cowie and Mye s, 2021; Saladino e al., 2020; Samlani e
al., 2020). In his con ex , emo ional well-being e e s speci ically o he dimension o well-being
ela ed o indi iduals’ emo ions and a ec i e s a es, such as anxie y, happiness, and sa is ac-
ion, which ha e been a ec ed by he global heal h c isis (Lades e al., 2020; Khaneja e al.,
2022, Po ss, e al., 2023). Following hese app oaches, his sec ion is de o ed o measu ing he
emo ional well-being o women and men in Spain using a se o da a collec ed om he s udy
E ec s and consequences o Co ona i us (I) conduc ed by Sociological Resea ch Cen e o
Spain (2020). This allows us o assess how he pandemic has in luenced he emo ional dimen-
sions o indi iduals’ well-being.
This s udy was ca ied ou in Oc obe 2020 o s udy he e ec s and consequences o he co o-
na i us. A o al o 2,551 people, 1,247 men and 1,304 women, pa icipa ed in he su ey.
Shaloch and Ve dugo (2003) iden i y mul iple dimensions o de e mining quali y o li e, including
physical well-being, pe sonal de elopmen , social inclusion, and emo ional well-being, among
o he s. Wi hin he dimension o emo ional well-being, key a iables include happiness, pe sonal
sa is ac ion, sel -e alua ion, and he absence o s ess. These a iables a e also u ilized by o he
esea che s o measu e and analyze a ious indica o s ela ed o well-being (Gu in e al., 1960;
Maggino, 2016; Se a and Mo a, 2019; Villa o o, 2012).
ARTÍCULOS 8
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
To c ea e he emo ional well-being indica o , en i ems o s a emen s we e selec ed om he
ques ionnai e used by he Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain. The i ems a e shown in Table I
o he Annex and we e chosen conside ing emo ional aspec s such as happiness, op imism and
i ali y, which ha e al eady been conside ed in p e ious li e a u e (Saladino e al., 2020; Samlani
e al., 2020; Shaloch and Ve dugo, 2003). To assess he s a emen s con ained in Table I o he
Annex, wo di e en o de ed quali a i e scales we e employed in he ques ionnai e. The i s i e
s a emen s we e measu ed using an o de ed quali a i e scale o med by i e labels o linguis ic
e ms, while he emaining s a emen s we e e alua ed using an o de ed quali a i e scale wi h
ou linguis ic e ms (see Tables 1 and 2, espec i ely).
Table 1. Response ca ego ies o ques ion 14. CIS3298.
l1S ongly disag ee.
l2Somewha disag ee.
l3Nei he ag ee no disag ee.
l4Somewha ag ee.
l5S ongly ag ee.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion om he s udy E ec s and consequences o Co ona i us (I). Ques ion 14.
Table 2. Response ca ego ies o ques ion 16. CIS3298.
l1Almos ne e o ne e .
l2Occasionally.
l3Almos e e y ime.
l4E e y ime.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion om he s udy E ec s and consequences o Co ona i us (I). Ques ion 16.
Gi en ha bo h scales a e quali a i e, i is possible o apply he p oposed p ocedu e by se ing
an app op ia e o dinal p oximi y measu e o each o de ed quali a i e scale, depending on how
he p oximi ies be ween he e ms o each scale a e conside ed. When he pa icipan s ill in he
su ey, hey know he numbe o e ms o linguis ic e ms o he scale. Howe e , he Sociological
Resea ch Cen e o Spain, like many o he na ional and in e na ional o ganiza ions, does no
ga he in o ma ion on how indi iduals pe cei e quali a i e scales. The e o e, in his applica ion,
he de e mina ion o he o dinal p oximi y measu es was ca ied ou by conside ing hose ha
we e he mos logical and consis en wi h he meaning o he linguis ic e ms. Fo example, o
he quali a i e scale ep esen ed in Table 1, which is ela i ely symme ical, he o dinal measu es
o p oximi y conside ed we e A2332 and A4224. In he case o he scale ep esen ed in Table 2, which
is made up o 4 i ems, he o dinal p oximi y measu es used we e A432 and A322. These o dinal
p oximi y measu es a e ep esen ed in Figu es 2 and 3, espec i ely.
Once he o dinal p oximi y measu es ha e been es ablished, we apply he o mula in Equa ion
[1] o de e mine he sco es o each esponse ca ego y. These esul s a e shown in Tables 3 and
4. Likewise, he no malized sco es ob ained a e applying he linea no maliza ion ans o ma-
ion p ocess p esen ed in Equa ion [2] a e also shown in hese ables.
