What is a Likert Scale?

 A Likert scale is a rating scale used to assess opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. Likert
scales are popular in survey research because they allow you to
easily operationalize personality traits or perceptions.

To collect data, you present participants with Likert-type questions or statements and a
continuum of possible responses, usually with 5 or 7 items. Each item is given a
numerical score so that the data can be analyzed quantitatively.

When should you use a Likert Scale?

Likert scales are a particularly useful form of rating scale that can be used when
observation isn’t an option. Website and mobile surveys, customer satisfaction
questionnaires, and more allow researchers to gain insights on perceptions,
behaviors, feelings and more by asking respondents to self-report their reactions
based on how they feel using the Likert scale. 

Some common uses for Likert scale rating question types include:

 Customer Satisfaction surveys

 Investigating the likelihood of an action being taken
 Gaining insights on beliefs or perceptions surrounding a specific
topic
 How frequently an action occurs

Likert scales make it easier to quantify these kinds of insights, so it can be an

asset in analyzing large quantities of data. There are many more instances in
which a Likert scale can be of use, as it is one of the most popular rating scales in
use today. 

How frequently do you buy energy efficient products?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always

 How frequently do you buy energy efficient products?

EXAMPLE OF FREQUENCY

EXAMPLE OF AGREEMENT

My manager plays an active role in my professional development and advancement.

Very strongly Strongly Disagre Neither disagree nor Agre Strongly Very strongly
disagree disagree e agree e agree agree

EXAMPLE OF SATISFACTION

How satisfied are you with the online shopping return policies at Company X?

Very dissatisfied Somewhat Neither Somewhat Very

dissatisfied satisfied nor satisfied satisfied
dissatisfied
 How satisfied are you with the online shopping return policies at Company X?

Analyzing Likert scale data

Before you analyze data from Likert-type questions
and Likert scales, it’s important to consider what
type you’re dealing with.

Ordinal vs interval level data

Your data can be divided into these two different
types because they are associated with separate
analysis procedures.

 data from individual Likert-type questions are

treated as ordinal level.
 data from the overall Likert scale are treated
as interval level.

In ordinal scales, each item has a rank that is higher

or lower than others, but the exact differences
between the items aren’t evenly spaced or clearly
defined.

For example, you can’t be sure that the difference

between “very poor” and “poor” is the same as the
difference between “good” and “excellent”.

Interval scales also have a clear order, but the

difference between each point is evenly spaced. For
example, non-Likert rating scales from 1 to 10 can
assume that the difference between 2 and 4 is the
same as the difference between 5 and 7.

Overall Likert-scale data is often treated as interval

because it is a composite score made from adding
answers to 4 or more questions.

Descriptive statistics
You can use descriptive statistics to summarize the
data you collected in simple numerical or visual
form.

Likert-type questions can be individually analyzed

 How satisfied are you with the online shopping return policies at Company X?

for deeper insights into specific attributes.

If the questions all measure a single trait or attitude

when combined, they can also be grouped together
and analyzed as a Likert scale. You can code the
answers to each question into numbers and then
add up the numbers to get an overall attitude score
for each participant.

Descriptive statistics example

 Ordinal data: To get an overall impression of your

sample, you find the mode, or most common score,
for each question. You also create a bar chart for each
question to visualize the frequency of each item
choice.
 Interval data: You add up the scores from each
question to get the total score for each participant.
You find the mean, or average, score and the standard
deviation, or spread, of the scores for your sample.

Inferential statistics
You can use inferential statistics to test hypotheses,
such as correlations between different responses or
patterns in the whole dataset.

Whether you treat your data as ordinal or interval

impacts your choice of a parametric or non-
parametric statistical test. Parametric tests make
stricter assumptions, such as even spacing, of data
than non-parametric tests.

 For ordinal data (individual Likert-scale

questions), use non-parametric tests such as
Spearman’s correlation or chi-square test for
independence.
 For interval data (overall Likert scale scores), use
parametric tests such as Pearson’s r correlation
or t-tests.

Inferential statistics example

 Ordinal data: You hypothesize that knowledge of

climate change is related to belief that environmental
 How satisfied are you with the online shopping return policies at Company X?

damage is a serious problem. You use a chi-square

test of independence to see if these two attributes are
correlated.
 Interval data: You investigate whether age is related
to attitudes towards environmentally-friendly
behavior. Using a Pearson correlation test, you assess
whether the overall score for your Likert scale is
related to age.

Strengths and limitations of Likert scales

Likert scales are a practical and accessible method
of collecting data.

 Quantitative: Likert scales
easily operationalize complex phenomena by
breaking down abstract topics into recordable
observations. This enables statistical testing of
hypotheses.
 Fine-grained: Because Likert-type questions
aren’t binary (yes/no, true/false, etc.) you can get
detailed insights into perceptions, opinions and
behaviors.
 User-friendly: Unlike open-ended questions,
Likert scales are closed-ended and don’t ask
respondents to generate ideas or justify their
opinions. This makes them quick for respondents
to fill out and can easily yield data from large
samples.

Problems with Likert scales often come from

inappropriate design choices.

 Response bias: Due to social desirability bias,

people often avoid selecting the extreme items or
disagreeing with statements to seem more
“normal” or show themselves in a favorable light.
 Fatigue/inattention: In Likert scales with many
questions, respondents can get bored and lose
interest. They may absentmindedly select
responses regardless of their true feelings. This
results in invalid responses.
 Subjective interpretation: Some items can be
vague and interpreted very differently by
respondents. Words like “somewhat” or “fair” don’t
 How satisfied are you with the online shopping return policies at Company X?

have precise or narrow definitions.

