A Likert scale [ˈlɪk.ərt] 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 (or more accurately the Likert-type scale) is often used interchangeably with the rating scale, even though the two are not synonymous.
The scale is named after its inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert. 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 latter. 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.
When responding to a Likert 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.
A scale can be created as the simple sum of questionnaire responses over the full range of the scale. In so doing, Likert scaling assumes distances between each item are equal.
A Likert item is simply a statement that the respondent is asked to evaluate by giving it a quantitative value on any kind of subjective or objective dimension, with the level of agreement/disagreement being the dimension most commonly used.
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. 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.
Pronunciation
Rensis Likert, the developer of the scale, pronounced his name /ˈlɪk.ərt/. Some have claimed that Likert's name "is among the most mispronounced in the field"because many people pronounce the name of the scale as /ˈlaɪ.kərt/.
Retrieved from The Free Dictionary Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Likert+scale
The scale is named after its inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert. 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 latter. 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.
When responding to a Likert 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.
A scale can be created as the simple sum of questionnaire responses over the full range of the scale. In so doing, Likert scaling assumes distances between each item are equal.
A Likert item is simply a statement that the respondent is asked to evaluate by giving it a quantitative value on any kind of subjective or objective dimension, with the level of agreement/disagreement being the dimension most commonly used.
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. 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.
Pronunciation
Rensis Likert, the developer of the scale, pronounced his name /ˈlɪk.ərt/. Some have claimed that Likert's name "is among the most mispronounced in the field"because many people pronounce the name of the scale as /ˈlaɪ.kərt/.
Retrieved from The Free Dictionary Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Likert+scale
