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How to Create and Analyze Likert Scale survey questions

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How to Create and Analyze Likert Scale survey questions Create and Analyze Likert Scale
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Often, a simple yes or no is not enough for people to convey their feeling. It is incredibly complicated when you are trying to understand how your customers feel toward your brand, its products, and its services. A customer’s likes or dislikes for your product depend on their perception, attitude, and opinions. This is where the Likert scale analysis comes in.

So instead of giving them only two choices, you can use the Likert scale analysis approach to measure how much they like or dislike your product. By doing so, you can measure the average of the customer’s responses and get an accurate view of their opinion. 

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale named after its inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert. You can use it  to assess the opinions and attitudes of your target customers to measure their sentiment towards your brand. 

Each item in a Likert scale is given a numerical score so that, based on the obtained data, the intensity of a response can be analyzed. Items on each end are response anchors, and the midpoint is often the neutral item. 

Likert scales are used in research and surveys for psychology, social science, statistics, business, and marketing.  

In this blog, we will dive into making a Likert scale survey and using the Likert scale analysis approach.

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What is a Likert Scale survey?

Before we discuss how to make a Likert survey, let’s understand the definition of a Likert scale survey. This survey type consists of a series of questions/statements asking respondents to select their level of agreement/disagreement on a scale. 

The question type helps measure people’s attitudes, opinions, and perceptions toward the research topic. The question assigns a numerical value to each response option enabling you to analyze the data statistically and compare it.

How to create Likert Scale Survey Questions?

The hardest part of market research is to ensure that your survey questions get you the expected result. Follow these best practices when making Likert scale survey questions to ensure your respondents understand what you are asking and you collect accurate & reliable responses. 

Here’s how to create a Likert scale survey in seven steps. 

  • Determine what your question should measure. 
  • Label the options properly. 
  • Decide the appropriate Likert Scale. 
  • Decide the number of response choices on Likert Scale responses. 
  • Ask questions to encourage unbiased responses. 
  • Use skip logic. 
  • Use specific answer options. 

Let’s dig into these seven steps.

1. Determine what your Likert Scale question should measure:

What do you want to find out at the end of the survey? Decide what you want to measure and keep the question simple. 

The Likert scale survey question should be specific from your side and for your respondents. Determine and make it completely clear what you want your respondents’ opinion about – whether you want to measure their preferences, opinion, or attitudes. 

2. Label the options properly: 

Label the options in the scale for the audience to understand. Numbering the items may confuse the audience since they might not know what the values represent. The response options in your Likert scale questions should enable the respondents to understand what they are expected to record their answers against. 

If one end of your scale says “Very excited,” the other end should say “Not excited at all.” 

3. Decide the appropriate Likert Scale: 

How do you want to present your question? Do you want the responses to range from “nothing to the maximum”? or should it be at two ends of neutrality, “love/hate”?

A Unipolar Likert Scale is also known as Five-point Likert Scale. This is the most popularly used Likert scale question type. This question type ranges from zero to maximum.

You should use the Unipolar Likert Scale when the degree of measurement is either a certain amount or nothing at all. 

A Bipolar Likert Scale is also called a Seven-point Likert Scale. It offers an expansive range of responses, from negative to positive. A bipolar Likert scale is used less than a unipolar Likert scale because of its longer form.

Bipolar Likert Scale survey questions are best used when the respondents’ attitude falls on one of the sides of the mid-point. You should use a seven-point Likert scale to understand which side of the midpoint the respondent’s opinion lies.

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4. Decide the number of response choices on the Likert Scale:

Deciding the number of options you want to give your respondents is also necessary. You can use the odd-Likert scale to ensure respondents have a neutral option. Or, use an even-Likert scale when you want to gather strictly positive or negative responses. 

  • Use the odd-number scale: 

Keep the number of values odd in number.  An odd number can provide a neutral value in the midsection, which is impossible with an even-number scale.

  • Use an even-number scale to minimize response bias: 

Respondents may try to give acceptable answers and stick to neutral responses if you use odd-number scales. However, an even number scale does not give the option of neutral responses. This means respondents will have to give honest opinions, thus minimizing response bias.

5. Ask questions to encourage unbiased responses: 

Questions and statements are used in Likert scale survey questions. However, to create an effective Likert scale survey, you should ask questions instead of making statements. 

The simple reason is that a statement can lead the survey respondents to answer in a particular way. Respondents often seem to agree with an established statement and answer in the flow of the statement. This often leads to response bias. 

Asking questions will encourage respondents to think about their answers, giving them a chance to answer truthfully. 

6. Use skip logic: 

If you want more details, add skip logic. With skip logic, you can lead the respondent to the next question relevant to their previous answer. If a respondent selects “dislike” for a question, you can lead them to a question that asks for the reason for dislike. 