ARTÍCULOS 15
Raquel González-Pozo
In o mación cuali a i a: una p opues a de medición pa a cuan i ica los e ec os del COVID-19 sob e el bienes a
emocional de muje es y homb e median e p oximidades
N. 39, 2025 – ISSN: 1886-516X – DOI: 10.46661/ e .me odoscuan .econ.emp esa.9545 – [Págs. 1-15]
Re is a de Mé odos Cuan i a i os pa a la Economía y la Emp esa
Mi al, S., & Singh, T. (2020). Gende -based iolence du ing COVID-19 pandemic: a mini- e iew. F on ie s in
Global Women’s Heal h, 1(4).
Molina Ma ínez, P., & González del Pozo, R. (2024). Real es a e c owd unding in Spain. Re is a Uni e si a ia
Eu opea, 40, 73-102.
Mond agón Pé ez, A. R. (2002). ¿Qué son los indicado es? Re is a de In o mación y Análisis, 19, 52-58.
Nieboe , A., Lindenbe g, S., Boomsma, A., & B uggen, A. C. V. (2005). Dimensions o well-being and hei
measu emen : he SPF-IL scale. Social Indica o s Resea ch, 73(3), 313-353.
Piccolo, D. (2003). On he momen s o a mix u e o uni o m and shi ed binomial andom a iables.
Quade ni di S a is ica, 5, 85-104.
Pon in, E., Schwannaue , M., Tai, S., & Kinde man, P. (2013). A UK alida ion o a gene al measu e o
subjec i e well-being: he modi ied BBC subjec i e well-being scale (BBC-SWB). Heal h and Quali y o
Li e Ou comes, 11(1), 1-9.
Po s, A. J., Didymus, F. F., & Kaisele , M. (2023). Psychological s ess and psychological well-being among
spo s coaches: a me a-syn hesis o he quali a i e esea ch e idence. In e na ional Re iew o Spo
and Exe cise Psychology, 16(1), 554-583.
Robe s, F.S. (1979). Measu emen heo y. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading.
Russo, D., Hanel, P. H., Al nickel, S., & Van Be kel, N. (2021). P edic o s o well-being and p oduc i i y among
so wa e p o essionals du ing he COVID-19 pandemic: a longi udinal s udy. Empi ical So wa e
Enginee ing, 26(4), 62.
Saladino, V., Alge i, D., & Au iemma, V. (2020). The psychological and social impac o Co id-19: new
pe spec i es o well-being. F on ie s in Psychology, 2550.
Samlani, Z., Lem adli, Y., Oubaha, S., & K a i, K. (2020). The impac o he COVID-19 pandemic on quali y o
li e and well-being in Mo occo. A chi es o Communi y Medicine and Public Heal h, 6(2), 130-134.
Se a, E. G., & Mo a, M. R. (2019). El bienes a emocional como p edic o de calidad de ida en los senio
co-housing. Cuade nos de T abajo Social, 2(32), 365-380.
Shaloch, R., & Ve dugo, M. (2003). Manual pa a p o esionales de la educación, salud y se icios sociales.
Mad id: Alianza edi o ial.
Sociological Resea ch Cen e o Spain (2020). E ec s and consequences o Co ona i us (I). h ps://www.
cis.es/ca alogo-es udios/ id/acceso-a-da os
S e ens, S.S. (1946). On he heo y o scales o measu emen . Science, 103, 677-680.
S e ens, S.S (1951). Ma hema ics, measu emen , and psychophysics. John Wiley & Sons.
S ewa -B own, S., Tennan , A., Tennan , R., Pla , S., Pa kinson, J., & Weich, S. (2009). In e nal cons uc
alidi y o he Wa wick-Edinbu gh men al well-being scale (WEMWBS): A Rasch analysis using da a
om he Sco ish heal h educa ion popula ion su ey. Heal h and Quali y o Li e Ou comes, 7(1), 1-8.
Tu z, G. (2012). Reg ession o ca ego ical da a. Camb idge: Uni e si y P ess.
Vella-B od ick‚ D. A.‚ & Allen‚ F. (1995). De elopmen and psychome ic alida ion o he Men al‚ Physical‚
and Spi i ual Well-Being Scale. Psychological Repo s‚ 77(2)‚ 659–674.
Villa o o, P. (2012). La medición del bienes a a a és de indicado es subje i os: una e isión. San iago de
Chile: Comisión Económica pa a Amé ica La ina y el Ca ibe (CEPAL).
Vi anen, P., Liukkonen, V., Vah e a, J., Ki imäki, M., & Kosken uo, M. (2003). Heal h inequali ies in he
wo k o ce: he labou ma ke co e-pe iphe y s uc u e. In e na ional Jou nal o Epidemiology, 32(6),
1015-1021.
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Immedia e psychological esponses
and associa ed ac o s du ing he ini ial s age o he 2019 co ona i us disease (COVID-19) epidemic
among he gene al popula ion in China. In e na ional Jou nal o En i onmen al Resea ch and Public
Heal h, 17(5), 1729.
