Ordinal data: Which statement describes ordinal data?

• A. Ordinal data are categories that can be ranked in order, with differences between ranks not necessarily equal.
• B. Ordinal data are the same as continuous data.
• C. Ordinal data are measured on a numeric scale.
• D. Ordinal data have two options.

Answer: (A)

Ordinal data consist of categories that have a meaningful order, but the differences between adjacent ranks are not assumed to be equal. This means you can say which category is higher or lower, but you can’t quantify the exact distance between categories. Examples include Likert-scale responses (strongly disagree to strongly agree) or class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior).

This is why the statement describing ordinal data is best: it emphasizes both the ranking and the unequal or unknown spacing between levels. In contrast, continuous or numeric-interval data are measured on a scale with equal intervals and a true zero, allowing precise arithmetic. Dichotomous data have only two categories, which is a different data type altogether.