What Is A Likert Scale?

Monday, January 30th 2023. | Sample Templates
Likert scales developed for cognitive testing. Download Scientific
Likert scales developed for cognitive testing. Download Scientific from www.researchgate.net

survey questions.

What is a Likert Scale?

A Likert scale is a type of survey question used to measure attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. It’s one of the most popular methods for collecting data in the social sciences, and it’s widely used in marketing research and customer satisfaction surveys. The scale is named after its creator, American social scientist Rensis Likert, who developed it in the 1930s.

The Likert scale is a set of statements or questions that are used to measure how much someone agrees or disagrees with a particular topic. Each statement is assigned a numerical value ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, which allows the surveyor to measure the respondent’s opinion or attitude on a given topic.

How to Use the Likert Scale

Using a Likert scale in a survey is relatively straightforward. First, you need to decide on the topic that you want to measure. This could be anything from customer satisfaction to employee engagement, and you can choose from a variety of different statement types, such as agree/disagree, true/false, or yes/no.

Once you’ve chosen your statement type and topic, you need to create a scale of responses. For example, if you’re using the agree/disagree statement type, you could use the following scale: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree.

Once you have your scale, you can create your survey questions. Make sure your questions are clear and concise, and avoid using jargon or overly complicated language. You should also make sure to keep the number of questions to a minimum, as too many questions can lead to fatigue and lower response rates.

Sample Likert Scale Survey Questions

Here are some sample survey questions that use a Likert scale:

  • I find the product easy to use: Strongly Disagree – Strongly Agree
  • I am satisfied with the customer service: Strongly Disagree – Strongly Agree
  • I would recommend this product to a friend: Strongly Disagree – Strongly Agree

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Likert Scale

The Likert scale has many advantages, such as being easy to use, providing a clear measurement of opinion and attitude, and being well-understood by respondents. However, there are some drawbacks as well. For example, the scale can be easily skewed by respondents who are either overly enthusiastic or overly critical, and there are no right or wrong answers.

Another disadvantage is that the Likert scale only measures opinion or attitude, and does not measure behaviors or outcomes. This means that it can be difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from Likert scale data.

Conclusion

The Likert scale is a popular and effective method for measuring opinion and attitude. It’s easy to use, and it provides a clear and consistent measure of opinion. However, it’s important to remember that the scale only measures opinion and attitude, and does not measure behaviors or outcomes.

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