Any good 'social measurement for Dummies'-type books?

Question

I'd like to get a good introductory text on applying Social scales (5-point ratings, Likert scale, etc) that discusses the pros and cons of different scales and perhaps gives some guidance on what scales to apply in which situations. Basically, something that expands on the ideas discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_%28social_sciences%29

Answer 1

This isn't a complete answer, but there's some great background material here:
Reputation Research Network at the University of Michigan
http://databases.si.umich.edu/reputations/

Systems for Collective Choice
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2005/12/systems_for_col.html

Collective Choice: Rating Systems
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2005/12/collective_choi.html

Collective Choice: Competitive Ranking Systems
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2006/01/ranking_systems.html

Using 5-Star Rating Systems
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2006/08/using_5star_rat.html

Collective Choice: Experimenting with Ratings
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2007/01/collective_choi.html

Rep systems
http://www.raphkoster.com/?p=303

On Trust
http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/02/04/on-trust-part-i/
http://www.raphkoster.com/?p=310

Answer 2

haha.. i am a kind of mathematics and statistics dummy, too :) well, i can advise you to look up some introductory books about social sciences.
or some "introductory statistics for social sciences" kind of books.

as you know, so to say, sociology and psychology uses different kind of measurement scales and techinques, so you have an opportunity to reach different books in yuor interest.

also, i looked at the link you gave, i think you can find enough information at an introductory book about SPSS (statistical package for social sciences)

hope those links help a little :

http://www.spssscience.com

http://www.statoo.com/