Likert Scale

The following choices may help you when you design an attitude instrument. The bold face sets are the most popular.

AGREEMENT  

Strongly Agree  Agree  Undecided  Disagree  Strongly

Disagree

Agree Strongly 

Agree Moderately 

Agree Slightly 

Disagree Slightly 

Disagree Moderately 

Disagree Strongly

Agree  Disagree

Agree  Undecided  Disagree

Agree Very Strongly 

Agree Strongly  Agree  Disagree  Disagree

Strongly  Disagree Very

Strongly

Yes  No

Completely Agree 

Mostly Agree  Slightly Agree  Slightly

Disagree  Mostly

Disagree Completely

Disagree

Disagree Strongly 

Disagree  Tend to

Disagree  Tend to Agree  Agree  Agree Strongly

FREQUENCY  

Very Frequently

Frequently Occasionally Rarely  Very Rarely Never

Always  Very

Frequently Occasionally  Rarely  Very Rarely  Never

Always  Usually  About Half

the Time  Seldom  Never

Almost Always 

To a Considerable Degree 

Occasionally Seldom

A Great Deal  Much  Somewhat  Little  Never

Often  Sometimes  Seldom  Never

Always  Very Often  Sometimes  Rarely  Never

 

IMPORTANCE  

Very Important  Important  Moderately Important  Of Little Importance  Unimportant

Very Important  Moderately Important  Unimportant

QUALITY  

Very Good  Good  Barely Acceptable  Poor  Very Poor

Extremely Poor  Below Average  Average  Above Average  Excellent

Good  Fair  Poor

LIKELIHOOD  

Like Me  Unlike Me

To a Great Extent  Somewhat  Very Little  Not at All

True  False

Definitely  Very Probably  Probably  Possibly  Probably Not  Very Probably Not

Almost Always True  Usually True  Often True  Occasionally True  Sometimes But

Infrequently True  Usually Not True  Almost Never True

True of Myself  Mostly True of Myself  About Halfway True

of Myself  Slightly True Of

Myself  Not at All True of

Myself

Survey response options.

 Dichotomous Scales

Fair Unfair

Agree Disagree

True False

Yes No

 

Three-Point Scales

More than I would like About right

Too Harsh About right

Too Strict About right

Less than I would like Too lenient Too Lax

Too heavy About Right Too light

Too much About right Too little

extremely moderately not at all

 Four-Point Scales

Most of the time

Some of the time

Hardly ever Very seldom

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Exceeded Met Nearly Met Missed

Definitely won’t

Probably won’t Probably will Definitely will

 Five-Point Scales

Gotten much better Gotten somewhat

better Stayed the same Gotten somewhat

worse Gotten much worse

Strongly Agree Inclined to Agree Neither Inclined to Disagree Strongly Disagree

Very High Above Average Average Below Average Very Low

Excellent Above Average Average Below Average Very Poor

Way too much Too much about right too little way to little

much higher higher about the same slightly lower much lower

one of the best about average average' below average one of the worst

very good good fair poor very poor

very satisfied satisfied neither dissatisfied very dissatisfied

completely satisfied very satisfied fairly well satisfied somewhat dissatisfied very dissatisfied

Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all

totally like very much like moderately like somewhat like not like

Almost always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

Very Often Regularly Sometimes Once or Twice Never

Very important Quite important Fairly important Slightly important Not at all important

 Seven-Point Scales

very dissatisfied moderately dissatisfied slightly dissatisfied neutral slightly satisfied moderately satisfied very satisfied

far below moderately below slightly below met expectations slightly above moderately above far above

very poor poor fair good very good excellent exceptional

Descriptors of amount or frequency

all of the time - totally most of the time - mostly - mainly - substantial - considerable - frequently -

regularly - usually - consistently - repeatedly - plenty - abundant - copious - commonly - routinely

moderate - modest - medium - intermediate - average - middling sometimes - occasionally - infrequently - rarely - seldom Never

I’ve been looking into the best practices for using the Likert scale type of question,

probably the most widely used response scale featured in surveys – often used to measure attitudes and other factors (e.g. “Excellent” to “Poor”). Created by Rensis Likert (pictured above) in the 1930s, his original scale featured five points. Over time, there has been many discussions and disagreements focused on one central question: What works best with the Likert scale to give you the most accurate responses?

More than seven points on a scale are too much. Studies show that people are not able to place their point of view on a scale greater than seven. So go for seven or less. What is the perfect number? Studies are not conclusive on this, most commonly mentioned are five, four or three point scales.

Numbered scales are difficult for people. For example, scales that are marked “1 to 5, with 5 being the highest” result in less accurate results than scales with labels such as “good” or “poor”. If numbered scales are used, signposts are recommended (e.g. put “poor” above 1, “satisfactory” above 3 and “excellent” above 5).

Labelled scales need to be as accurate as possible. Commonly uses labels such as “often” or “sometimes” often result in inaccurate responses. As these terms mean different notions of engagement from person to person, culture to culture (not to add the complexity of translating these terms). Scholars recommend using time-bound labels for frequency measures such as “once a week” (although problems of correct recall are also an issue). In addition, studies show that people find it difficult to differentiate between “very good” and “good” – better to use “good” and “excellent”.

And that’s it! Basically, there are inconclusive results on the use of a middle or neutral point (e.g. four point vs. a five point scale). Some scholars advocate a five point scale where respondents can have a “neutral” middle point whereas others prefer to “force” people to select a negative or positive position with a four point scale. In addition, the use of a “don’t know” option is inconclusive. I personally believe that a

“don’t know” option is essential on some scales where people may simply not have an opinion. However, studies are inconclusive on if a “don’t know” option increases accuracy of responses.

Agreement: Completely disagree, Mostly disagree Slightly disagree, Slightly agree,

Mostly agree, Strongly agree.

Frequency: Always, Frequently, Occasionally, Seldom, Never.

Importance: Very important, Important, Moderately important, Of little importance,

Unimportant.

Quality: Good, Acceptable, Poor

Likelihood: Definitely, Probably, Possibly, Very probably not.

Extend: None, Very little, Some, Quite a bit and Very much

Cover letter: 1. Describe why the study is being done (briefly) and identify the sponsors. 2. Mention the incentive. (A good incentive is a copy of the results). 3. Mention inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. 4. Encourage prompt response without using deadlines. 5. Describe your "confidentiality/anonymity" policy. 6. Give the name and phone number of someone they can call with questions.