A rank order scale would be an example of what type of data?

A rank order scale is classified as ordinal data because it involves the arrangement of items in a specific order based on a particular attribute or characteristic. In ordinal data, the key feature is that the values can be ranked or ordered; however, the precise difference between those ranks is not defined or uniform.

For instance, if you have a ranking of preferences (like first, second, third), while you can tell which option is preferred over another, you cannot quantify how much more one option is preferred compared to another. This is a fundamental aspect of ordinal data, distinguishing it from nominal data, which simply categorizes items without any order, as well as interval and ratio data, which include meaningful intervals and a true zero point respectively. In summary, the characteristics of a rank order scale align perfectly with the properties of ordinal data, making it the correct classification.