Likert scales offer a solution.

They turn subjective opinions into quantifiable data with scales you can code into numerical data.

This guide explains how you can use Likert scales in surveys to gain deeper insights into attitudes and satisfaction.

What is a Likert Scale?

A Likert scale is a psychometric scale that measures people’s opinions or attitudes. It’s an effective tool for turning qualitative data into quantitative surveys. 

It turns data about feelings into data that you can count and mathematically analyze.

American social scientist Rensis Likert created this type of scale in 1932. Researchers in all kinds of industries still use it today.

These scale questionnaires offer a series of statements that you answer by picking a phrase or number on the scale. Respondents select from answer options that express their satisfaction level or degree of agreement.

It’s usually a five- or seven-point scale, with choices like “Strongly Agree,” “Agree,” “Neutral,” “Disagree,” and “Strongly Disagree.” 

This level of measurement captures degrees of opinion. Instead of simple “yes” or “no” answers, the scale offers a way to voice nuanced opinions on a specific topic. 

Different Types of Likert Scales​

There are many types of Likert scales. Each design captures a particular kind of feedback.

The survey scale you choose depends on what you’re measuring. 

Let’s say you’re exploring customer satisfaction.

Imagine you’re a new business figuring out whether to focus your budget on product development or service.

You might ask your target audience how important customer service is. You would use an Importance Scale, with choices ranging from “Very Important” to “Not Important.”

But what if you’re trying to gauge how much training your staff needs?

You might ask how satisfied existing customer are with their experience of your brand.  You might use a Satisfaction Scale, with options like “Very Satisfied” to “Very Dissatisfied.”

Here are some common types of Likert scales:

• Importance Scale: Very Important, Important, Moderately Important, Slightly Important, Not Important
• Satisfaction Scale: Very Satisfied, Satisfied, Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Very Dissatisfied
• Agreement Scale: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree
• Frequency Scale: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never
• Quality Scale: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
• Likelihood Scale: Extremely Likely, Very Likely, Likely, Unlikely, Extremely Unlikely

Who Would Use a Likert Scale?

Researchers across all fields use Likert scales. This is because it’s a user-friendly way to quantify opinions and gather actionable data from subjective feedback. 

Here are some of the types of researchers that use Likert scales.

Customer Experience Specialists

Customer experience (CX) specialists use Likert scale surveys for customer feedback.

These scale surveys help CX specialists evaluate customer satisfaction and find pain points. 

Scale responses on different service aspects help CX professionals pinpoint what works and what doesn’t. 

For example, an RV sales company like Cruise America might survey customers on their experience with the sales team or the vehicle quality. 

Using a customer experience platform like Nicereply, the RV company might send out a survey to ask customers whether they’d recommend its services. This helps CX researchers ‌gauge how satisfied customers are with their overall experience. 

With Likert surveys, CX specialists can understand customer expectations. This guides them on where to focus improvements to drive customer retention and business growth.

Market Researchers

Market researchers use Likert scales to understand consumer preferences and brand perception. 

They use these scales to assess market expectations around product or service quality, interests and values, and pricing. Doing this gives them detailed insights that guide marketing and pricing strategies. 

Human Resources Professionals

HR professionals use Likert scales to assess employee engagement and satisfaction. 

They collect feedback on job roles, training, workplace culture, and employee experience. 

They might also use these scales in the hiring process to assess how well someone fits the job description.

For example, if you want to hire an international contractor, you might include Likert scale questions that gauge their fit with your company culture or communication style preferences. 

HR uses this business intelligence to learn about employee motivation and identify where teams need support.

Political and Social Researchers

Political and social researchers use Likert scale responses to gauge public opinion. ‌Surveys might explore topics like healthcare, climate change, or social policies. 

Researchers will repeat these surveys over time to track how opinion shifts after policy changes or social developments. This information helps policy makers shape public discourse.

Psychologists

Psychologists use Likert scales to measure personality traits, emotional responses, and attitudes. 

