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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, Strongly disagree
Strongly agree, Somewhat agree, Somewhat disagree, Strongly disagree