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ordinal data
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[data architecture, statistics]
A method of organizing data values into a ranked hierarchy with no fixed interval between the hierarchical levels. A common example of ordinal data is a Likert scale, which assigns a numeric value on an ordinal scale to questionnaire responses such as "Agree", "Somewhat agree", "Neutral", "Somewhat disagree", and "Disagree". In GIS, a group of polygons colored lighter to darker to represent less to more densely populated areas is an example of ordinal data.