Categories: Business Research

Likert Scaling

Likert scaling is a one dimensional scaling developed by a Psychologist Rennis Likert. It is also being known as summative scaling. Following are the main steps that are used to develop Likert scale.

Defining the Focus

Generally in every method of scaling, at the beginning the idea is generated to know about what one actually wants to measure and evaluate. As this scaling is a type of one dimensional scaling so it must be considered that the evaluation involves the measurement those are one dimensional in nature. To attain the focus, firstly proper planning be made so that appropriate scale should be made.

Generating the Item

After the focus is appropriately defined then the next step is to develop the items, objects or the statements etc. the statements developed in this scale must be limits minimum 5 and maximum 7 statements including response scale like agree or disagree. Any statements made on this scale are not just sufficient; there is a proper format that should be followed. Most of the time the statements are made by the individuals as by the good understanding of subject matter but in this scale development of the statements in group is more preferable because more people contain more and different knowledge from each other. Different variations should be found when there are more than one developer, almost about 80% produced statements be actual.

Rating the Items

The third step in this scale is to rate objects that are comprises of 5 possible options or the rating scales that are according to the stated concept;

• Extremely favorable to the perception
• Favorable to the perception
• Undecided to the perception
• Unfavorable to the perception
• Extremely unfavorable to the perception

[large]The option provided varies for different items like quality, importance, frequency etc. For example;

• Level of quality

o Excellent
o Very good
o Good
o Fair
o Poor

• Level of satisfaction

o Highly satisfied
o Satisfied
o Neutral
o Dissatisfied
o Highly dissatisfied

In this scaling, judges properly describe the concept whereas other scaling methods just examine the options as according to the interest only.

Selecting the Items

[linkunit]By making the ratings as a base, items are selected and evaluations are made in order to find the relations between different pairs and judgments are completed that determines that what pair be retain at the end. For judgments skimming is done through the following analysis;

• Terminate the pair which gives results a weak relation as related to scores.
• For every statement average rating is evaluated and the higher and lower quartiles are computed by average mean.

Administering the Scale

When the evaluations are made by the respondents, likert scale is used as according to the stated possible options. Such options are then presented on a scale with different ranges like option that is strongly favorable is may be presented with scale 5 or may be with 1. The final score is evaluated by the sum of the rating that are stated by the respondents and that’s why sometimes it is called as summative scaling.