Ordinal scale

Ordinal scale is a type of measurement scale used in various fields, including statistics, research methods, and data analysis. It is used to rank order the items in a specific sample, allowing for a higher level of measurement than a nominal scale, but not as high as an interval scale or ratio scale.

Definition

An ordinal scale is a scale that allows for rank order of the units of interest with respect to the trait being measured. The intervals between adjacent ranks may not be equal. For example, the difference between the first and second place in a race is not necessarily the same as the difference between the second and third place.

Characteristics

Ordinal scales have the following characteristics:

• The data can be arranged in an order (i.e., rank order)
• The differences between data are not known or meaningful

Examples

Examples of ordinal scales include:

• Likert scale: A popular example of an ordinal scale in survey research. Respondents rank their answers on a scale of 1-5.
• Socioeconomic status: Often measured as "low", "middle", or "high".
• Educational level: Measured as "elementary", "secondary", and "tertiary".

Advantages and Disadvantages

Ordinal scales have several advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• Simplicity: Ordinal scales are simple to use and understand.
• Flexibility: They can be used with a wide range of data.

Disadvantages

• Limited mathematical operations: Because the distances between ranks are not known, many statistical analyses cannot be conducted with ordinal scales.
• Lack of detail: Ordinal scales do not provide detailed information. For example, they do not tell how much higher one rank is compared to another.

See also

• Nominal scale
• Interval scale
• Ratio scale
• Measurement

Ordinal scale Resources
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