Likert Scale Questions: The Codeless Way to Visualize Survey Results

Let’s play a quick game.

Rate yourself.

Do you love ice cream?

5 – Yes! I’m so obsessed and can’t pass up an opportunity to have one.

4 – Yeah! I like ice cream but I’m not so obsessed.

3 – (Shrugs) Well, who doesn’t like ice cream?

2 – Not so much. Ice cream is okay. But I’d rather pass.

1 – (Ugh) I can’t stand the taste of ice cream.

What was your answer?

For me, I think I’d have gone with 3.

You will agree that this is more interesting and effective than just giving you the Yes/No option.

Take my answer for instance.

If I was given the Yes/No option, I would most likely shrug and give a casual ‘yeah’.

Some others would vehemently nod and scream ‘yes’ while giving the “is that even a question” look.

On the other side, some would look irritated while saying no.

The sentiment is different.

All the answers fall into the Yes and No categories.

However, there are levels to how people feel about the same thing.

This is where the Likert scale comes in.

The Likert scale measures and quantifies the intensity of feeling.

Thus, this scale has become of use in several industries.

It is used in psychology, human relations, marketing, and many other industries.

With Likert scale questions, marketers have been able to measure how customers feel about products and services.

Psychologists have been able to read into human feelings and emotions and how it influences consumers.

Likert scale questions have been made to function in many other areas of life, research, and surveys.

However, before we go fully into what they are and how to use them, there’s something you need to know.

The word ‘Likert’ is commonly mispronounced.

It is not pronounced ‘LIKE-ert’.

The correct pronunciation is ‘LICK-ert’.

Even I mispronounced it before finding that out.

Now, we can delve into what the Likert scale is, when to use it and how you can put it to work for your surveys.

What is a Likert Scale Survey?

A Likert scale survey uses 5-point or 7-point scale questions to measure the intensity of feelings concerning a subject.

It usually ranges from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’.

It would also usually have a neutral standpoint at the middle of the scale.

What Likert scale questions do is to get you detailed feedback.

It can highlight how people are feeling after coming in contact with you or your product.

It can also show the total percentage of people who are feeling that way.

Many times, those percentages may be found amidst a select group of people who have some things in common.

Likert scales help you know if you need an improvement in your services or if you need to upgrade your product to solve certain problems.

Likert scale questions work well in different survey scenarios. You need to know when it is best and most effective to use a Likert scale.

When should you use a Likert Scale Questionnaire?

In conducting surveys, there are different types of questions that can be used.

When are Likert questions the best for your survey?

Generally, Likert scales are great survey tools when you want to find out details of what people think.

But more specifically, you should use Likert scale questions when:

1. You want to know how people are reacting to your new product.
2. You want to find out how your team feels about a recent development in the office.
3. You need client feedback on the service they receive at your company.
4. You want to find out how much a certain group knows about a new relevant subject.
5. You need to get reactions from event attendees or students based on a recently concluded event or training.

These are typical situations where you should use Likert scale surveys to get a more detailed opinion about a subject.

Now, let us see guidelines for writing effective Likert scale survey questions.

Writing Effective Likert Scale Questions

I have been asked to fill questionnaires a few times.

Some are unnecessarily long.

Some contain jargons that cannot be understood.

Some are just plain confusing.

You do not want your respondents to be left feeling like this when faced with your survey questions.

Why?

What happens when respondents feel this way is that they get unreliable data.

That means, people either do not complete the survey or they tick answers out of a frantic need to get it over with.

This immediately sabotages the aim of your survey.

You do not get the true opinions of the people concerning that subject.

Instead, you record haphazard data which makes no concrete sense in the long run.

To therefore have and conduct an effective survey, there are guidelines to keep your survey questions in shape.

Let’s check them out.

i-Always be specific

Overtly vague or broad questions in a Likert-type survey will ruin the results gotten from the survey.

In Likert scale surveys, you do not want to have your respondents thinking very critically before answering your questions.

You want their answers to be direct and straight to the point.

You want it to be a no-brainer.

Like our game of how much you love ice cream.

You see the option that best fits what you feel about it and…boom!

It clicks.

If you ask about attendee satisfaction at an event, your respondents might have complicated feelings.

They might feel the food was good but the ushers were not coordinated.

The registration may have been tedious but the aim of the event was achieved.

This puts your respondents in a position where they have to think about the central opinion of the event.

Therefore, it is important to be specific and to avoid vague questions.

ii-Choose the scale adjectives carefully

Usually on a scale of 1-5 or of 1-7, labeling the numbers with adjectives help respondents to make choices.

That means, just having 5 boxes labeled with figures 1-5 may leave them wondering if 5 is ‘strongly disagree’ or otherwise.

Therefore, it is important to write the figures as well as the descriptive adjective for each option.

However, most marketers and data collectors make the mistake of using too similar adjectives as options.

This, therefore, gets the respondents confused.

