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A Likert scale (play /lkrt/[1]) is a psychometric scale commonly involved in research that employs questionnaires. It is the most widely used approach to scaling responses in survey research, such that the term is often used interchangeably with rating scale, or more accurately the Likert-type scale, even though the two are not synonymous. The scale is named after its inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert.[2] Likert distinguished between a scale proper, which emerges from collective responses to a set of items (usually eight or more), and the format in which responses are scored along a range. Technically speaking, a Likert scale refers only to the former. The difference between these two concepts has to do with the distinction Likert made between the underlying phenomenon being investigated and the means of capturing variation that points to the underlying phenomenon.[3] When responding to a Likert questionnaire item, respondents specify their level of agreement or disagreement on a symmetric agree-disagree scale for a series of statements. Thus, the range captures the intensity of their feelings for a given item,[4] while the results of analysis of multiple items (if the items are developed appropriately) reveals a pattern that has scaled properties of the kind Likert identified. Contents

1 Sample question presented using a five-point Likert item 2 Scoring and analysis 3 Level of measurement 4 Rasch model 5 Pronunciation 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Sample question presented using a five-point Likert item A Likert scale pertaining to Wikipedia can be calculated using these five Likert items.

An important distinction must be made between a Likert scale and a Likert item. The Likert scale is the sum of responses on several Likert items. Because Likert items are often accompanied by a visual analog scale (e.g., a horizontal line, on which a subject indicates his or her response by circling or checking tick-marks), the items are sometimes called scales themselves. This is the source of much confusion; it is better, therefore, to reserve the term Likert scale to apply to the summed scale, and Likert item to refer to an individual item.

A Likert item is simply a statement which the respondent is asked to evaluate according to any kind of subjective or objective criteria; generally the level of agreement or disagreement is measured. It is considered symmetric or "balanced" because there are equal amounts of positive and negative positions.[5] Often five ordered response levels are used, although many psychometricians advocate using seven or nine levels; a recent empirical study[6] found that a 5- or 7- point scale may produce slightly higher mean scores relative to the highest possible attainable score, compared to those produced from a 10-point scale, and this difference was statistically significant. In terms of the other data characteristics, there was very little difference among the scale formats in terms of variation about the mean, skewness or kurtosis.

The format of a typical five-level Likert item, for example, could be:

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree

Likert scaling is a bipolar scaling method, measuring either positive or negative response to a statement. Sometimes an even-point scale is used, where the middle option of "Neither agree nor disagree" is not available. This is sometimes called a "forced choice" method, since the neutral option is removed [7]. The neutral option can be seen as an easy option to take when a respondent is unsure, and so whether it is a true neutral option is questionable. It has been shown that when

comparing between a 4-point and a 5-point Likert scale, where the former has the neutral option unavailable, the overall difference in the response is negligible. [8]

Likert scales may be subject to distortion from several causes. Respondents may avoid using extreme response categories (central tendency bias); agree with statements as presented (acquiescence bias); or try to portray themselves or their organization in a more favorable light (social desirability bias). Designing a scale with balanced keying (an equal number of positive and negative statements) can obviate the problem of acquiescence bias, since acquiescence on positively keyed items will balance acquiescence on negatively keyed items, but central tendency and social desirability are somewhat more problematic. Scoring and analysis

After the questionnaire is completed, each item may be analyzed separately or in some cases item responses may be summed to create a score for a group of items. Hence, Likert scales are often called summative scales.

Whether individual Likert items can be considered as interval-level data, or whether they should be treated as ordered-categorical data is the subject of considerable disagreement in literature[9][10], with strong convictions on what are the most applicable methods. This disagreement can be traced back, in many respects, to the extent in which Likert items are interpreted as being ordinal data.

There are two primary considerations in this discussion. Firstly, a key factor to accept is that Likert scales are arbitrary. The value assigned to a Likert item has no unique mathematical property, either in terms of measure theory or scale (from which a distance metric can be determined). The value assigned for each Likert item is simply determined by the researcher as providing the necessary detail for their research. However, for convention, Likert items tend to take progressive positive integer values. Likert scales typically range from 2 to 10 with 5 or 7 being the most common. In this, the typical structure of the Likert scale is such that each progressive Likert item is treated as having a better response than the preceding value. (This may differ in cases where reverse ordering of the Likert Scale is needed).

