Using Response Scales in Question Writing

How to Use Grid Questions

A number of the scales we recommend are skewed positively or negatively.  (This means there are more positive or negative points rather than a symmetrical number.) We often skew scales on quality, problems, frequency and importance scales but not on support/favor questions. We create these skewed scales because we are countering social desirability bias (tendency to give more positive or negative responses that are socially acceptable) and/or want to make sure the scale is sensitive enough to capture full sentiment.  (If every item in a list is considered minimally important, it does not make sense to provide 2 points on how unimportant an item is.) 

You’ll want to consider using these scales when creating grid questions on Polco. 

The use of “Don’t Know” as a response is not listed in these scales, but please consider adding this option at the end if you are asking a question where the respondent really could not know. 

Quality scales: good for evaluating services or community characteristics

• Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor

• Very good, Good, Neither good nor bad, Bad, Very Bad

• Very well, Somewhat well, Somewhat poorly, Very poorly

• Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, Somewhat dissatisfied, Very dissatisfied

Problem scales: good for identifying concerns not sufficiently addressed by service delivery

• Major problem, Moderate problem, Minor problem, Not a problem

• Large problem, Small problem, Not a problem at all

• Major concern, Moderate concern, Minor concern, Not a concern

Change scales: good for estimating impacts of programs, interventions

• Much better, A little better, About the same, A little worse, A lot worse

• Much better, A little better, No change, A little worse, Much worse

Amount scales: good for estimating consumption or use  (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)

• Too much, About right, Too little

• Too many, About right, Too few

• A great deal, Quite a bit, Some, Not too much, Very little

• None, A few, Some, Most, All

• None, A little, A lot

• Far too much/many, Somewhat too much/many, Right amount, Somewhat too little/few, Far too little/few

Importance scales: good for determining resident values

• Essential, Very important, Somewhat important, Not important

• Extremely important, Very important, Somewhat important, Not at all important

• Very important, Moderately important, Slightly important, Not important

Frequency scales: good for estimating use of services (if you are asking a series of questions using a grid format, make sure the frequencies make sense. 

Some types of activities make sense on a weekly level while others make sense on a monthly or annual level.)

[general]

• Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always

• Never, Almost never, Sometimes, Almost always, Always

• Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Almost always, Always 

• Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Frequently, Always

 [ever]

• Never, Once or twice, More than twice

• Not at all, 1 time, 2 times, 3 or more times 

 [times a year]

• Never, Once a year, Once a month, Once a week, Every day

 [times a month]

• Never, One or two times a month, About once a week, A few times a week, Every day

• Never, 1 to 12 times, 13 to 25 times, 26+ times

Likelihood scales: good for projecting use of services not yet offered (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)

• Very likely, Somewhat likely, Somewhat unlikely, Very unlikely

• Very likely, Likely, Unlikely, Very unlikely

• Definitely will, Probably will, Probably not, Definitely not

• Definitely would, Probably would, Not sure, Probably would not, Definitely would not

“Polar” scales: good for determining policy options (consider a "Don't know" response option here)

• Strongly support, Support, Neither support nor oppose, Oppose, Strongly oppose

• Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose

• High priority, Medium priority, Low priority, Not a priority,

• Support/Oppose 

• Strongly favor, Favor, Neither support nor oppose, Oppose, Strongly oppose 

• Strongly favor, Somewhat favor, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose

Agree/Disagree: good if no better questions, as these require a positively or negatively skewed stem/list of items. (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)

• Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, Strongly disagree 

• Strongly agree, Somewhat agree, Somewhat disagree, Strongly disagree