Ordinal data

As explained in Data Without Labels

Ordinal data consists of categories that have an inherent order but not necessarily meaningful numeric spacing.

Ordinal data consists of qualitative, or categorical, values that can be arranged in a meaningful sequence. Unlike nominal data, its categories have an order; unlike quantitative data, the category labels do not necessarily represent measurable spacing. section 1.2.2

Common ordered categories include:

• Fast, medium, and slow. section 1.2.2
• Positive, neutral, and negative. section 1.2.2

Figure 1.2 The divisions and subdivisions of data

Use the data hierarchy to locate ordinal data among qualitative and quantitative data types, alongside binary and nominal categories. section 1.2.2

How Data Without Labels covers it

How deep it goes

Defines ordinal data and contrasts it with nominal data, stopping before encoding, modeling, or statistical treatment.

Examples

Uses fast/medium/slow and positive/neutral/negative as examples of ordered categories.

What you can do after

Evaluate/understand whether categorical values possess an inherent order rather than merely distinct labels.

How it connects

Ties ordinal data to qualitative data, categorical variables, binary data, nominal data, and quantitative data.

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Also explained in

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  Machine Learning for Tabular Data: XGBoost, Deep Learning, and AICategorical data whose values have a meaningful order or rank.
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  The Well-Grounded Data AnalystOrdinal data consists of categorical values whose categories have a meaningful natural order.
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  Effective Data AnalysisOrdinal data consists of observations assigned to categories with a meaningful order but without necessarily equal spacing between categories.
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  Starting Data Analytics with Generative AI and PythonAn ordinal variable is a categorical variable whose values have a meaningful order but not necessarily equal intervals.
• 

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  Ensemble Methods for Machine LearningAn ordinal feature is a categorical input variable whose categories have an inherent ordering.
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  Tiny Python Projects: Learn coding and testing with puzzles and gamesAn ordinal value is a representation that identifies the position of an item in an ordered sequence, such as first or second.
• 

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  D3.js in Action, Third EditionAn ordinal value is a categorical value whose labels have a meaningful order or rank.

Compare how 8 books explain ordinal data →

Related concepts

• categorical datakind of · Categorical data consists of values representing membership in a discrete set of named or ordered categories rather than measured numerical magnitudes.
• data typekind of · A data type classifies values and specifies their representation or interpretation and the operations applicable to them.
• qualitative datakind of · Qualitative data is descriptive, nonnumeric information representing characteristics, categories, meanings, experiences, opinions, or context rather than measured quantities.
• Likert scaleproduced by · A Likert scale is an ordered response scale whose labeled categories express degrees of agreement, quality, intensity, preference, or another evaluated property.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Data Without Labels. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.