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:
- The scale should be easily understood, for example: Very satisfied to Very dissatisfied.
- The intervals between points on the scale should be equal or perceived as logical progression: for example, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor.
- 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.
- 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.
- Some questions do not require a rating scale but are Yes/No or multiple choice.
- 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.
- 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.