7. Use specific answer options: 

Always use words that represent clean and well-defined opinions, such as “Very,” “Extremely,” “Not at all,” “Moderately,” and “Slightly.” Do not confuse respondents with words. 

Now that you have created your Likert scale survey questions, you can start conducting your surveys. But how do you analyze the data you have collected? We will discuss two approaches for Likert scale analysis. 

A powerful online survey tool empowers you to create your Likert scale survey and analyze the data in real time with more efficiency. 

[Related read: How to Write Good Survey Questions]

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How to conduct a Likert Scale Analysis?

A well-designed and well-thought Likert scale has both “symmetry” and “balance.” Symmetry implies an equal number of positive and negative feedback from the scale. Balance provides that the distance between each feedback is the same. This allows for a quantitative comparison approach to the Likert scale analysis.

Here’s how to analyze Likert Scale data using two approaches:

  • Find out whether the collected data is ordinal or interval. 
  • Use descriptive statistics. 

Let’s understand how to use these two approaches. 

1. Find out whether the data is Ordinal or Interval:

Likert scale data are distinct, ordinal, and have a limited range. However, before jumping into analysis, you must consider whether your data is ordinal or interval-level data. 

  • The ordinal level is data from individual Likert-type questions. There are higher and lower ranks, but the difference between the ranks is not even or clearly defined. 
  • You obtain interval data from the scale that has a precise order, and the difference is evenly spaced. 

After establishing the type of data, you can determine which test to use, parametric or non-parametric tests for Likert scale analysis.

  • Parametric tests presume that the data has a normal distribution. It is best to be used for interval data.
  • Non-Parametric tests do not assume a normal distribution. It should be used for ordinal data.

2. Descriptive Statistics:

You can code each answer option into numbers and add up the numbers. This will help you get an overall score for each respondent. You can use this Likert scale analysis approach to analyze each question for deeper insight individually. 

For ordinal data, you can find the most common response for each question to understand the overall sentiment. For example, if the most frequent response for customer service is “very satisfied”, then that reflects the overall sentiment of all respondents. 

For interval data, you can add the scores against each question and get the total score for each respondent. 

Now we know how to make Likert scale survey questions and how to analyze Likert scale data. Let’s find out when you can use Likert scale questions.

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When to use Likert Scale Surveys?

Likert scales are great for questions that require great detail. Hence, it’s a good option when you need to collect thorough data. It is best used when observation is not possible for a researcher. 

Likert scale surveys conducted via mobile or website surveys can help you gain deeper insight into customer behavior, experience, feelings, and perception. It’s the best approach to encourage customers to self-report their perceptions and feeling about their experience using this rating scale question.

You can use Likert-type questions for surveys on:

  • Customer satisfaction surveys. 
  • Surveys to gauge frequency. 
  • Likelihood surveys. 

Let’s look at these Likert scale examples below. 

1. Customer satisfaction surveys to know their opinion about your product.

Likert scale survey questions can be used to understand how target customers feel about their experience with a brand. 

  1. How happy were you with your shopping experience today?
  • Very dissatisfied
  • Mildly dissatisfied
  • Indifferent
  • Mildly satisfied
  • Very satisfied

2. Surveys to analyze how frequently an action occurs. 

Likert scale can help you uncover the number of times certain action occurs, it could be an issue, or it could be the frequency of purchase. 

  1. How often have you experienced a glitch in our photo-editing app?
  • Every time
  • Almost every time
  • Occasionally
  • Rarely
  • Never

3. Guage the likelihood of a specific action being taken. 

You can use the likelihood scale to measure whether your respondents are satisfied with your brand to complete a certain action.
Q. How likely are you to recommend your friends to work with our company?

  • Extremely unlikely 
  • Unlikely 
  • Neutral 
  • Likely 
  • Extremely likely

One likable feature of the Likert scale is its simple and direct language. The options provided help the respondents to answer without hesitating. Surveys in which the audience needs to think and write answers to the question may frustrate the audience. 

 It is essential to ensure that your questions are clear and focused on the survey. The questions should be correctly phrased to increase effectiveness. So how can companies benefit from the Likert scale analysis approach? We will discuss it next. 

[Related read: Examples of the Likert Scale].

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How does Likert Scale Analysis help in Business?

For a brand to gain a competitive advantage, it must understand customers’ sentiment & satisfaction with the products and services. Using the Likert scale analysis approach, you can uncover your target markets’ opinions and attitudes toward your brand’s offerings. 

Likert scale surveys are short and easy to set up. Because of its short length, you can administer it quickly and get a large volume of responses. Moreover, you can focus your surveys on a single topic, making Likert scale analysis faster and easier. 

A Likert scale survey that focuses on a single trait or attitude can help you establish the basis for further in-depth market research. You can dig deeper with Likert scale analysis by breaking down abstract topics into quantitative observations. 

