Likert Question Best Practices

May 26, 2021 | Survey Design

The Likert scale is a widespread approach for capturing intensity of feeling data in surveys. In a Likert question, respondents choose their level of disagreement or agreement with a statement from a predefined series of scaled options. Well-designed Likert questions exhibit two important traits: symmetry and balance.

  • Symmetry: Responses are symmetrical across a central point, with the same number of positive and negative responses. This can include a neutral center, such as on 5-point or 7-point scales, or leave out the neutral option for a forced choice scale (such as a 10-point scale).
  • Balance: Responses are equidistant from each other. That is, the distance between each option are the same.

A 7-point Likert question might look something like this:

Example Likert question response anchors (and their Datagame counterparts)

Datagame uses a rating scale question as follow-up feedback in the Prefer! and Word Search Meta games. These are bipolar scales, with left and right anchors, and a configurable scale size. However, they can very much mimic a Likert scale with well-chosen anchors which make the scale intuitive.

The table below shows some common Likert question responses, as well as recommended anchors for a Datagame rating question. As a bonus, the table also shows recommended phrasings for MaxDiff Rankifier most and least questions.

For question phrasings, we recommend customizing the suggested text to better match your study. For example, if the cards in your Prefer! game are representing logos, change the [card] to logo.

Likert Question Response Anchors

Acceptability | Agreement | Appropriateness | Attraction / Detraction | Beliefs | Clarity | Concern | Describes Me | Desirability | Difficulty | Effectiveness | Familiarity | Happiness | Importance | Influence | Likelihood | Expectations | Priority | Purchase Likelihood | Quality | Satisfaction | Speed | Strength | Support / Oppose | Usefulness

AttributeLikert question response optionsRating questionAnchorsMaxDiff "most" and "least" questions
Attribute
Likert question response options
Rating question
Anchors
MaxDiff "most" and "least" questions
Acceptability
  1. Totally unacceptable

  2. Unacceptable

  3. Slightly unacceptable

  4. Neutral

  5. Slightly acceptable

  6. Acceptable

  7. Perfectly Acceptable

How acceptable is this [card]?Perfectly Acceptable



Totally unacceptable
Which [card] is most acceptable?



Which [card] is least acceptable?
Agreement
  1. Strongly disagree

  2. Disagree

  3. Somewhat disagree

  4. Neither agree or disagree

  5. Somewhat agree

  6. Agree

  7. Strongly agree
    How strongly do you agree or disagree with this [card]?Strongly agree



    Strongly disagree
    Which [card] do you agree with the most?



    Which [card] do you agree with the least?
    Appropriateness
    1. Absolutely inappropriate

    2. Inappropriate

    3. Slightly inappropriate

    4. Neutral

    5. Slightly appropriate

    6. Appropriate

    7. Absolutely appropriate
      How appropriate is this [card]?Absolutely appropriate



      Absolutely inappropriate
      Which [card] is most appropriate?



      Which [card] is least appropriate?
      Attraction / Detraction
      1. Detracted very much

      2. Detracted some

      3. Detracted very little

      4. Neither attracted nor detracted

      5. Attracted very little

      6. Attracted some

      7. Attracted very much
      How much dd this [card] attract or detract you?Attracted very much



      Detracted very much
      Which [card] attracts you the most?



      Which [card] detracts you the most?
      Beliefs
      1. Very untrue of what I believe

      2. Untrue of what I believe

      3. Somewhat untrue of what I believe

      4. Neutral

      5. Somewhat true of what I believe

      6. True of what I believe

      7. Very true of what I believe
      How accurately does this [card] describe your beliefs?Very true of what I believe



      Very untrue of what I believe
      Which [card] is the most like how you believe?



      Which [card] is the least like how you believe?
      Clarity
      1. Extremely unclear

      2. Somewhat unclear

      3. Slightly unclear

      4. Neither clear nor unclear

      5. Slightly clear

      6. Somewhat clear

      7. Extremely clear
      How clear is [card]?Extremely clear



      Extremely unclear
      Which [card] is the most clear?



      Which [card] is the least clear?
      Concern
      1. Not at all concerned

      2. Slightly concerned

      3. Somewhat concerned

      4. Moderately concerned

      5. Extremely concerned
      How concerned are you about this [card]?Not at all concerned



      Extremely concerned
      Which [card] are you most concerned about?



      Which [card] are you least concerned about?
      Describes Me
      1. Very untrue of me

      2. Untrue of me

      3. Somewhat untrue of me

      4. Neutral

      5. Somewhat true of me

      6. True of me

      7. Very true of me
      How accurately does this [card] describe you?Very true of me



      Very untrue of me
      Which [card] is the most true about yourself?



      Which [card] is the least true about yourself?
      Desirability
      1. Very undesirable

      2. Undesirable

      3. Neutral

      4. Desirable

      5. Very desirable
      How desirable is this [card]?Very desirable



      Very undesirable
      Which [card] is most desirable?



