Ambiguity significantly impacts self-evaluating Likert-scale questionnaire responses
Ambiguity in self-evaluating Likert-scale questionnaires—particularly through vague frequency terms like "sometimes" or "often"—significantly impacts respondent interpretation and questionnaire validity.
The retrieved literature (specifically papers [0] and [5]) directly evaluates how ambiguity in self-evaluating questionnaires, such as vague frequency quantifiers on Likert scales, impacts interpretation, response validity, and precision. Papers [2], [7], and [8] further address interval-level scaling and psychometric properties associated with Likert and rating scales, lending additional support to the notion that response ambiguity and scale construction significantly influence questionnaire outcomes.
Schneider S, Stone AA. The meaning of vaguely quantified frequency response options on a quality of life scale depends on respondents' medical status and age.. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1293-7
The study demonstrates that respondents interpret vague frequency quantifiers on quality of life scales differently depending on age and medical status, undermining response validity.
See more details
Petersen IT, Demko Z, Doebler P, Sabel L, Oleson JJ, Krueger RF. How often is "often"? Improving assessment of the externalizing spectrum using absolute frequency.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001441
The paper argues that vague quantifiers of relative frequency introduce imprecision and low interpretability, advocating for absolute frequency counts instead.
The paper trail · every fact has a biography
Challenge the receipt
Citation formatting by citeproc-js (Frank Bennett) and the Citation Style Language project. Source and licenses.
Terms · Privacy · How verdicts work · Dispute this receipt