Likert-type scales are ordinal scales where ordered categories are provided to respondents as options to choose from.
When using Likert-type scales, you may list the response options in:
- ascending order (e.g., Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Neutral, Somewhat Agree, Strongly Agree) or
- descending order (e.g., Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neutral, Somewhat Disagree, Strongly Disagree).
This simple change in the order can make a difference in your data.
One of the WORC teams worked on answering the following research questions:
- What types of response bias are known to show when using ascending or descending order of Likert-type response options?
- What impact does the order of Likert-type response options have on the quality of data obtained from the scale?
- What evidence-based recommendations does the body of current research provide to the OPWL practitioners and researchers, regarding the use of ascending or descending order of Likert-type response options?
The WORC team’s article has been published in the 2018 Volume 57: Issue 9 of Performance Improvement Journal:
Chyung, S. Y., Kennedy, M., & Campbell, I. (2018). Evidence-based survey design: The use of ascending or descending order of Likert-type response options. Performance Improvement Journal, 57(9), 9 – 16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21800
WORC researchers who participated in this project are:
The researchers also presented the research findings at 2018 ISPI conference:
Chyung, S. Y., Swanson, I., Roberts, K., & Kennedy, M. (2018, April 8). Evidence-based survey design with Likert scales. Presented at ISPI’s Performance Improvement Conference, Seattle, WA.