What defines an ordinal scale of measurement?

An ordinal scale of measurement is characterized by the fact that the order of categories is significant; that is, the numbers or ranks indicate a sequence or hierarchy among the categories. However, while the order matters, the differences between the values are not equal or meaningful. For instance, in a survey where respondents rank their satisfaction on a scale from "very unsatisfied" to "very satisfied," you can identify that "very satisfied" is better than "neutral," but the distance between the ranks (for example, between "neutral" and "satisfied") is not quantifiable or consistent.

This highlights that ordinal scales provide information about relative position but not the precise magnitude of difference between those positions, making them distinct from other types of scales like interval or ratio scales where both order and differences in value are significant. Hence, the defining feature of an ordinal scale is the importance of the sequence among the categories without an emphasis on the exact nature of the differences between them.