The rating variable in a survey where participants rate a company on a scale of one to ten is best described as ordinal. This is because the ratings are ranked in order, with each number representing a position on a scale of satisfaction or quality. The numbers are not just labels (which would be nominal), nor do they represent a continuous spectrum (which would be continuous). They also do not fit the definition of categorical, as that implies non-ordered groups or categories. In an ordinal scale, the order of the values is significant and meaningful12.
References:
* Qualtrics explains that ordinal scales have answer sets that occur in a logical and systematic order, providing qualitative data.
* Zonka Feedback describes a 1 to 10 rating scale survey, indicating that the numbers represent a ranking from most negative to most positive experience, which aligns with the characteristics of an ordinal scale.