Mathematical operations allowed

We have a few new abilities to work with at the ordinal level compared to the nominal level. At the ordinal level, we may still do basic counts as we did at the nominal level, but we can also introduce comparisons and orderings into the mix. For this reason, we may utilize new graphs at this level. We may use bar and pie charts like we did at the nominal level, but because we now have ordering and comparisons, we can calculate medians and percentiles. With medians and percentiles, stem-and-leaf plots, as well as box plots, are possible.

Some examples of data at the ordinal level include:

  • Using a Likert scale (rating something on a scale from one to ten, for example)

  • Grade levels on an exam (F, D, C, B, ...

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