Nominal is a term used in the text analytics industry to refer to something that is not a number. Nominal data is non-numeric data that can be assigned to categories. This includes items such as names, places, things, and so on. outside of the text analytics industry, the term “nominal” may have different meanings. For example, in statistics, nominal variables are those that can be categorized but cannot be ordered or ranked. In other fields, such as economics, the term “nominal” may refer to a price or value that is not adjusted for inflation.
Nominal Data vs. Ordinal Data
Nominal data is sometimes confused with other types of data, such as ordinal data. Ordinal data is data that can be ordered or ranked but not necessarily assigned to specific categories. For example, a customer satisfaction survey may ask customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most satisfied. This would be considered ordinal data. On the other hand, you cannot rank data in nominal data.
Nominal Data vs. Ratio Data
Nominal data is also sometimes confused with ratio data. Ratio data is data that can be ordered and ranked and also assigned to specific categories. Ratio data also has a definitive zero point. For example, a person’s height could be considered ratio data because it can be both ordered (taller, shorter) and ranked (6 feet tall, 6’2″). It also has a definitive zero point (a person who is 0 feet tall). Unlike nominal data, you cannot rank or order the data.
Nominal Data vs. Interval Data
Nominal data is also sometimes confused with interval data. Interval data is data that can be ordered and ranked but does not have a definitive zero point. For example, a person’s temperature could be considered interval data because it can be both ordered (feverish, not feverish) and ranked (98.6 degrees, 100 degrees). However, it does not have a definitive zero point (a person can be 0 degrees Fahrenheit, but this does not mean they are dead).
In summary, nominal data is non-numeric data that can be assigned to specific categories. It is sometimes confused with other types of data, such as ordinal, ratio data, and interval data but it is important to remember that nominal data cannot be ordered or ranked.