For example, you ask how often a person uses Facebook.

Then you use the 5 point scale: Never – Seldom – Sometimes – Often – Always

The respondent may have a hard time finding the difference between seldom and sometimes.

You should then change the adjectives or use a different scale.

Your scale should give no confusion about the hierarchy of the options.

iii-Bipolar or Unipolar Scales

We want to explain it simply.

A unipolar scale can go from 1 to 5. Or 0 to 5.

That means it uses one side of a particular attitude or feeling.

It goes from the ‘none’ to ‘maximum’.

On the other hand, a bipolar scale goes from -5 to +5.

This means that it involves the extremes of two opposing sides of a particular feeling.

Bipolar Likert scales can be more detailed.

However, respondents may be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of options.

Thereby, making the selection too hard to make.

A bipolar scale simplifies decision-making for respondents.

It is easy to think about and you can be sure that one end is the exact opposite of the other.

iv-Focus on one topic

Another thing that can render your survey null and void is when the questions are focused on different topics.

This makes you unable to gather accurate results.

Having your survey focused on a single topic helps to get all the quality data about the subject.

For example, you could ask this question:

How satisfied were you with the quality of the dinner you were served tonight?

Then, follow up questions can take this form:

How satisfied were you with the appetizers?

How satisfied were you with the main course meal?

How satisfied were you with the dessert?

An unrelated question that you should leave for another part of the survey would be:

How satisfied were you with the coat-check room?

This helps you to find deeper opinions about each course of the dinner they had.

vi-Avoid biased Survey Questions

Biased survey questions usually lead the respondent to a particular answer.

That is, they suggest the answers that the respondent should select.

This is an example of a leading question:

“How often do you open your Tik Tok app in a day?”

This question is leading because the respondent may not open their Tik Tok app every day.

These types of questions will lead your respondent to answer the question in a way that makes the result unreliable.

This may even confuse your respondent and lead them to pick an option that sabotages the aim of the survey.

To avoid this, ensure that your survey questions are objective, clear, and concise.

Next up are the benefits of using a Likert scale.

Why you should use a Likert scale

We have seen when to use and how to use a Likert scale.

Now, we want to see all the benefits and icings on the cake that make us use Likert scales.

Let’s go.

i. Ease of Implementation

Likert scale is a common and universally accepted scale.

They are commonly used in ratings and satisfaction surveys.

Their universal acceptance makes them easy to use and administer.

ii. Ease of Response

The Likert scale is easy to understand.

This, therefore, makes it easy for the respondents to answer the question immediately.

iii. Ease of getting opinions

The Likert scale helps respondents to have a variety of options that best describes their opinion.

The ranks and intensity of feelings can be easily measured and analyzed using a Likert scale survey.

What to do with Likert Scale Data?

After setting up your Likert scale questions and carrying out your survey, what comes next?

The answer is obvious.

You analyze the data you have gathered from the survey.

In all honesty, it sounds like a lot of work.

Imagine that you have just used all the above tips to create the most effective Likert survey.

Then, you administer this survey to your 1,000 regular customers.

You receive your feedback.

Now, you have to go through it all, find your high points and low points, analyze them, and draw a reasonable conclusion from it.

It can be tough, tiring, stressful, and even frustrating.

Now, there is a solution.

The simple solution to making meaning out of your raw data is data visualization.

What data visualization helps you do is to reduce the stress that comes with analyzing data manually.

It eases the process and gets you results at a fast pace.

When you need to explain the results of the survey to an audience, data visualization makes it easy for them to understand.

Once you plot your data graphically, you can understand the whole story of the data in a second.

To therefore analyze, understand, and present the results of your Likert scale survey, data visualization is your best bet.

The question now is how to get it done in the most seamless way possible.

In visualizing data, data analysts and digital marketers use different routes and different tools.

However, what is important in selecting the best visualization tool is the effectiveness in getting you the desired result.

In the next section, I will show you the best tool for visualizing your Likert scale data.

Tool for Visualizing your Likert Scale Data

The #1 tool for visualizing your data is ChartExpo.

ChartExpo is both an Excel and Google Sheets plugin.

What makes it so easy is that since it works perfectly with both spreadsheets, you can use it with your favorite spreadsheet.

All you have to do is to install it and you can get your visualizations done faster and more easily.

You can easily use ChartExpo without any knowledge of coding or programming.

It is easy to install, easy to set up, and easy to use.

ChartExpo has over 80 visualizations in its library.

This variety of visualizations caters to different business applications.

For most data visualization tools, you need to have a basic knowledge of coding.

However, ChartExpo is a seamless way to create your visualizations without any code.

It is widely used by many PPC marketers and digital marketers to get a clear picture of the data.

ChartExpo elevates your data to produce insights that help you take the proper and required action.

All you need to do is to select your preferred visualization.

Up next is how to create an exact Likert chart using ChartExpo as your visualization tool.

Likert Chart

This is the best chart you can use for your Likert survey visualization.