These surveys could assess traits like extroversion or agreeableness. They might ask about their beliefs on social or personal issues. 

For psychologists, Likert scales can turn qualitative insights into structured data. This makes Likert responses ‌valuable for both research and clinical work.

How to Use a Likert Scale in 7 Easy Steps

Likert scales appear simple. But if you want useful data, they require careful planning and attention to detail. 

Follow these steps to gather reliable data for insightful analysis.

1. Define Your Research Question 

Define exactly what you want to measure. Think carefully about the purpose of the survey.

What are you trying to understand and why?

A clear research question will guide your scale survey question design. For your survey to be most effective, each series of statements must align with your goal. Utilizing discovery phase services can help refine your research question and ensure that it addresses the core objectives of your project.

2. Pick the Appropriate Scale Format

Select the right rating scale for your needs. Decide whether you’ll use a 5- or 7-point scale, or a scale with an even wider range of variation.

What’s the difference between higher and lower scales?

A 5-point scale is simpler. This makes it a great tool for general feedback.

A scale with more points, like a 7—or 9-point scale, gives more response categories, which supports more nuanced opinions. 

Higher-point scales can capture slight differences in attitudes. This gives deeper insight into more complex ideas. 

Once you’ve chosen the number of points you want, think about the response types. To simplify the survey, all answers should use the same response type.

Let’s say you choose scales that range from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”. Write every statement so that it works with this response.

3. Craft Clear Statements

Scale questions need to be straightforward. Don’t use complex or vague wording. This causes confusion.

Each statement should measure an element and be clear about what that element is. 

4. Pilot Your Survey

Test your questionnaire before rolling it out to your entire survey audience.

Identify a small group that represents your larger survey sample. Ask this group to point out any confusing questions.

5. Send It Out

Figure out where your target audience congregates. Send the survey out using a method that reaches them on the right channels.

For example, you might post an online survey on your website, send an email survey, or post a social media poll. 

6. Analyze the Data

Analyze your findings to find patterns in your rating-scale data.

Your chosen analysis method will depend on what you’re trying to figure out. 

Some analysis methods look at the average attitude of respondents. Other methods compare how the variables relate.

Interpret the findings in the context of your research question. This will help you answer that original question in depth.

Common Ways to Analyze Likert Scale Data

There are several ways to analyze Likert-derived data.

Here are a few statistical methods to turn self-reported data into valuable insights.

Frequency Distributions

This method looks at the number of times each answer option is chosen. 

This helps you see the overall trend and sentiment around each question or the entire survey.

If most people choose extreme responses like “Strongly Disagree”, this shows they’re passionate about the topic.

Measures of Central Tendency

This is about finding the “average” response. You might calculate the mean, median, or mode answers. 

This works best for Likert scales with equidistant categories, such as satisfaction.

For example, the mean average of a satisfaction rating scale will show you how customers generally feel about your service.

Measures of Dispersion

This type of analysis looks at how spread-out opinions are using standard deviation and variance.

If there’s a high variance, respondents have varied opinions. Low variance shows your respondents agree with each other. 

Chi-Square Test

Use this method to find relationships between two categories. 

For example, you might use it to see if customers who live in different regions feel the same about a product.

Mann-Whitney U Test

This test compares two independent groups, like separate customer segments.

For example, you might use this test to see whether satisfaction levels differ between new and returning customers. 

Kruskal-Wallis Test

Use this test to compare more than two groups.

Imagine you’re comparing attitudes between different age groups or geographical locations. 

Spearman’s Rank Correlation

This test helps you see how closely related two distinct sets of responses are. 

For example, you might compare customer service satisfaction with customer retention. This helps you to see which aspects correlate with others. 

Likert Scale Examples in Action

Still unsure about what a good Likert scale survey question looks like? 

Check out these examples below.

1. Measuring Customer Satisfaction

Here are a few questions you might ask if you’re assessing customer experience using a Likert scale.

