5-Point Likert Scale Analysis, Interpretation with Examples - PPCexpo (2024)

5 Point Likert scale analysis is frequently used because respondents can easily answer questions in this format. They don’t have to think too much and write a lot of lines to answer. They just simply can choose from already given answers. It is also easy to analyze.

The Likert Scaleasks how much a person agrees or disagrees with a particular statement or question.

It is usually made up of a 5-point Likert rating scale ranging from one end to another with a neutral point in the middle.

After you get responses to these types of questions, how then do you check out the answers?

To analyze data from the Likert scale, you need a specific visual that gets you results in the least amount of time.

And that is what we will show you in this article.

Table of Contents:

1. What is 5 Point Likert Scale Analysis?
2. How to Create 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis and Interpretation of Survey Data
3. How to Interpret Results from a 5-Point Likert Scale Data
4. 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis Case
5. Types of 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis
6. Advantages of Using 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis
7. Disadvantages of using 5 Point Likert Scale Analysis
8. Is the 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis Right for you?

Before we dive into the deep analysis of the 5-Point Likert Scale, first we need to understand what the Likert Scale is.

What is 5 Point Likert Scale Analysis?

The 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis is a commonly used tool in social sciences and research to measure attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. It involves a series of statements or questions rated on a scale of five responses, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

This numerical representation allows for quantifying subjective data, providing a structured approach to understanding individuals’ perspectives on a particular topic. The analysis of responses gathered from this scale helps researchers gauge the intensity of attitudes or opinions, facilitating the interpretation of trends or patterns within a group or population under study. Its simplicity and versatility make it a popular method for gathering and analyzing data in various fields, from psychology and education to market research and beyond.

Video Tutorial: How to do 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis

How to Create 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis and Interpretation of Survey Data

Let us see how you can visualize your data obtained from survey analysis using the Likert Scale for analyzing and interpreting results from it.

George runs a business where he sells skincare products.

He wants to know how his products are doing with customers.

He needs the information to better optimize the products to suit his client’s needs.

Therefore, he creates a survey with a 5-point Likert scale.

The questions included in his survey were:

• The virtual models of customized products are realistic
• The information about customized components is identified
• The variety of customized products is satisfactory
• Image rotation is useful for viewing products from different angles

He made a table with stats as shown below:

Next, he installed ChartExpo from here and then opened it by clicking on Extensions on the Google Sheet interface.

Then he copied and pasted the above table in the sheet and continued to explore ChartExpo on the right side of the screen.

After he opened ChartExpo,he clicked on the ‘Add new chart’button.

Next, he selected the ‘Likert Scale Chart’.

He then selected the sheet that had his data.

He used ‘Count’as a metric and added ‘Question’ and ‘Rating’ as dimensions.

Then, he clicked on ‘Create Chart’.

If you want to learn more about customizing this chart and setting properties, header, footer, and labels you can read our guide on How to Present Likert Scale Data.

From this chart, he was able to get insight into his customers’ mindset.

He could know whether his customers are satisfied with your product’s customization or not.

This will make George more confident about his products.

It will help him to hone his strengths and make his products more suitable for customers.

How to Interpret Results from a 5-Point Likert Scale Data

For most simple and basic data with a few respondents, you could use the ‘Mode’ method to analyze.

Let’s take a look at the exact steps.

1. Assign numbers to the scale from 1-5, you could assign 1 to ‘very poor’ and assign 5 to ‘excellent’ depending on what the scale measures.
2. Draw a table for your results, you can have headings on both axes of the table.

The questions would be on one axis and the figure ratings from the last step on the other.

3. Next, fill in the number of times each rating appears (mode)
4. Then, you can find the highest occurring number and the average rating (mean).

We have discussed so far the different point scales and the characteristics of the 5-point scale.

Now, how do you know if the 5-point scale is right for you, your Likert data, and your Likert survey?

5-Point Likert Scale Analysis Case

There are different forms of the 5-point scale.

Some are scales of agreement.

Some 5-point scales measure the rate of satisfaction.

Other scales measure frequency.

While others measure quality, likelihood, and importance.

A 5-point scale that measures agreement will look like this.

Q: The event venue was easy to locate.

• Strongly Disagree
• Disagree
• Neutral
• Agree
• Strongly Agree

Interesting right?

Let us see a typical 5-point scale to measure satisfaction.

Q: How satisfied were you with the appetizer at the event?

• Very Satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
• Dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied.

This next scale measures quality.

Q: What was the quality of the room service you received at the hotel?

• Very poor
• Poor
• Average
• Good
• Excellent

Likert scale questions help you to sample opinions and get relevant information. It gives you an insight into what your audience is thinking. You have to ask these questions sometimes to chart a new course in your business.

Sometimes you have to ask it to know where your brand stands with the audience.

Some other times, it is to foresee impending doom and avoid it quickly.

Regardless of the reason why you are asking the question, you need to know what people are thinking.

To know what different people are thinking, you need to ask questions. After asking questions, you need to collate answers.

Next, you need to go through the answers, understand popular opinion, and take relevant action.

The answers you collate are the data you need.

The last three steps are the process of data analysis.

Let me list them again.

• Go through the answers (data)
• Understand popular opinion
• Take relevant action

Remember, we said analyzing data is like trying to solve a complex math problem?

Look at those steps.

Then imagine trying to sample the opinions of over 500 employees or 1,000 clients.

It would take a long time and the utmost concentration to get it done properly.

On the contrary, you want to save time and energy as a business person.

Plus, you are already bombarded with a ton of information that automatically reduces your attention span and easily distracts you.

Therefore, you need a way to do all three steps of data analysis in a split of second.

