Hi,
I'm wondering about two methodological issues, and I would appreciate your advice.
I have a matrix table and asking the respondents to rate on a scale of 1 (not useful) to 5 (very useful). My survey is launching by mobile, so the visualization is a bit different.
1. I wonder whether methodologically, it's better to write the answer options from 1 to 5, or 5 to 1?
2. In the same question, is it right to write the "Don't know/ Not Relevant" option as the first option? Or as the last option?
Thanks,
Maya
I like it as 1 to 5. For english readers: we move left to right. This has some effects on our cognition as well, we tend to think of "empty" as "left" and "full" as "right".
I tend to put the don't know to the far right. It feels to me like that's "fallen off" the scale, and makes the reader go all the way to the right. But that rationale, tbh, I don't have a ton of science to back up. It just feels right to me. And that's how most surveys seem to do it. For that reason, it feels best to use pre-established patterns.
Also consider likert scales rather than numbers. Again, methodologically, there are some benefits to writing out the scale that you might want to consider dependent on your use-case:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html
I tend to put the don't know to the far right. It feels to me like that's "fallen off" the scale, and makes the reader go all the way to the right. But that rationale, tbh, I don't have a ton of science to back up. It just feels right to me. And that's how most surveys seem to do it. For that reason, it feels best to use pre-established patterns.
Also consider likert scales rather than numbers. Again, methodologically, there are some benefits to writing out the scale that you might want to consider dependent on your use-case:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html
> @Kate said:
> I like it as 1 to 5. For english readers: we move left to right. This has some effects on our cognition as well, we tend to think of "empty" as "left" and "full" as "right".
>
> I tend to put the don't know to the far right. It feels to me like that's "fallen off" the scale, and makes the reader go all the way to the right. But that rationale, tbh, I don't have a ton of science to back up. It just feels right to me. And that's how most surveys seem to do it. For that reason, it feels best to use pre-established patterns.
>
> Also consider likert scales rather than numbers. Again, methodologically, there are some benefits to writing out the scale that you might want to consider dependent on your use-case:
> https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html
>
Thank you for your response.
As I wrote, I'm launching the survey on mobile, and it seems a bit different, like a drill-down question.
Instead of showing the answer options from right to left, it shows it from top to bottom (please find the attached picture that demonstrates it).
So I wonder whether the best way is to write the scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is on top, or from 5 to 1 where 5 is on top.
Same question about the "Don't know/ Not relevant" option.
Thanks!
> I like it as 1 to 5. For english readers: we move left to right. This has some effects on our cognition as well, we tend to think of "empty" as "left" and "full" as "right".
>
> I tend to put the don't know to the far right. It feels to me like that's "fallen off" the scale, and makes the reader go all the way to the right. But that rationale, tbh, I don't have a ton of science to back up. It just feels right to me. And that's how most surveys seem to do it. For that reason, it feels best to use pre-established patterns.
>
> Also consider likert scales rather than numbers. Again, methodologically, there are some benefits to writing out the scale that you might want to consider dependent on your use-case:
> https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html
>
Thank you for your response.
As I wrote, I'm launching the survey on mobile, and it seems a bit different, like a drill-down question.
Instead of showing the answer options from right to left, it shows it from top to bottom (please find the attached picture that demonstrates it).
So I wonder whether the best way is to write the scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is on top, or from 5 to 1 where 5 is on top.
Same question about the "Don't know/ Not relevant" option.
Thanks!
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