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I have data on 26 participants (13 from computing and remaining 13 from non computing) who have participated in my research. Each participant is treated with a lab module (Hands on Robotics Session). Now each participant will be evaluated using a rubric on scale of 1 to 4. This experiment has both pre and post test.

Is data on a 1 to 4 scale interval or ordinal?

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It doesn't matter. You should first be thinking about the scientific questions you would like to answer with these data and what the numbers mean about those questions. For additional guidance, search our site for related threads. That might help you to ask an improved question whose answers may be more relevant and useful for your research. – whuber♦ Jun 29 '12 at 19:47
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When you say 1 to 4 scale, do you mean a single item with four response option or do you mean the average of many items on a 1 to 4 scale or do you mean something else? – Jeromy Anglim Jun 30 '12 at 12:40
@whuber: thanks it makes lot of sense. – Dumb_Shock Jul 2 '12 at 2:30

1 Answer

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It is probably ordinal. If this is similar to a Likert scale the data have a natural order but the difference between 1 and 2 may not be the same as the difference between 2 and 3. If 1 unit on the scale is not the same for 3 to 2 as for 2 to 1 the scale is not interval.

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