Likert scale

A psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires

Example of a Likert scale

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such that the term is often used interchangeably with rating scale, although there are other types of rating scales.

History

The Likert scale was developed by Rensis Likert, an American psychologist, in 1932. Likert devised the scale as a means of measuring attitudes by asking people to respond to a series of statements about a topic, in terms of the extent to which they agree with them, and so tapping into the cognitive and affective components of attitudes.

Structure

A typical Likert scale is composed of a series of statements, each of which the respondent is asked to evaluate according to any kind of subjective or objective criteria; generally, the level of agreement or disagreement is measured. The scale is named after its inventor, Rensis Likert.

The format of a typical five-level Likert item is:

• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly agree

Usage

Likert scales are used in a wide variety of settings, including psychology, sociology, business, and education. They are particularly useful in measuring attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. The data obtained from Likert scales are often used in statistical analysis to determine trends and patterns.

Analysis

The data from Likert scales are typically treated as ordinal data, which means that while the order of the responses is meaningful, the intervals between them are not necessarily equal. However, many researchers treat Likert scale data as interval data for the purposes of statistical analysis, using techniques such as mean and standard deviation.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Easy to construct and administer.
• Provides a simple way to gauge opinions and attitudes.
• Can be used to collect data from large samples.

Disadvantages

• May not capture the full range of opinions.
• Assumes equal intervals between response options.
• Can be subject to response bias.

Related pages

• Survey methodology
• Questionnaire
• Psychometrics
• Rating scale