Cabooter, Elke

Schillewaert, Niels

Weijters, Bert

English

Questionnaires using Likert-type rating scales are an important source of data in 
marketing research. Researchers use different rating scale formats with varying 
numbers of response categories and varying label formats (e.g., 7-point rating scales 
labeled at the endpoints, fully labeled 5-point scales, etc.) but have few guidelines 
when selecting a specific format. Drawing from the literature on response styles, we 
formulate hypotheses on the effect of the labeling of response categories and the 
number of response categories on the net acquiescence response style, extreme 
response style and misresponse to reversed items. We test the hypotheses in an 
online survey (N=1207) with eight experimental conditions and a follow-up study 
with two experimental conditions (N = 226). We find evidence of strong effects of 
scale format on response distributions and misresponse to reversed items, and we 
formulate recommendations on the choice of a scale format

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The effect of rating scale format on response styles: the number of response categories and response category labels

https://repository.vlerick.com/bitstream/20.500.12127/3605/1/Weijters_B_WP_EffectofRatingScaleFormationResponseStyles.pdf

The effect of rating scale format on response styles: the number of response categories and response category labels

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