In earlier articles, we investigated the effects of manipulating item formats on rating behaviors—specifically, we compared sliders to traditional five-point and eleven-point radio button numeric scales. For those analyses, we collected data from 212 respondents (U.S. panel agency, late January 2021) who used radio buttons and sliders to rate online shopping websites (e.g., Amazon) and
Adding more points to a scale can increase its reliability and sensitivity. But more points also take up additional screen real-estate space. Imagine twenty or a hundred points displayed on desktop or, even worse, on mobile. One recent digital alternative, allowing for nuanced ratings using the same screen real-estate as a traditional scale, is the
When it comes to collecting numeric ratings in online surveys, there is a definite allure to using sliders rather than the more common numeric scales with radio buttons. It just seems like you should get higher-quality measurements with sliders. Sliders give respondents many more response options, and they appear more engaging than multipoint scales. The
Cases spike, home prices surge, and stock prices tank: we read headlines like these daily. But what is a spike and how much is a surge? When does something crater versus tank or just fall? Headlines are meant to grab our attention. They often communicate the dramatic story the author wants to tell rather than
Rating scales have been around for close to a century. It’s no wonder there are many questions about best practices and pitfalls to avoid. And like any topic that’s been around for that long, there are urban legends, partial truths, context-dependent findings, and just plain misconceptions about the “right” and “wrong” way to use and
Sliders are a type of visual analog scale that can be used with many online survey tools such as our MUIQ platform. The literature on their overall effectiveness is mixed (Roster et al., 2015). On the positive side, evidence indicates that sliders might be more engaging to respondents. On the negative side, evidence also indicates
There are many ways to format rating scales. Recently we have explored Labeling neutral points Labeling all or some response options Altering the number of response options Comparing agreement vs. item-specific endpoint labels Each of these formatting decisions has a variety of opinions and research, both pro and con, in the scientific literature at large.
