Which statement is true about ordinal scales?

Which statement is true about ordinal scales?

• A. Intervals between ranks are guaranteed to be equal
• B. Data are ranked on the basis of a property, but the intervals between ranks may not be equal
• C. There is a true zero point
• D. It uses a numerical scale with equal units

Answer: (B)

Ordinal scales show order without assuming equal spacing between the ranks. You can say one item has more of the property than another, but the size of the difference between adjacent ranks isn’t guaranteed to be the same. That’s why the statement that best describes ordinal data is that data are ranked on the basis of a property, but the intervals between ranks may not be equal. For example, rating pain from 1 to 10 gives a higher number for more pain, but the jump from 3 to 4 isn’t necessarily the same amount of increase as from 7 to 8. Also, ordinal scales do not have a true zero point, which distinguishes them from ratio scales. So statements about equal intervals or a numerical scale with equal units don’t apply to ordinal data.

Ordinal scales show order without assuming equal spacing between the ranks. You can say one item has more of the property than another, but the size of the difference between adjacent ranks isn’t guaranteed to be the same. That’s why the statement that best describes ordinal data is that data are ranked on the basis of a property, but the intervals between ranks may not be equal.

For example, rating pain from 1 to 10 gives a higher number for more pain, but the jump from 3 to 4 isn’t necessarily the same amount of increase as from 7 to 8. Also, ordinal scales do not have a true zero point, which distinguishes them from ratio scales. So statements about equal intervals or a numerical scale with equal units don’t apply to ordinal data.