Types of 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis

There are 3-point Likert scales, 4-point Likert scales, 5-point, 6-point, 7-point, and even 9-point Likert scales.

We get your question.

Why are there so many and are they all used for the same purpose?

As we already mentioned, Likert scales are generally used to measure opinion concerning a subject.

However, the number of answerable options makes a large difference in the feelings of the audience while answering.

The point scales also have a large effect on the type of data that will be acquired.

Overall, it will affect the insights drawn from the data.

How?

Humans think and react in different ways.

They can feel constricted and choked with too few options.

At the same time, they could become easily overwhelmed by too many options.

With 3-point scales, you would mostly see options ranging from High-Medium-Low.

This easily asks the respondents to choose either side of the pole or remain neutral.

While this might seem immediately easy, it only scratches the surface of the opinions.

It does not seek to truly understand the thoughts and feelings of the respondents.

For the 4-point scale, the evenness of the scale makes it difficult to have a neutral standpoint.

Due to the tendency of humans to be polite, respondents may leave the questions unanswered.

That is for the lesser numbers.

For scales as large as the 7-point or 9-point scale, they delve deeper into the true emotions and feelings of the respondents.

However, when faced with a myriad of questions with so many options, respondents tend to lose interest faster.

It is like having to choose one of seven options in 20 different places.

It might be fun at first.

Then you just want to move to something more thrilling.

That is why the 5-point scale is usually the most effective and respondent-friendly Likert scale.

However, it also has its pros and cons which we will outline next.

Advantages of Using 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis

Here are some benefits of using the 5-Point Likert Scale in your research and survey analysis.

1. It is relatively easier for the respondents to understand.

The 5-point scale is simple.

The neutral standpoint is easy to identify with.

The opposing extremes are also easy to understand as either completely positive reviews or negative.

2. The 5-point scale is ideal for a larger study.

Respondents can easily give more honest and relevant opinions with a lower amount of choices.

Also, on your part, the 5-point scale works well when sampling the opinions of a large audience.

It is so because you have fewer irrelevant options to go through and understand.

3. The 5-point scale tends to produce better data distributions.

This just means that you can reach into the true emotions of your respondents with the 5-point scale.

This helps you to get the relevant data that you need and eventually draw conclusions that you can work on.

Now, let us see the few cons of using the 5-point Likert scale.

Disadvantages of using 5 Point Likert Scale Analysis

Let’s discuss some disadvantages of using the 5-Point Likert Scale.

1. The 5-point scale sometimes cannot measure all the attitudes on a subject.

It is what it is.

The 5-point scale may sometimes be inadequate to measure all the sentiments towards a particular issue. The respondents may need more options to express themselves for you to get accurate data.

In some situations, the 5-point scale may be restrictive for the respondents. This thereby causes them to make choices too mindlessly or critically.

2. The results of a 5-point scale might not be objective.

The data obtained from the 5-point scale may not effectively communicate the objective opinions of people.

It may not also achieve the aim of the research or survey.

Is the 5-Point Likert Scale Analysis Right for you?

You do not want to use a 5-point scale when you measure opinions on a complex subject.

When measuring a complex service or operation like customer engagement and store experience.

You need a wider array of opinions and information in such a situation.

However, if you are seeking to know how patients and visitors feel about the cleanliness at the hospital, a smaller range of options will suffice.

Also, more sentiment levels will keep your respondents from congregating at the neutral point.

When presented with options that do not exactly represent their feelings and ideas, respondents tend to be neutral.

Adding more options also delivers more accurate attitudes and avoids unnecessary distortions in data.

The downside of having too many options is that people can get weary and distracted.

In these times, people suffer from information overload.

And this can affect the responses of your audience.

Therefore, this evidence shows that the 5-point scale can keep your audience from losing interest.

It will also make it easy for them to check out the options and choose which one best suits their opinion.

Also, the 5-point scale eliminates the urge to gravitate towards the neutral point.

It also eliminates the desire to leave the questions blank and unanswered.

FAQs:

What is a 5 Point Likert Scale Analysis and how is it used?

A 5-point Likert Scale Analysis is a tool used in surveys or research to measure attitudes, opinions, or behaviors. It consists of a 5-point scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree (or other variations) where respondents select their level of agreement with a statement. It helps quantify subjective data and provides a numerical value to analyze sentiments or preferences.

What are the advantages of using a 5-point Likert Scale for analysis?

One major advantage is its simplicity, making it easy for respondents to understand and answer. It also provides a structured format for data collection, allowing researchers to quantify qualitative data. Additionally, the scale’s midpoint enables neutrality, allowing respondents to remain neutral if they don’t strongly agree or disagree, offering a more nuanced view of opinions.

How do you analyze data collected using a 5-point Likert Scale?

Data analysis involves calculating means, medians, or modes to determine the central tendency of responses. Researchers also often conduct statistical tests like t-tests or ANOVA to compare groups or assess the significance of differences. Additionally, visual representations like bar charts or histograms can help in understanding the distribution of responses across the scale.

Wrap Up:

Analyzing data can be as difficult as rocket science. Before analyzing data, you have to make sure that you get a relevant dataset. This can prove difficult due to the conditions and feelings of people.

The Likert scale survey measures the opinions of people concerning a subject. However, some people might be too polite to give you an honest opinion. Some might have lots of information on their minds that they take your survey mindlessly.

However, the 5-point scale is a haven for many analysts. It gets to the crux of the matter without boring or overwhelming your respondents.

Analysis and visualization of your Likert scale data have been made overly easy with ChartExpo by introducing the Likert Scale Chart. The above analysis proves that the Likert Scale Chart is the best way to present survey results.

It does not have to be rocket science anymore.

You’ve got this!