Ordinal data are characterized by...

• A. Imposes a rank or order on categories; intervals between categories are not necessarily equal
• B. Has equal intervals between categories
• C. Has a true zero point
• D. Has no inherent order

Answer: (A)

Ordinal data are categories with a meaningful rank, but the distance between categories isn’t assumed to be equal. This means you can say one level is higher or lower than another, but you can’t assume the gaps between adjacent levels are the same. That’s why this type of data is different from interval data (where intervals are equal) and from ratio data (which has a true zero). It also differs from nominal data, which has no inherent order at all. With ordinal data you can compare order and use medians or nonparametric tests, but you shouldn’t rely on means or assume equal spacing between categories.