Rating Scales

There is always a debate as to whether to use a satisfaction scale with a midpoint or not – for example, a 5-point scale, which has a midpoint of 3 or a 4-point scale that requires the answer to come down on one side or the other. No matter which philosophy is chosen, ComSim follows these guidelines:

1. The scale should be easily understood, for example: Very satisfied to Very dissatisfied.
2. The intervals between points on the scale should be equal or perceived as logical progression: for example, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor.
3. It is preferable to use words for points on the scale, rather than solely using numbers, to avoid confusion. An anchored scale could have 10 as Critically important and 0 as Not at all important.
4. Too many points on a scale may provide more granularity than is warranted. This may be the case when certain points on the scale are seldom selected as answers.
5. Some questions do not require a rating scale but are Yes/No or multiple choice.
6. The Likert scale of Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree is generally reserved for opinion surveys rather than surveys following an event about which the customer has specific information.
7. The Net Promoter Score®1, as defined by Fred Reichheld, uses a likelihood to recommend scale from 10 to 0, where 10 represents Extremely likely and 0 represents Not at all likely.