The second, and possibly more important point, is whether the distance between each successive Likert item is equidistant which is traditionally inferred. For example, in the above 5-point Likert

Scale, the inference is that the distance between items 1 and 2 is the same as between items 3 and 4. In terms of good research ethics, an equidistant presentation by the researcher is important; otherwise it will introduce a research bias into the analysis. For example, a 4-point Likert Scale Poor, Average, Good, Very Good is unlikely to be equidistant as there is only one item that can receive a below average rating. This would clearly bias any result in favor of a better outcome. However, even if a researcher presents an equidistant scale, this may not be interpreted as such by the respondent.

A good Likert scale, as above, will present a symmetry of Likert items about a middle category that have clearly defined linguistic qualifiers for each item. In such symmetric scaling, equidistant attributes will typically be more clearly observed or, at least, inferred. It is when a Likert scale is symmetric and equidistant that it will behave more like an interval-level measurement. So while a Likert scale is ordinal (which cannot be denied) if it is well presented, then it may be possible the Likert Scale can approximate an interval-level measurement. This is beneficial as, if it was treated just as an ordinal scale, then some valuable information could be lost if the distance between Likert items were not available for consideration. The important idea here is that the appropriate type of analysis is dependent on how the Likert scale has been presented.

Given its ordinal basis, it remains more correct to summarize the central tendency of responses from a Likert scale by using either the median or the mode, with spread measured by quartiles or percentiles[11]. Non-parametric tests should be preferred for statistical inferences, such as chisquared test, MannWhitney test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, or KruskalWallis test.[12] . While some commentators[13] consider that parametric analysis is justified for a Likert scale using the Central Limit Theorem, this should be reserved for when the Likert scale has suitable symmetry and equidistance so an interval-level measurement can be approximated and reasonably inferred.

Responses to several Likert questions may be summed, providing that all questions use the same Likert scale and that the scale is a defensible approximation to an interval scale, in which case they may be treated as interval data measuring a latent variable. If the summed responses fulfill these assumptions, parametric statistical tests such as the analysis of variance can be applied. These can be applied only when more than 5 Likert questions are summed.[citation needed]

Data from Likert scales are sometimes reduced to the binomial level by combining all agree and disagree responses into two categories of "accept" and "reject". The chi-squared, Cochran Q, or McNemar test are common statistical procedures used after this transformation.

Consensus based assessment (CBA) can be used to create an objective standard for Likert scales in domains where no generally accepted standard or objective standard exists. Consensus based assessment (CBA) can be used to refine or even validate generally accepted standards. Level of measurement

The five response categories are often believed to represent an Interval level of measurement. But this can only be the case if the intervals between the scale points correspond to empirical observations in a metric sense. Reips and Funke (2008)[14] show that this criterion is much better met by a visual analogue scale. In fact, there may also appear phenomena which even question the ordinal scale level in Likert scales. For example, in a set of items A,B,C rated with a Likert scale circular relations like A>B, B>C and C>A can appear. This violates the axiom of transitivity for the ordinal scale. Rasch model

Likert scale data can, in principle, be used as a basis for obtaining interval level estimates on a continuum by applying the polytomous Rasch model, when data can be obtained that fit this model. In addition, the polytomous Rasch model permits testing of the hypothesis that the statements reflect increasing levels of an attitude or trait, as intended. For example, application of the model often indicates that the neutral category does not represent a level of attitude or trait between the disagree and agree categories.

Again, not every set of Likert scaled items can be used for Rasch measurement. The data has to be thoroughly checked to fulfill the strict formal axioms of the model. Pronunciation

Rensis Likert, the developer of the scale, pronounced his name 'lick-urt' with a short "i" sound.[15][16] It has been claimed that Likert's name "is among the most mispronounced in [the] field",[17] as many people pronounce it with a long "i" ('lie-kurt').