A Likert scale is a type of psychometric scale used in surveys and questionnaires to measure people’s opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. It consists of a series of statements or questions about a particular topic, and respondents are asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement.
By analyzing the distribution of responses across the scale, researchers can gain insights into the overall sentiment or opinion on a topic. Likert scales are a simple and effective way to collect data that can be easily analyzed and interpreted.
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Table of content
- What is a Likert scale?
- Why are Likert scales important?
- What are the limitations of Likert scales?
- How to Create a Likert Scale Survey?
- What to do with your Likert scale results?
- What are Likert scale questions and examples?
What is a Likert scale?
A Likert scale is a five-point or seven-point question. Social psychologist Rensis Likert developed it in 1932. It allows survey makers to measure people’s opinions and levels of agreement.
Likert scales are a way to scale attitudes. They let respondents show agreement, disagreement, or neutrality.
They are widely used in fields like psychology, sociology, and market research. They use numbers to measure non-numeric data well.
Likert scales are a good way to measure customer sentiment. They cover attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. These affect how much a customer likes a product or service.
A Statista study, says Likert scales usually consist of 5, 7, or 11 attributes.
They are crucial for understanding customer sentiment. Surveys are them to gauge opinions and attitudes.
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Why are Likert scales important?
Likert scales are a reliable way to measure opinions, perceptions, and behaviors. They provide granular feedback, revealing degrees of opinion and identifying areas for improvement.
You can use Likert scales in long or recurring surveys. They track seasonal changes in customer attitudes. This helps businesses understand their brand health and predict trends.
What are the limitations of Likert scales?
Likert scaling is great at measuring opinions and sentiments. But, it does have some limitations:
- Limited understanding: Likert scales can tell you how people feel about something, but they don’t reveal why. They give you a general sense of sentiment, but not the nuances behind the responses.
- Forced choices: The scale forces respondents to pick from a set of options. But, these options may not perfectly capture their true feelings. There might be a middle ground between answer choices that isn’t reflected.
- Response bias: People can answer based on tendencies that aren’t related to the question itself. For example, some may prefer strong answers. Others might like middle-ground options. The way questions are worded can also influence how people respond.
- Ordinal data: Likert scales provide ordinal data, meaning the answer choices have a clear order (strongly disagree, disagree, etc.). However, the intervals between each option may not be consistent. Assuming “agree” and “strongly agree” are the same, is misleading. The same goes for “disagree” and “strongly disagree.”
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How to Create a Likert Scale Survey?
Crafting an effective Likert scale is the hardest part. These 4 steps will help you get it right:
1. Define your goal: What information are you trying to gather? What do you want to learn from the survey? Having a clear objective will guide the rest of the process.
2. Craft your statements: Respondents will react to these questions or statements. Keep them clear, concise, and focused on your objective.
3. Design the scale: This is the heart of a Likert scale. You’ll present a range of response options. They are usually on a bipolar dimension. This means they go from positive to negative or agree to disagree. Here are some aspects to consider:
- Many choose 5 points: For example, Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Less common is a 7-point scale which can provide more granularity in responses.
- Wording: Use clear and easy-to-understand labels for each point on the scale. Tailor the wording to your specific topic (e.g., Satisfied/Dissatisfied, Likely/Unlikely).
- Neutral midpoint: Decide whether to include a neutral option in the middle. This can be useful if you want to capture indifference or uncertainty.
4. Pilot test: Test your survey with a small group before deploying it. Look for any ambiguities or areas for improvement. Here are some additional tips:
- Maintain consistency: Use the same scale format throughout the survey.
- Avoid double negatives: Phrase your statements clearly to avoid confusion.
- Limit bias: Avoid leading questions that nudge respondents towards a particular answer.
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What to do with your Likert scale results?
Likert scale results can be a goldmine of info. But, you need to process them right to get the insights. Here’s a general roadmap for what to do with your Likert scale results:
- Calculate Scores: Assign a number to each response option on your Likert scale. Use 1 for strongly disagree and the highest value for strongly agree. Then, for each question, add up the values for all respondents. This gives you a total score for each question.
