EVIDENCE-BASED SURVEY DESIGN: ADDING “MODERATELY” OR “SOMEWHAT” TO LIKERT SCALE OPTIONS AGREE AND DISAGREE TO GET INTERVAL-LIKE DATA

Abstract

Likert scales (although ordinal scales) are often treated as interval scales during statistical analyses. There have been attempts to add a modifier (such as moderately, somewhat, or slightly) to the intermediate anchors of Likert scales (i.e., disagree and agree) to help them become interval-like scales. However, the research findings are inconsistent. For interval-like 5-point and 4-point Likert scales, a recent study suggests using strongly disagree, moderately disagree, neutral, moderately agree, strongly agree (in either ascending or descending response order), and strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree (in descending order). However, practitioners and researchers should be aware that research evidence in this regard has been inconsistent.