Opinion Scales
What is an Opinion Scale?
These question types provide your project respondents with a numbered scale, by which the statement or question it concerns can be rated. You can also customize the names of the extremes at either end of the scale, and choose whether the scale should be accompanied by a Rating Heat Bar (color bar).
You may also see Opinion Scales referred to as Likert scales, these simply refer to reliable ways of measuring attitudes or behaviors against a linear scale.
This is similar to the Slider question type, the only difference lies in how the respondents interact with the scale.
Why use an Opinion Scale?
Opinions Scales provide respondents with a fresh and logical way of evaluating a question or statement, within the context of a scale you set. It’s also useful for when you’ve already used a Slider in your project, but wish to use another scaled question type. This way your format does not become stale.
How do I create an Opinion Scale?
- Open the Form tab
- Click 'New question'
- Select Opinion Scale
- Enter your question
Default Settings
The default settings for this question type scales the answer options from 0-10 and is accompanied by a Rating Heat Bar, but this can be changed in the Settings section of the Question Quick Menu. From there, you can also change your Scale into a Slider. The scale extremes will be set as ‘Sour’ (lesser extreme) and ‘Sweet’ (greater extreme) by default, but these can easily be edited by clicking on them.
Tips
- The scale options should be consistent and logical
- The scale options should be inclusive: if you’re rating an experience, the scale options should span from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’, not ‘very good’ to ‘average'
- The question/ statement should only need a simple response
- Include as many scale points as you think necessary, but too many will affect the readability of your survey
- It’s not mandatory to name either end of the scale, but it may improve the clarity of the question/ statement
Question Settings
Inside the question settings for Opinion Scales you have several options:
- Number this question: This button toggles the numbering for the concerned question.
- Personal info: When enabled, the data from any question marked as PII in the ‘question settings’ will be stored as a separate response. Allowing you to identify who has completed your survey, and at what time, without viewing the other answers they’ve given.
- Number column headings: Switches the column headings between numbers and letters.
- Rating Heat Bar (Color Bar): This allows you to toggle the visibility of the Rating Heat Bar. This is for visual purposes only, and cannot be interacted with by respondents.
- Required: By checking this box, respondents cannot finish the survey without completing the question.
How respondents interact with the Opinion Scale
The scale looks almost identical, to the respondent, as it looks whilst you are creating your project. The only difference lies in their ability to select a number in correspondence to your question or statement.
However, if you wish to preview your finished questions and format before finalizing the launch, click the Preview/Test button.
The participants choice is not final until they click the Finish Survey button.
How to Analyze the Quick Report?
Answer options will be displayed in their original order, from left to right, in the Data Table of your Quick Report. You will also receive stats on the standard deviation, total number of responses, and a weighted average for that question.
By default, your results will appear as a Column Graph, with each answer being assigned a colour within the chart. It is possible to change the chart formatting through the Question Quick Menu for this section. The other available options for this question type are Line Graph, Doughnut Chart, Radar Chart, Pie Chart.
For more detailed instructions on analyzing your report, you can visit either of these articles: