Lyrics © 2015 by Larry Lesser, music by Larry Lesser and Dominic Dousa
Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio are levels of measurement.
Let's show that progression with examples that we present.
With a variable that's nominal, values are just like names.
So ordering or averaging religions would really be a shame!
A variable that's ordinal sorts values like a chain,
But don't assume with Likert scales each jump would mean the same!
With a variable that's interval, differences are sound,
But Fahrenheit ratios would only just confound.
With a variable that's ratio, zero means there's none.
And when it comes to incomes, two's twice as much as one!
Examples help us learn what measurement levels are!
An acronym recalls them:
It's the French word NOIR!