Which statement describes the continuation-ratio model?

• A. It is a model for nominal data
• B. It is a model to analyze ordinal data
• C. It is a model for binary data only
• D. It is not used in ordinal data analysis

Answer: (B)

This model is used for ordinal outcomes and treats the response as a sequence of steps through ordered categories. For each step between consecutive categories, it models the probability of moving to the next category given that you have reached the current one or a higher one. In other words, it looks at the conditional odds of advancing in the order, one threshold at a time, which aligns perfectly with the nature of ordinal data where the order matters but the exact spacing may not be uniform.

This is why it’s the best description: it explicitly leverages the ordered structure of the data by focusing on transitions between adjacent categories, rather than collapsing to nominal groups or treating the outcome as strictly binary. It’s not appropriate for nominal data, which lacks a natural order, nor is it restricted to binary outcomes; it’s designed to analyze more than two ordered categories through these sequential probabilities.