Have you ever tried to write your own survey or questionnaire scale? Knowing how to write a questionnaire scale can be a deceptively difficulty problem for both novice and experienced survey makers alike.
Poorly written scales are actually one of the most frequent mistakes I see when reviewing questionnaires. I wish I’d had a concise chart like this handy when I started writing survey questions, but now I’m thrilled to share some of this wisdom with you.
If writing questionnaires, surveys, or scales is a challenge for you – don’t feel bad. This is a topic that has gotten academic and professional attention for the last century and beyond. I wouldn’t be surprised if scales are nearly as old as writing itself.
A Useful Reference for Questionnaire Scales
After all these years thankfully, there are a few common scales that work for almost any question. If necessary, you can change your existing question slightly so that you can use one of the following highly effective, research-based scales.
| Acceptability | Not at all acceptable, Slightly acceptable, Moderately acceptable, Very acceptable, Completely acceptable |
| Agreement | Completely disagree, Disagree, Somewhat disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Somewhat agree, Agree, Completely agree |
| Appropriateness | Absolutely inappropriate, Inappropriate, Slightly inappropriate, Neutral, Slightly appropriate, Appropriate, Absolutely appropriate |
| Awareness | Not at all aware, Slightly aware, Moderately aware, Very aware, Extremely aware |
| Beliefs | Not at all true of what I believe, Slightly true of what I believe, Moderately true of what I believe, Very true of what I believe, Completely true of what I believe |
| Concern | Not at all concerned, Slightly concerned, Moderately concerned, Very concerned, Extremely concerned |
| Familiarity | Not at all familiar, Slightly familiar, Moderately familiar, Very familiar, Extremely familiar |
| Frequency | Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Often, Always |
| Importance | Not at all important, Slightly important, Moderately important, Very important, Extremely important |
| Influence | Not at all influential, Slightly influential, Moderately influential, Very influential, Extremely influential |
| Likelihood | Not at all likely, Slightly likely, Moderately likely, Very likely, Completely likely |
| Priority | Not a priority, Low priority, Medium priority, High priority, Essential |
| Probability | Not at all probable, Slightly probable, Moderately probable, Very probable, Completely probable |
| Quality | Very poor, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent |
| Reflect Me | Not at all true of me, Slightly true of me, Moderately true of me, Very true of me, Completely true of me |
| Satisfaction (bipolar) | Completely dissatisfied, Mostly dissatisfied, Somewhat dissatisfied, Neither satisfied or dissatisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Mostly satisfied, Completely satisfied |
| Satisfaction (unipolar) | Not at all satisfied, Slightly satisfied, Moderately satisfied, Very satisfied, Completely satisfied |
Remember how we mentioned that there is serious academic research into how to create usable scales? This list follows guidance to use 5-point unipolar scales and 7-point bipolar scales given by Jon A. Krosnick and Stanley Presser in chapter 9 of the peer reviewed Handbook of Survey Research 2nd Edition.
When it comes to managing surveys, creating questionnaires, scaling questions and collecting data Verint Survey Management can help you not only build your questionnaires but also take the manual data crunching out of the equation. With easier, faster insights, you can do more with your data and even close the loop on individual customer concerns.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out our recent maturity model guides for web and mobile experience and for in-location experience where we go into more depth about how survey management is just one part of creating exceptional customer experiences.