Explain ordinal data and give example

Items on an ordinal scale are set into some kind of order by their position on the scale. This may indicate such as temporal position, superiority, etc.

The order of items is often defined by assigning numbers to them to show their relative position. Letters or other sequential symbols may also be used as appropriate.

Ordinal items are usually categorical, in that they belong to a definable category, such as '1956 marathon runners'.

You cannot do arithmetic with ordinal numbers -- they show sequence only.

Example

The first, third and fifth person in a race

Pay bands in an organization, as denoted by A, B, C and D