Donor Ranking in RE and In General

Ally Nauer

I have a question regarding Top Donor Reports. I've been working in non-profits for nearly 16 years. I also have a background in research and science (Biology, Ecology, and Chemistry). A few days ago, my supervisor said I was ranking donors in our top donor report incorrectly.

Example: She stated that if someone has donated the same amount, they get assigned the same rank (I agree here), but that the next donor gets assigned NOT the next logical ranking number, but the number they would have gotten if the previous rank had not been adjusted. More specifically, if donors 3 and 4 donated the same amount, they both get assigned a rank of 3, but the next person (#5 originally), would not be assigned Rank #4, they would still be Rank #5. So, what would happen to Rank #4? Person #4 was assigned Rank #3 based on the amount donated, so they can't also be #4 - that would be a Count function. Why is rank #4 being skipped? Logically, that 5th person should get rank #4,as a result of the previous ranking of #3, if ranking is truly based on the amount. It seems like a Count function is getting confused with rank by amount. Can someone clarify this? I'm truly baffled, as a logical person.

Dariel Dixon

@Ally Nauer This is just a counting method. I've seen it a lot. It's so that you don't go over your number. In your example, there is no #4 because there are two #3s. The next rank is 5th, stating there are 4 entries ranked higher, not 4. Honestly, it's a preference issue, and probably not worth a lot of discussion. I'd direct you to this Wikipedia link for more information.

Alex Wong

@Ally Nauer
It is a preference more than anything else, neither is right or wrong. Which is why, most product will support both. For example in one of the most popular SQL server, you can get Rank that does what your supervisor wants, or you can do Dense_Rank that does what you think is correct.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/ranking-functions-transact-sql?view=sql-server-ver16

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/functions/dense-rank-transact-sql?view=sql-server-ver16

Ally Nauer

@Alex Wong Ok. Thanks, that's good to know. See, if I were worried about going over, I'd do a separate column with the Count, but like you and Dariel have just replied, it's ultimately preference.

Ally Nauer

@Dariel Dixon Good to know. Appreciate the response. My brain was turning into the Anger emotion from Inside Out.