RESEARCH DESIGN

How rating scales can improve the quality of your research

Researchers ask their customer´s opinions about their products and services, so they can identify the strengths and weaknesses of their business.

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To identify the strenghts and weaknesses, researchers can ask the respondents to rate their opinions and impressions according to a rating scale, so they can measure opinions objectively. It definitely helps surveys to add different question types with a rating scale.

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So, what is a rating scale?

A rating scale is a method of data collection used to measure respondents’ opinions about their feelings, perceptions, interests, and preferences in a quantitative and standardized manner during a survey project. Rating scales are closed-ended questions and allow survey respondents to assign a value to a product or service. Rating scales can be single or multi answer questions, as they may request to just answer a score-value or choose from a list of answers.

Rating Scale questions are probably the easiest indicator of user highs and lows. The responses provide terrific data for the creation of charts and graphs, which can help you convey to others how your product or service is performing. Collected responses can be used in final reports for the brand or client to take action depending on the type of response they gather in the survey.

Types of rating scales

There are different types of rating scales:

1) Numbered Scales (Rate from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10):

A numbered scale requires the respondent to assign a numerical value to his/her feedback. Values are usually labeled on a scale from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 (usually being 1 the lowest and or 10 the highest). The researcher labels the endpoints so that both ends represent the extremes of this value.

Assigning a value to an opinion makes it easier to compare results between respondents during the survey.

The strengths of these scales relay on its simplicity and the benefit of standardization of answers. However, the weakness of the numbered scales is the subjectivity of the respondent´s interpretation of what each rating value means, especially in the middle range of the scale. A 5 on a scale from 1-10 could mean barely good, or barely to different persons. The labeling of both ends helps to avoid too much subjectivity and ensure better results.

These scales are typically used to quantify qualitative data such as:
Satisfaction
Recommendation
Loyalty

An example of a numbered scale question is the Net Promoter Score (NPS):
“How likely are you to recommend the product to a friend or colleague?”



Here are some tips to keep in mind when using numbered scale questions:


✓ Clarify the endpoints (the labels for 1 and 5 or 10) on a scale of 1 to 10. The response scale needs to be clear.



✓ 1 should always be the “pain” point of the scale, and 5 or 10 should always be the “positive” point. This is how it should work for a scale 1 to 10.

People tend to consider low numbers to be bad, and high numbers to be good. Having a bad interpretation of scales otherwise could confuse the respondents so it is important to clarify the response scale from the beginning of the survey.

2) Worded / Likert Scales (assigning a value to a set of answers)

Worded scales can be classified as Likert scales. These scales are a great way for marketers to get quick insights about the respondent’s psychological disposition or attitude towards a specific subject, putting value to those responses.

These scales usually use a 5-point or 7-point rating system, and always include a moderate or neutral rating in the middle. Survey questions should be adapted according to this last point. The main strength of worded or Likert scales is the clear identification of the respondent’s feelings and opinions to each value. Knowing what the customers feel like a product or service helps to design an action plan to improve customer's experiences. The weakness remains in the possibility of forcing the respondents to fit their answers in one of the categories. However, this can be avoided by adding options like: “N/A”, “I Don't Know”, “Not Sure”.

Worded or Likert scales are usually used for:

  • Agree or disagree with an assertion or a statement
  • Like or dislike a product/service
  • Satisfaction or Unsatisfaction with an experience

An example of 5-point Likert or worded scales can be found in questions like these ones: “How satisfied are you with our product?”

  1. Very satisfied (5 points)
  2. Satisfied (4 points)
  3. Neutral  (3 points)
  4. Dissatisfied (2 points)
  5. Very Dissatisfied (1 point)
  6. N/A / I don´t know (void response)

“I found the website difficult to navigate.”

  1. Strongly Agree (5 points)
  2. Agree (4 points)
  3. Neither agree nor disagree (3 points)
  4. Disagree (2 points)
  5. Strongly Disagree (1 point)
  6. N/A / I don´t know (void response)

What should a worded or Likert scale must consider

✓ A limited number of categories. Including more than 7 categories can confuse the respondent. It is better to be clear to avoid misunderstandings.

✓ A clear description of what each of the answers means in the scale (For example: “Very Satisfied (5)”). This shows again why it is also important to clarify the question types and the meaning of each point scale.

✓ Answers displayed in order (either from the lowest to the highest, or vice versa), and ALWAYS include a neutral answer in the middle. This will be helpful.

✓ Always include options like “N/A”, “I Don't Know”, “I prefer not to answer”, since the respondent may not identify with any answer, or maybe doesn´t want to answer. It is always good to give him options during the survey process.

Why use Rating Scales?

There are a lot of positives to using rating scales, but here are the big ones:

  • Save time. Rating Scales provide the possibility of handling large amounts of data with few chances of misinterpreting the respondent´s opinions.
  • Improve the quality of research. Standardizing qualitative opinions into quantitative and measurable data allows us to make a comparative objective analysis in a quick and less time-consuming process.
  • Easier to share study results. Rating scales are easy to handle, present in graphics, and understand. This is a great tool to measure the opinion of respondents and great insights for reports.
  • Define Action Plans for Improving Customer Experience.

Each type of rating scale may be more suited for certain types of questions than others, for example, a numbered scale is better suited for measuring NPS and loyalty; while a Likert or worded scale may be more suited for finding agree/disagree or like/dislike about a specific statement, product or service. This is essential to take into account while building up the questionnaire and showing which type of scale to apply in the survey.

Despite which if the two scales (numbered or worded) are used, rating scales help the researcher to measure the opinions of respondents in a quantitative way and this can help in the definition of action plans to improve products and services offered. This is of great use for any researcher!

How to analyze Rating Scales?

Rating scales are quite easy to analyze.

It is defined as multi-choice questions that allow the respondent to assign a value to the product or the service. Different rating scales can be applied to different types of questions. As we have already seen, the semantic differential scale is one of the most commonly used scales to measure the feelings of the respondent and to associate the level of the feeling or option to value.

A 1 to 10 scale can be analyzed depending on how many times the value = x is used.

For example, a company, a product, or an entity can be asked to be rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Once the survey is over, results are collected and responses to the items are summed to give an overall average score to the individual question. Again, the higher rate will be mostly be referred to as the most positive answer. It is used to measure the connotative meaning of things and the level of agreement from the respondent with different options.

We understood that rating scales are quite helpful in a more quantitative approach and should be considered when surveying respondents as the data collected is easier to analyze. Numbered or Likert scale, this is your choice and we can help you to decide which is the best option and the best outcome for your survey.

TGM Research has decades of experience in qualitative and quantitative research. We can support you with any type of survey including advising you, in that case, which scale will be better for your project. We have a global reach covering more than 120 countries with proprietary panels and additional sources of respondents.

The Team is located around the clock which allows you a 24/7 coverage. Do not hesitate to reach out to the team if you have any questions or would like to know more. Get in touch now!

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