CHAPTER IV: RESULTS
Overlap Among the Stages and Dimensions
Qualitative Nature of Results
In reviewing the results, it is also important to keep in mind the qualitative nature of
the data. Although the stages of readiness range from one to nine, which gives the
impression that the stages are interval in nature (i.e., the difference between each of the
stages is equal), the stages of readiness are actually ordinal in nature (i.e., the stages are
different from each other but those differences are not necessarily equal). For example, a
stage of readiness of two indicates a given level of readiness of a community to address
an issue, and reflects a less developed stage of readiness than a rating of four. However, a
community at the second stage of readiness is not half as developed as a community at
the fourth stage of readiness. In other words, stage two is simply a convenient label for
the characteristics of "Denial and Resistance" in a community rather than a discrete
quantity of readiness.