ABSTRACT
Ranks are numbered 1, 2, 3, …but they should not be considered as numbers in an absolute sense. Because of the ordering, these observations obviously tell more than a nominal scale. However, the distances between the ranks are not determined. For instance, suppose we know the number of FTE staff members of five libraries, say 13.1, 24.5, 12.9, 17.6, 18.0. If we present only their ranks-4, 1, 5, 3, 2-then it seems that the “distance” between each library and the next one in the ranking is the same. The real data, however, reveal that ranks 4 and 5 and also ranks 2 and 3 are very close. The rank order set of data is a very rough estimate; the exact values (called absolute scale) provide the most detailed one possible. Intermediate scales also exist.