- Analyze Central Tendency: It helps you know the most common response for each question. You can find the mode (the most frequent answer) or the mean (the average score).
- Consider Variability: Don’t just focus on the most popular answer. Look at the spread of answers. It shows if there’s a range of opinions or if everyone clustered around one answer.
- Visualize the Data: Charts, such as bar graphs or histograms, can show you well. They show how responses are spread across the scale.
- Look for patterns: If you have many Likert scale questions, see if the answers are correlated. For instance, if satisfaction with a product is high, is the likelihood of recommending it also high?
What are Likert scale questions and examples?
One of the best things about Likert scale survey questions is they can be used for many topics. They gather quantitative data.
Below are some Likert scale examples: It will show you when to use them in market research and what insights they can give.
Customer Satisfaction
How happy are you with our product’s quality?
- Strongly dissatisfied
- Dissatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Strongly Satisfied
Does this company provide excellent customer service?
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Event Feedback
How likely are you to recommend this event?
- Not at all likely
- Somewhat unlikely
- Neutral
- Somewhat likely
- Very likely
Overall, how would you rate the value you received for the cost of attending this event?
- Very poor value
- Poor value
- Fair value
- Good value
- Excellent value
Employee Engagement
I feel valued as an employee here.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
How satisfied are you with your current workload?
- Very dissatisfied
- Dissatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Very Satisfied
Product Development
How easy was it to set up this new product?
- Extremely difficult
- Difficult
- Somewhat difficult
- Easy
- Very easy
To what extent do you find this feature useful?
- Not useful at all
- Somewhat useful
- Neutral, Useful
- Very useful
How likely are you to purchase this product again?
- Not likely at all
- Somewhat unlikely
- Neutral
- Somewhat likely
- Very likely
Learning and Education
I found the instructions for this assignment to be clear and understandable.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
How comfortable are you with this course’s pace?
- Too slow
- Somewhat slow
- Just right
- Somewhat fast
- Too fast
How effective was the teacher in explaining this concept?
- Not effective at all
- Somewhat ineffective
- Neutral
- Somewhat effective
- Very effective
Website and User Experience
How intuitive do you find navigating this website?
- Very unintuitive
- Somewhat unintuitive
- Neutral
- Somewhat intuitive
- Very intuitive
How satisfied are you with the loading speed of this webpage?
- Very dissatisfied
- Dissatisfied
- Neutral
- Satisfied
- Very satisfied
How likely are you to return to this website?
- Not likely at all
- Somewhat unlikely
- Neutral
- Somewhat likely
- Very likely
Perceptions and Opinions
Working remotely has a positive impact on my productivity.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Advertising has a significant influence on my purchasing decisions.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Social media platforms are a reliable source of news and information.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neutral
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
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Conclusion
The Likert scale is valuable for researchers. It helps gauge opinions and attitudes. It offers a simple way to collect data. It is effective and goes beyond a yes/no response, providing a spectrum of feelings.
However, it’s important to know the limits. Respondents have a limited understanding of the scale. Also, the data is ordinal. Carefully craft Likert scale questions to consider their potential drawbacks. You can use them to gain valuable insights from surveys.
Frequently asked question:(FAQs)
What is a Likert scale?
- A Likert scale is a survey question format that measures respondents’ levels of agreement or disagreement with a statement.
What are the benefits of using a Likert scale?
- Simple and easy to understand for respondents.
- Provide measurable data for analysis and comparison.
- Reduce response bias compared to yes/no questions.
How many points should a Likert scale have?
- Common Likert scales have 5, 7, or 9 points. Five points are good for a quick survey, while 7 or 9 points allow for more nuanced responses.
Should I include a neutral midpoint option?
- Yes, including a neutral point (“Neither Agree nor Disagree”) is recommended. This allows respondents who don’t have a strong opinion to reflect their sentiments accurately.
How do I write good Likert scale questions?
- Keep questions clear, concise, and focused on a single concept.
- Avoid double-barreled questions that ask about two things at once.
- Phrase statements to be neutral and unbiased.
