Likert Scale: What Is It and How to Use It?

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By Cynthia Vinney
Updated June 03, 2019

A Likert scale is a close-ended, forced-choice scale used in a questionnaire that provides

a series of answers that go from one extreme to another. For example, a scale might
have five choices that start at one end with "strongly agree" and end at the other with
"strongly disagree," with less extreme choices in the middle three points. Likert scales
are widely used in psychology and other social science research.

Key Takeaways: Likert Scales

 A Likert scale enables respondents to choose from a linear set of responses that
increase or decrease in intensity or strength. It is a close-ended, forced-choice
scale.
 Widely used in psychological and other social science research today, Likert
scales enable researchers to collect data that provides nuance and insight into
participants’ opinions. This data is quantitative and can easily be analyzed
statistically.

 Likert items often offer response categories on a 1-to-5 scale, but a range of
options is possible, including 1-to-7 and 0-to-4 scales or even-numbered scales
that typically range from 1-to-4 or 1-to-6.

Creation of the Likert Scale

The Likert Scale was developed by American psychologist Rensis Likert in 1932. Likert
wanted to find a way to systematically measure individual attitudes. His solution was the
scale that now bears his name.

Likert scales offer a continuum or series of typically five to seven fixed-choice options.
This enables people to self-report the extent to which they agree or disagree with a
given proposition. As a result, Likert scales allow for more nuance than a simple binary
response, like a yes or no. This is the reason why Likert scales are often used to collect
data in psychological research.

Likert Scale Format

You know you’re completing a Likert scale if you’re asked to give an opinion in response
to a statement by choosing from a series of choices that enable you to rate your degree
of agreement. Sometimes instead of a statement, the item will be a question. The most
important thing to note, however, is that the options from which you can choose your
response offer a range of opinions that don’t overlap.

Likert scales create a linear set of responses that increase or decrease in intensity or
strength. These response categories are open to respondent interpretation. So, for
example, one respondent may select “agree” in response to a statement, while another
feels the same way but selects “strongly agree" instead. Regardless, respondents and
the researchers collecting their data understand that “strongly agree” is considered a
more intensely positive option than “agree.”

While it’s most common to see Likert scales that include 5 to 7 response options,
sometimes a researcher will use more. Nonetheless, it’s been observed that when people
are presented with a greater number of response options they don’t tend to choose the
responses at either end of the scale. Perhaps in a large scale the end-point options look
too extreme.

A scale with an odd number of response categories has a midpoint that will be
considered neutral. If a researcher wants to force a respondent to choose whether they
lean one way or another on a question, they can eliminate the neutral option by using a
scale with an even number of options.

Examples

Here are some examples of Likert items from real psychological questionnaires.

From the Big 5 Personality Trait Short Questionnaire:

I see myself as someone who is full of energy, likes to always be active.

0. Totally disagree

1. Disagree a little

2. Neutral opinion

3. Agree a little

4. Totally Agree

From the Meaning in Life Questionnaire:

I am always looking to find my life’s purpose

1. Absolutely untrue

2. Mostly untrue

3. Somewhat untrue

4. Can’t say true or false

5. Somewhat true

6. Mostly true

7. Absolutely true

From the BBC Well-Being Scale:

Do you feel you have control of your life?

1. Not at all

2. A little

3. Moderately
4. Very Much

5. Extremely

Likert scales can be used to ask for a wide range of attitudes besides agreement. In
addition to the examples above, Likert items can ask about how frequently an individual
does something (endpoints for a frequency item would be “Very frequently” and
“Never”), how important an individual believes something is to them (endpoints for an
importance item would be “Very Important” and “Not very important”), and how much
one likes something (endpoints for a liking item would be “A lot” and “Not at all”).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Likert scales

By including several categories to choose from in the response to each item, Likert
scales enable a researcher to collect data that provides nuance and insight into
participants’ opinions. Also, this data is quantitative so it's fairly easy to analyze
statistically.

On the other hand, Likert scales may be impacted by respondents' need to appear
socially desirable. Especially if a participant holds an opinion that they know would be
deemed socially unacceptable, they may choose a response to an item that will make
their opinion seem more appropriate to the rest of the world. For example, an individual
is unlikely to agree with items that would cause them to seem prejudiced when
completing a questionnaire about attitudes towards minorities, A possible remedy for
this issue could be to allow respondents to fill out questionnaires anonymously.

Sources

 Cherry, Kendra. “Using Likert Scales in Psychology.” Verywell Mind, 14 June 2018.
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 Jamieson, Susan. "Likert Scale." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 16 December
2013. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Likert-Scale

 Kinderman, Peter, Schwannauer, Matthias, Pontin, Eleanor, and Tai, Sara. "The
Development and Validation of a General Measure of Well-Being: The BBC Well-
Being Scale." Quality of Life Research, vol. 20, no. 7, 2011, pp. 1035-1042. doi:
10.1007/s11136-010-9841-z

 McLeod, Saul. “Likert Scale.” Simply Psychology, 24 October

2008. https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html

 Morizot, Julien. "Construct Validity of Adolescents' Self-Reported Big Five

Personality Traits: Importance of Conceptual Breadth and Initial validation of a
Short Measure." Assessment, vol. 21, no. 5, 2014, pp. 580-606. doi:
10.1177/1073191114524015,

 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Rensis Likert.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 30

August 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rensis-Likert

 Steger, Michael F., Frazier, Patricia, Oishi, Shigegiro, & Kaler, Matthew. "The
Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the Presence of and Search for
Meaning in Life." Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 53, no. 1, 2006, pp. 80-93. doi:
10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

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