We have further explained how businesses can benefit from using the Likert scale analysis as a survey method.

Why should you start using Likert Scale Survey Questions?

For a business to gain competitive edge, it must understand customers’ sentiments & satisfaction with the products and services. Using the Likert scale analysis approach, you can uncover your target markets’ opinions and attitudes toward your brand’s offerings. 

  • Likert scale surveys are short and easy to set up. Because of its short length, you can administer it quickly and get a large volume of responses. 
  • You can focus your surveys on a single topic, which makes analyzing Likert scale data faster and easier. 
  • A Likert scale question that focuses on a single trait or attitude can help you establish the basis for further in-depth market research. 
  • You can dig deeper with the Likert scale analysis by breaking down abstract topics into quantitative observations. 

Likert Scale survey questions- Why should you use them?

In the above example, each response is associated with a numerical value that tells how your customers feel about a specific product/service. The numerical data makes Likert scale analysis easy and fast. 

We have listed down the main reasons that make Likert scale survey questions a popular choice of data collection among other rating scales. 

Best used for a single-topic survey – 

Likert scale questions are ideal when you focus your questions on a specific topic. It helps you dig deep into the topic and gauge satisfaction, attitude, perception, and more. 

The data obtained also makes it easier to conduct a Likert scale analysis and gauge customer sentiment toward particular topics. 

For example, a software company can focus the survey, particularly on the ease of onboarding. They can ask questions to see how satisfied clients are with the process, how frequently they have to ask for help, and so on. 

Likert scale questions are easy to understand – 

Respondents simply need to select their preferred answer on the scale you present to them. It’s easier to understand and does not require respondents to think a lot about how to respond. 

for example, if a customer didn’t feel that they received sufficient support from the customer support agent, they can select “highly unsatisfied” as their response. 

Answer options are flexible – 

Respondents are not forced to choose their answer from a Yes/No. The question gives them the freedom to choose from various degrees of responses. Moreover, with the odd scale, respondents have the option to select a neutral response. 

In certain cases, it may be uncomfortable for respondents to give particular answers. A Likert question makes it easier for them by not forcing an answer. 

Can measure sentiment – 

A Likert scale is straightforward for measuring customers’ sentiment towards your brand and its offerings. It is useful to gauge feeling when it comes to particular customer experiences or product/service-based topics. 

You can use the insights to see if customers are satisfied with your brand, products/services, and what percentage of customers are satisfied. You can further survey the satisfied customers to understand what they are satisfied with in particular and use the insight to capitalize. 

Useful for any situation – 

Likert scale survey questions can be used to get insights from respondents on any situation. The questions are versatile and can help evaluate sentiment, behavior, frequency, perception, preference, opinion, etc. 

You can simply use Likert questions as a stand-alone survey on your website. Or add them as a part of a survey to provide a variety. 

 [Related read: The Use of Sscales in Surveys]

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Conclusion;

As we have established, it is easy to make a Likert scale survey. Likert scale questions allow you to collect the complexity of respondents’ feelings, perceptions, attitudes, and more, thus giving you insight into how they are feeling and what they are thinking. 

You have probably answered Likert-type questions sometime in your life. You are familiar with it even if you just found out its name. Now you, too, can create such questions for your surveys.

FAQs

In a Likert scale survey, you share a set of questions and ask respondents to indicate their level of agreement/ disagreement on a scale. There are essentially four types of scales, odd or even scales, and unipolar or bipolar scales, each with unique characteristics.

This rating scale question type is easy to administer and analyze for a researcher and understand for a respondent. The question includes a standardized format to collect data. This allows for easy statistical analysis. 

Moreover, the scale is flexible in terms of the number of response options. You can use odd or event scales and use as many numbers as you want to gather nuanced data on complex customer experiences. 

You can use common methods such as calculating means, medians, or modes to analyze Likert scale data statistically. You can also conduct ANOVA or t-test to compare variables and correlation or regression analysis to establish a relationship between variables. 

A 5 or 7-point scale is the most common Likert scale example. However, you can use a 9- or 10-point scale as well or lower. The choice of a number of options depends on the complexity of the aspect you are measuring. It also depends upon the level of nuance you want or simply upon the designer.

Here’s an easy guide on how to use a Likert scale: 

  • Define the attribute you want to measure using the Likert question. 
  • Write questions or statements that are relevant to the research goal and represent different aspects. 
  • Determine the type of scale you want to use by deciding the number of options you want to provide respondents. Ensure that the scale is balanced and neutral. 
  • Conduct a pilot test on a small sample or within your organization to identify any errors in the survey. 
  • Administer the survey via the respondents’ preferred channel. Leverage survey software that allows you to conduct online, offline, and phone surveys. 
  • Analyze the survey data to extract meaningful insights.

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