The Complete Likert Scale Guide: Examples, Tips and Best Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some good Likert scale examples?

"Finding the right size on our website was easy" (agreement), "How often do you receive useful feedback?" (frequency) and "How satisfied were you with the explanation?" (satisfaction) are all strong Likert scale examples because each targets one concrete experience.

Is a Likert scale the same as a rating scale?

No. A Likert scale is one type of rating scale: several agreement-style items combined to measure a single attitude. Star ratings and 0 to 10 scores are rating scales but not Likert scales.

Should a Likert scale have a neutral option?

Usually. A true midpoint lets people with no view say so. Keep "Don't know" separate.

Can I calculate a mean from Likert data?

For a summed multi-item scale, most researchers accept means and parametric tests (Norman, 2010). For single items, lead with the median, mode and top-2-box.

How many items should a Likert questionnaire have?

Four to six items per attitude is a workable range for most commercial surveys.

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References

1. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1 to 55.
2. Ferguson, L. W. (1941). A study of the Likert technique of attitude scale construction. Journal of Social Psychology, 13, 51 to 57.
3. Preston, C. C., & Colman, A. M. (2000). Optimal number of response categories in rating scales: reliability, validity, discriminating power, and respondent preferences. Acta Psychologica, 104(1), 1 to 15. doi:10.1016/S0001-6918(99)00050-5
4. Revilla, M. A., Saris, W. E., & Krosnick, J. A. (2014). Choosing the number of categories in agree-disagree scales. Sociological Methods and Research, 43(1), 73 to 97. doi:10.1177/0049124113509605
5. Jamieson, S. (2004). Likert scales: how to (ab)use them. Medical Education, 38(12), 1217 to 1218. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2929.2004.02012.x
6. Norman, G. (2010). Likert scales, levels of measurement and the "laws" of statistics. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 15(5), 625 to 632. doi:10.1007/s10459-010-9222-y
7. Heiberger, R. M., & Robbins, N. B. (2014). Design of diverging stacked bar charts for Likert scales and other applications. Journal of Statistical Software, 57(5), 1 to 32. doi:10.18637/jss.v057.i05