 Restricted choice: Since Likert-type questions
are closed-ended, respondents sometimes have
to choose the most relevant answer even if it may
not accurately reflect reality.

Designing Likert-type questions

A Likert scale is made up of 4 or more questions that assess a single attitude or trait
when response scores are combined. Each question may measure a separate
component of that overall topic.

For example, if you want to assess attitudes towards environmentally-friendly behaviors,

you can design a Likert scale with a variety of questions that measure different aspects
of this topic.

CRITERIA OF A GOOD LIKERT SCALE QUESTIONNAIRE

Phrasing as questions vs statements

Both statements and questions are often used in Likert scales. Using a mix of both can
keep your participants engaged and attentive during your survey.

When deciding how to phrase questions and statements, it’s important to ensure that
they are easily understood and do not bias your respondents in one way or another.

Positive vs negative framing

Use both positive and negative frames in your questions. If all your questions only ask
about things in socially desirable ways, your participants may be biased towards
agreeing with all of them to show themselves in a positive light.

EXAMPLE OF POSITIVE FRAMING

Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem.-Strongly disagree
-Disagree- Neither agree nor disagree-Agree-Strongly agree

EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE FRAMING

Banning single use water bottles is pointless for reducing environmental damage. -Strongly disagree
-Disagree-Neither agree nor disagree- Agree- Strongly agree

Respondents who agree with the first statement should also disagree with the second. By
including both of these statements in a long survey, you can also check whether the
participants’ responses are reliable and consistent.
 Avoid double negatives
Double negatives can lead to confusion and misinterpretations as respondents will be
unsure of what they are agreeing to.

BAD EXAMPLE
I never buy non-organic products.-Strongly disagree -Disagree -Neither agree nor disagree -Agree-
Strongly agree

GOOD EXAMPLE
I try to buy organic products whenever possible.-Strongly disagree -Disagree-Neither agree nor
disagree-Agree -Strongly agree

Ask about only one thing at a time

If you use double-barreled questions, your respondents may selectively answer about
one topic but ignore the other, or try to pick a neutral but inaccurate answer.

BAD EXAMPLE

How would you rate your knowledge of climate change and food systems?

Very poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

GOOD EXAMPLE

How would you rate your knowledge of climate change?

Very poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

How would you rate your knowledge of food systems?

Very poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

Use mutually exclusive items

Avoid overlaps in the items. If two items have similar meanings, it makes your
respondent’s choice random.

BAD EXAMPLE
 Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem.

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Indifferent Disagree Strongly disagree

GOOD EXAMPLE

Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem.-Strongly agree-
Agree-Neither agree nor disagree-Disagree-Strongly disagree

Selecting the response items

Likert scales commonly have 5 or 7 items, and the items on each end are called
response anchors. The midpoint is often a neutral item with positive items on one side
and negative items on the other. Each item is given a score from 1–5 or 1–7.

Number of items
More items give you deeper insights but make it harder for participants to decide on
answers because there are more choices. Fewer items mean you capture less detail,
but the scale is more user-friendly.

EXAMPLE OF 5 ITEMS

How frequently do you buy biodegradable products?

Never Occasionally Sometimes Often Always

EXAMPLE OF 7 ITEMS

How frequently do you buy biodegradable products?

Never Rarely Occasionally Sometimes Often Very often Always

Types of items
You can measure a wide range of perceptions, motivations, and intentions using Likert
scales.
Some of the most common types of items include:

 Agreement: Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, Strongly

disagree
 Quality: Very poor, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
 Likelihood: Not at all likely, Somewhat likely, Extremely likely
  Experience: Very negative, Somewhat negative, Neutral, Somewhat positive, Very
positive

Unipolar vs bipolar items

On a unipolar scale, you measure only one attribute (e.g., satisfaction), but on a bipolar
scale, you measure two attributes (e.g., satisfaction or dissatisfaction) on a continuum.

EXAMPLE OF UNIPOLAR

How satisfied are you with the range of organic products available?

Not at all satisfied Somewhat satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Extremely satisfied

EXAMPLE OF BIPOLAR
How satisfied are you with the range of organic products available? -Extremely dissatisfied
-Dissatisfied -Neither dissatisfied nor satisfied -Satisfied -Extremely satisfied

Your choice depends on your research questions and aims. If you want finer-grained details
about one attribute, select unipolar items. If you want to allow a broader range of responses,
select bipolar items.

Use mutually exclusive items

Avoid overlaps in the items. If two items have similar meanings, it makes your
respondent’s choice random.

BAD EXAMPLE
Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem. -Strongly agree
-Agree -Neither agree nor disagree-Indifferent-Disagree-Strongly disagree

GOOD EXAMPLE

Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem.-Strongly agree-
Agree-Neither agree nor disagree-Disagree-Strongly disagree

Take a look at the example below following the criteria we discussed such as:

-both statements and questions are used to keep respondents engaged and attentive

-both positive and negative frames are used in the questions

-double negatives are avoided

-only one thing was asked at a time

-no two items have similar meanings

Likert scale example

Environmental damage caused by single use water bottles is a serious problem.

Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

How frequently do you buy biodegradable products?

Never Occasionally Sometimes Often Always

How would you rate your knowledge of climate change?

Very poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

I try to buy organic products whenever possible.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

Banning single use water bottles is pointless for reducing environmental damage.

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

ACTIVITY
DIRECTION: Evaluate the questionnaire that follow using the following criteria we discussed earlier.

-both statements and questions are used to keep respondents engaged and attentive

-both positive and negative frames are used in the questions

-double negatives are avoided

-only one thing was asked at a time

-no two items have similar meanings

1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neither agree nor disagree 4 Agree 5 Strongly agree