What additional information is obtained by measuring two individuals on an ordinal scale compared to a nominal scale?

What additional information is obtained by measuring two individuals on an ordinal scale compared to a nominal scale?

• A. Whether the measurements are the same or different
• B. The direction of the difference
• C. The size of the difference
• D. None of the other options is correct

Answer: (B)

Ordinal scales preserve order but not equal intervals. When you compare two individuals on an ordinal scale, you can say which score is higher, so you know the direction of the difference. For example, if one person ranks higher than another, you know which direction the difference goes. But you can’t quantify how large that difference is, because the steps between ranks aren’t guaranteed to be equal or meaningful in size. On a nominal scale you can only tell whether they’re in the same category or in different categories, with no sense of order. So the extra information provided by an ordinal measure over a nominal one is the direction of the difference.

Ordinal scales preserve order but not equal intervals. When you compare two individuals on an ordinal scale, you can say which score is higher, so you know the direction of the difference. For example, if one person ranks higher than another, you know which direction the difference goes. But you can’t quantify how large that difference is, because the steps between ranks aren’t guaranteed to be equal or meaningful in size. On a nominal scale you can only tell whether they’re in the same category or in different categories, with no sense of order. So the extra information provided by an ordinal measure over a nominal one is the direction of the difference.