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 A Great Deal Much Somewhat Little Never

Always Very Frequently Occasionally Rarely Very Rarely Never Often Sometimes Seldom Never

Always Usually About Half the Time Seldom Never Always Very Often Sometimes Rarely Never

Almost Always To a Considerable Degree Occasionally Seldom

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 Less than I would like Too heavy About Right Too light Too Harsh About right Too lenient Too much About right Too little Too Strict About right Too Lax 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 wont Probably wont Probably will Definitely will

Five-Point Scales
Gotten much better Gotten somewhat better Stayed the same Gotten somewhat worse Gotten much worse Excellent Above Average Average Below Average Very Poor one of the best about average average' below average one of the worst completely satisfied very satisfied fairly well satisfied somewhat dissatisfied very dissatisfied Strongly Agree Inclined to Agree Neither Inclined to Disagree Strongly Disagree Very High Above Average Average Below Average Very Low

Way too much Too much about right too little way to little very good good fair poor very poor Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not at all

much higher higher about the same slightly lower much lower very satisfied satisfied neither dissatisfied very dissatisfied 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

Ive 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 thats 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 dont know option is inconclusive. I personally believe that a dont know option is essential on some scales where people may simply not have an opinion. However, studies are inconclusive on if a dont 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.