      Which [card] is least desirable?
      Difficulty
      1. Very difficult

      2. Difficult

      3. Neither easy nor hard

      4. Easy

      5. Very easy
      How difficult is this [card]?Very easy



      Very difficult
      Which [card] is most difficult?



      Which [card] is least difficult?
      Effectiveness
      1. Not effective at all

      2. Slightly effective

      3. Somewhat effective

      4. Very effective

      5. Extremely effective
      How effective is this [card]?Extremely effective



      Not at all effective
      Which [card] is most effective?



      Which [card] is least effective?
      Familiarity
      1. Not at all familiar

      2. Slightly familiar

      3. Somewhat familiar

      4. Moderately familiar

      5. Extremely familiar
      How familiar are you with this [card]?Extremely familiar



      Not at all familiar
      Which [card] is most familiar?



      Which [card] is least familiar?
      Happiness
      1. Extremely unhappy

      2. Somewhat unhappy

      3. Slightly unhappy

      4. Neither happy nor unhappy

      5. Slightly happy

      6. Somewhat happy

      7. Extremely happy
      How happy are you with this [card]?Extremely happy



      Extremely unhappy
      Which [card] makes you the most happy?



      Which [card] makes you the least happy?
      Importance
      1. Not at all important

      2. Low importance

      3. Slightly unimportant

      4. Neither important nor unimportant

      5. Moderately important

      6. Very important

      7. Extremely important
      How important is this [card]?Extremely important



      Not at all important
      Which [card] is most important?



      Which [card] is least important?
      Influence
      1. Not at all influential

      2. Slightly influential

      3. Somewhat influential

      4. Very influential

      5. Extremely influential
      How influential is this [card]?Extremely influential



      Not at all influential
      Which [card] is most influential?



      Which [card] is least influential?
      Likelihood
      1. Extremely unlikely

      2. Unlikely

      3. Neither likely nor unlikely

      4. Likely

      5. Extremely likely
      How likely are you to [use] this card?Extremely likely



      Extremely unlikely
      Which [card] are you most likely to [use]?



      Which [card] are you least likely to [use]?
      Expectations
      1. Far short of expectations

      2. Short of expectations

      3. Meets expectations

      4. Exceeds expectations

      5. Far exceeds expectations
      How well does [card] meet expectations?Far exceeds expectations



      Far short of expectations
      Which [card] meets or exceeds expectations the most?



      Which [card] meets or exceeds expectations the least?
      Priority
      1. Not a priority

      2. Low priority

      3. Medium priority

      4. High priority

      5. Essential priority
      How would you prioritize this [card]?Essential priority



      Not a priority
      Which [card] is the most essential?



      Which [card] is the least essential?
      Purchase Likelihood
      1. Definitely will not purchase

      2. Probably will not purchase

      3. Might purchase

      4. Probably will purchase

      5. Definitely will purchase
      How likely are you to purchase this [card]?Definitely will purchase



      Definitely will not purchase
      Which [card] are you most likely to purchase?



      Which [card] are you least likely to purchase?
      Quality
      1. Terrible

      2. Very poor

      3. Poor

      4. Average

      5. Good

      6. Very good

      7. Excellent
      How would you rate the quality of [card]?Excellent



      Terrible
      Which [card] is the best?



      Which [card] is the worst?
      Satisfaction
      1. Completely dissatisfied

      2. Mostly dissatisfied

      3. Somewhat dissatisfied

      4. Neither satisfied or dissatisfied

      5. Somewhat satisfied

      6. Mostly satisfied

      7. Completely satisfied
      How satisfied are you with this [card]?Very satisfied



      Very dissatisfied
      Which [card] are you more satisfied about?



      Which [card] are you least satisfied about?
      Speed
      1. Extremely slow

      2. Moderately slow

      3. A little slow

      4. Average

      5. A little fast

      6. Moderately fast

      7. Very fast
      How fast or slow is this [card]?Very fast



      Very slow
      Which [card] is fastest?



      Which [card] is slowest?
      Strength
      1. Very weak

      2. Somewhat weak

      3. Slightly weak

      4. Neither strong nor weak

      5. Slightly strong

      6. Somewhat strong

      7. Very strong
      How strong is [card]?Very strong



      Very weak
      Which [card] is the strongest?



      Which [card] is the weakest?
      Support / Oppose
      1. Strongly oppose

      2. Somewhat oppose

      3. Neither favor nor oppose

      4. Somewhat favor

      5. Strongly favor
      How strongly do you favor or oppose this [card]?Strongly favor



      Strongly oppose
      Which [card] do you favor the most?



      Which [card] do you oppose the most?
      Usefulness
      1. Extremely useless

      2. Somewhat useless

      3. Slightly useless

      4. Neither useful nor useless

      5. Slightly useful

      6. Somewhat useful

      7. Extremely useful
      How useful is [card]?Extremely useful



      Not at all useful
      Which [card] is most useful?



      Which [card] is least useful?
      Share This