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Likert Scale Questionnaire: Examples & Analysis

Explore the uses of Likert scale questionnaires with examples and statistical analysis insights for research studies.

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Likert Scale Questionnaire

Likert Scale Questionnaire: Examples & Analysis

Various kinds of rating scales have been developed to measure attitudes directly (i.e., the person knows their attitude is being studied). The most widely used is the Likert scale (1932).

In its final form, the Likert scale is a five (or seven) point scale that allows individuals to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement.

The Likert scale provides five possible answers to a statement or question, allowing respondents to indicate their positive-to-negative strength of agreement or feeling. A Likert scale is a psychometric response scale primarily used in questionnaires to obtain participants' preferences or degree of agreement with a statement.

Examples

I believe that ecological questions are the most important issues facing human beings today.

Strongly DisagreeDisagreeUndecidedAgreeStrongly Agree
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

A Likert scale assumes that the intensity of an attitude is linear and measures it through assigned numerical values.

Examples of Items for Surveys

Likert scales can measure variations such as frequency, quality, importance, and likelihood, etc.

CategoryOption 1Option 2Option 3Option 4Option 5
AgreementStrongly AgreeAgreeUndecidedDisagreeStrongly Disagree
FrequencyAlwaysOftenSometimesRarelyNever
ImportanceVery ImportantImportantModerately ImportantSlightly ImportantUnimportant
QualityExcellentGoodFairPoorVery Poor
LikelihoodAlmost Always TrueUsually TrueOccasionally TrueUsually Not TrueRarely True

Analyzing Data

The response categories in Likert scales have a rank order, but the intervals between values cannot be presumed equal.

The appropriate statistics to use for Likert scale data include the median or mode, as the mean is unsuitable for ordinal data. You can also display the distribution of observations using a bar chart.

Critical Evaluation

Strengths

Likert scales allow for degrees of opinion, resulting in quantitative data that can be analyzed easily. Anonymity in surveys further reduces social pressure and bias.

Limitations

Social desirability can compromise the validity of the Likert scale. People may lie to appear more favorable, making it difficult to measure true attitudes on sensitive topics.

References

Bowling, A. (1997). Research Methods in Health. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Burns, N., & Grove, S. K. (1997). The Practice of Nursing Research Conduct, Critique, & Utilization. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders and Co.

Jamieson, S. (2004). Likert scales: how to (ab) use them. Medical Education, 38(12), 1217-1218.

Likert, R. (1932). A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1–55.

Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of personality and social psychology, 46(3), 598.

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