It is the best option and the one that most PPC marketers would recommend.

It is very similar to the bar chart.

However, the Likert chart categorizes the data into positive and negative sides by separating them with a thick visual baseline.

In the Likert chart on ChartExpo, you can choose to categorize ‘neutral’ on the scale as a negative score.

You can also choose to categorize it as a positive result.

There are no strict universal rules on how the neutral category should be displayed.

Neither are there rules on which side of the bar it should lie.

What influences your choice of where the neutral category should be is how you measure success.

The baseline that separates the positive and negative categories can act as the target of your minimum performance.

The Likert chart is clear, effective and can show a large chunk of data neatly and concisely.

The Likert chart has been compared to other charts such as the grouped bar chart and the small multiple pie charts.

The PPC marketers and users have said that they understood the chart just by looking at it.

Let us see an example of Bob who made use of the Likert chart in analyzing and visualizing his Likert survey.

Bob is a business owner.

He has stores where he sells his products.

However, Bob discovered the online market and decided to try it out to grow his business.

He started selling his products online 3 months ago.

He then wanted to get customer satisfaction reviews from his online clients.

He wanted to also know how he could improve and modify the product to suit the needs of the fast-growing online space.

Bob created a short Likert scale questionnaire.

He made it short, simple, and easy to complete.

He then mailed the survey questions to his customers.

The structure he used for his survey helped him as he was able to gather all the data he needed in 15 days.

He inputted the data into his Google sheet. You can get ChartExpo for Google Sheet from here.

After he had installed ChartExpo, he started the process to visualize his data.

Here’s what he did.

Bob clicked on Add-ons in his Google Sheets.

Next, he clicked on ChartExpo and clicked Open.

Bob then clicked on Specialized Survey Charts and clicked on Likert Chart.

Afterward, he selected the Sheet Name.

Then he clicked on Add new metric and selected the column with the numerical value (Count).

Next, he clicked on Add new dimension and selected the Question column.

He clicked on Add new dimension again and selected the Rating column.

Then, he clicked on Create Chart.

This was his result.

Insights: The Story this Chart tells.

From this chart, the numbers on the 5 point scale are represented with different colors.

The red color represents the ‘1’.

The pink represents ‘2’.

The grey shows the neutral ground ‘3’.

Light green signifies ‘4’.

Finally, the dark green color shows the highest rating ‘5’.

The opinion of Bob’s customers can easily be seen from this chart.

For example, the first question asks if they thought the product was a good purchase.

29% of the respondents gave a ‘5’ point rating.

However, 24% gave a ‘1’ point.

The third question also gives a lot of insight into the customer’s mind.

The question asked if the product did what it claimed.

38% of the respondents gave a ‘5’ point rating for that and the ‘1’ rating was lower on that question.

From this chart, Bob can now know what exactly the prominent pain points are for his clients.

And he can use this information to improve his product to better serve them.

Let us see another example of how Dona also used the Likert chart to analyze her Likert scale data.

Dona had just expanded her business and she had to hire people to manage her customer support.

She did this so that she could focus on other parts of her business.

After a while, Dona wanted to know how efficient her customer support was.

She wanted to hear from her customers.

Therefore, she prepared a short questionnaire for her customers and mailed it to them.

After two weeks, Dona was able to gather all the responses from her customers.

She then inputted the data into her Excel spreadsheet.

You can get ChartExpo for Excel from here.

To analyze her data using ChartExpo, here’s what she did.

She clicked Insert on her Excel spreadsheet and selected ChartExpo for Excel.

She selected Specialized Survey charts and clicked on Likert Chart.

She then added the metric (Count) and the dimensions (Question and Rating)

Next, she clicked Create Chart from Sheet Data

This was her result

Insights: The Story this Chart tells

From Dona’s chart, we can see that each rating is also represented with colors.

Red for ‘1’, pink for ‘2’, grey for ‘3’, light green for ‘4’, and dark green for ‘5’.

The second question asked how the customers felt about the quality of the customer support.

A whopping 43% of the respondents gave the customer support a ‘5’ point rating.

42% gave a ‘4’ point rating.

From this, it is clear that the customer support at Dona’s company has a lot of high points.

This can put Dona’s mind at ease that her customer support staff are efficient.

It will also help her know how better she can help them perform.

Wrap Up

Likert scale questions are simple to create, easy to complete, and can open your eyes to the feelings of people.

They reveal the intensity of the feelings of an individual concerning a particular subject.

After generating great Likert scale questions that enable you to get reliable data, what do you do?

The next step is to analyze.

Being flooded with tons of data each day may make the process of analyzing very strenuous.

Data visualization is the solution to complex data analysis.

To perfectly represent your Likert scale data, ChartExpo is the tool to get you the best visual in record time.

That is how easy ChartExpo has made data analysis.

If you then follow the tips in this article, you are well on your way to fast-tracking your analyzing process.

It’s high time.