• How satisfied are you with the product you purchased?
  • Very Satisfied
  • Satisfied
  • Neutral
  • Dissatisfied
  • Very Dissatisfied

• How likely are you to recommend our product to your friend and family?
  • Extremely Likely
  • Very Likely
  • Likely
  • Unlikely
  • Extremely Unlikely

• How satisfied are you with the helpfulness of our customer support team?
  • Very Satisfied
  • Satisfied
  • Neutral
  • Dissatisfied
  • Very Dissatisfied

In Nicereply, you can apply this Likert scale to a Customer Effort Score (CES) survey. The CES measures how easy it was for customers to resolve their issue after contacting your support team. By asking customers whether the company “made it easy for me to handle my issue,” you can identify potential friction points that might hinder customer loyalty. A low CES score (e.g., a rating of “1” or “2”) indicates a high-effort experience, which could lead to customer dissatisfaction and disloyalty, so it’s crucial to use this feedback to make improvements.

By combining CES with CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), you can obtain a more comprehensive view of both customer satisfaction and the effort required to resolve their issues, ultimately helping you build loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

2. Researching Your Market

Here are a few Likert scale examples used to gauge market sentiment.

• How important is brand reputation to you when making a purchase decision?
  • Very Important
  • Important
  • Moderately Important
  • Slightly Important
  • Not Important

• How often do you see advertising for this product?
  • Very often
  • Often
  • Sometimes
  • Rarely
  • Never

• How appealing is the packaging of this product?
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Fair
  • Poor

3. Assessing Employee Engagement 

Here’s how HR might use Likert scales to understand employee satisfaction.

• How satisfied are you with your current job?
  • Very Satisfied
  • Satisfied
  • Neutral
  • Dissatisfied
  • Very Dissatisfied

• How motivated are you to perform well in your current role?
  • Extremely Motivated
  • Very Motivated
  • Somewhat Motivated
  • Slightly Motivated
  • Not At All Motivated

• How supportive is your manager?
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Fair
  • Poor

4. Understanding Political Views

Here are ways researchers might try to understand political opinions.

• How important is it to you to vote in elections?
  Extremely Important
  • Very Important
  • Somewhat Important
  • Slightly Important
  • Not Important At All

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• How likely are you to vote in the next election?
  • Extremely Likely
  • Very Likely
  • Likely
  • Unlikely
  • Extremely Unlikely

• The government is doing enough in response to climate change.
  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Don’t Agree or Disagree
  • Disagree
  • Strong Disagree

5. Looking at Societal Patterns

Social science researchers use Likert scales to observe trends, behaviors, and attitudes in society. 

Here are a few examples of what they might measure.

• Family is important to me.
  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neutral
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

• I volunteer my time to help others.
  • Always
  • Often
  • Sometimes
  • Rarely
  • Never

• There is a high level of social inequality in my community.
  • Strongly Agree
  • Agree
  • Neutral
  • Disagree
  • Strongly Disagree

6. Assessing How People Think

Psychologists use Likert scales to understand how individuals feel and think. This method works for personal psychology and when researching wider psychological beliefs. Here’s how.

• How often do you experience feelings of anxiety?
  • Always
  • Often
  • Sometimes
  • Rarely
  • Never

• How confident are you in your ability to handle stress?
  • Extremely Confident
  • Very Confident
  • Somewhat Confident
  • Slightly Confident
  • Not At All Confident

• How would you rate your resilience to adversity?
  • Extremely Resilient
  • Very Resilient
  • Somewhat Resilient
  • Slightly Resilient
  • Not At All Resilient

Wrap Up

Likert scales help you turn opinions into data. And they work for all kinds of research fields and industries.

If you want to get the most from them, tailor your scale to the feedback you need. Keep your research questions in mind to understand the kind of responses you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for an easy way to survey your customers, try Nicereply. Our Likert scale surveys and feedback tools capture nuanced customer opinions in an easy-to-understand way.

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