{"id":556,"date":"2020-02-03T09:12:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T09:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qualif.dragnsurvey.com\/blog\/en\/?p=556"},"modified":"2020-11-23T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T14:19:32","slug":"how-to-improve-on-rating-scale-inefficiencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qualif.dragnsurvey.com\/blog\/en\/how-to-improve-on-rating-scale-inefficiencies\/","title":{"rendered":"
How To Improve On<\/span> Rating Scale Inefficiencies<\/div>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many\nbusinesses and survey\nbuilders use a rating scale to determine the opinions of respondents. There are\nmany benefits of this. Firstly, it is quantitative data that is fairly easy to\nmonitor and analyze. Therefore, you can get results quickly and make changes\nbased on the feedback you receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scale\nsystems are also easier for audiences to understand and improve survey retention. This\nmeans you can get more people to complete your survey and you can get better, more accurate\nresults from a larger population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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>> Create your Online Survey<\/strong> with Drag\u2019n Survey<\/strong>, click here<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Problems With Rating Scales<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However,\nrating scales aren\u2019t perfect. Sometimes they can be ineffective. Most of the\ntime, this is because the creator of the survey hasn\u2019t designed them for purpose. There can be various impacts. Firstly, it can mean\nthat data can become corrupt, misleading and almost worthless. This wastes\ntime, resources and money. If you have to re-do the survey, this can annoy your audience as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou don\u2019t realize the problem soon enough, this can cause another problem: you\ntaking action in the wrong area or direction. Imagine if you\u2019re asking someone\nwhat they thought about their delivery and request a rating of between one and\nfive, and they put two, thinking that you\u2019re talking about delivery speed, but\nyou meant the condition of goods received. You might wonder what happened to\nthe goods during transit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare several ways through which, inefficiencies within\nthe rating scale can take place. So, here are some of the more common\ndesign flaws in the system, and what you can do to improve it so you can get\nbetter responses\nfrom your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Stop Having A Neutral Position On The Rating Scale<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest mistakes survey creators make, is that they have a middle option on the scale. This is often a \u2018neither like\/didn\u2019t like\u2019 or \u2018neither positive\/negative\u2019. The problem with this, is that it offers little value to the results. Those who have no interest in the survey, will also just enter the neutral option for a lot of questions. Therefore, you can have a lot of skewed data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\nproblem is that most people don\u2019t have a neutral experience or opinion. Most\ntimes, experiences are either slightly one way or another. Therefore, audiences\nshould be made to commit. If the question doesn\u2019t apply to their experience,\nthen a neutral position really isn\u2019t a great option either as it suggests that\nthey did experience it. Therefore, never have a neutral\nopinion, just have a slightly positive or slightly\nnegative one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nshould be an option that states \u2018not applicable\u2019 for those people who can\u2019t\ncomment. To avoid someone just placing not applicable on lots of answers, have\na threshold that removes all their responses if someone responds with this answer too often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Keep The Same Rating Scale Throughout The Survey<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another\ncommon problem is when designers constantly change the rating system. For one\nquestion it could be out of 10, another time it could be out of five. This is\nconfusing to audiences. They prefer to have a rating that is consistent throughout\nthe process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, consider how much detail you would like to go in to, right from\nthe beginning of your survey. The more detail, the\nlarger the scale needs to be. If you\u2019re trying to benchmark some aspects (such\nas in an employee survey),\na larger scale can also be more useful as it allows for more accurate\nbenchmarking for follow-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t\nswap the positive and negative scales around either. If ten is positive for\nsome questions,\nmake it positive for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Too Large A Scale<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another\nproblem is having a scale which is too big. This\nmight contradict the above point of having a large scale, but there are limits\nto what you can do. For instance, you can\u2019t have a scale of one to one hundred.\nAudiences just don\u2019t think in that magnitude. At most, the scale should be at\ntwenty, but preferably a scale of 1 to 10 is\nbest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise,\nyou can\u2019t have your scale too small. A scale of\n1-5 is often common, but it can sometimes mean that people can\u2019t give an honest\nopinion as there are too few options. Remember the higher the number of\noptions, the more accurate the results of the final data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Questions Aren\u2019t Specific<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally,\nyou have to make sure that you\u2019re asking the right question with scales. All queries should be specific and relevant<\/a>\nto the experience you\u2019re testing. At the same time, you need to give clear\nguidance of what the audience needs to do. If you have a scale, ensure they\nknow which is positive and which is negative. This should only need to be done\nonce, as all scales should be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conclusions<\/u><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scale\nratings are great for collecting vast amounts of information quickly from your\naudience. But if not designed properly, it can turn\ninto poor data that can harm your results rather than support your\nproject. Follow the tips above to ensure you\u2019re collecting meaningful data from\nyour survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More about surveys:<\/strong>
How To Create Powerful Online Surveys That Get Completed, click here<\/a>
Why You Don\u2019t Fill Your Survey With Leading Questions, click here<\/a>
How To Deal With Inadequate Responses, click here<\/a>
How Your Survey Can Help Trigger Profitable Revenue, click here<\/a>
How To Ask Survey Questions To Benefit As An Entrepreneur, click here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many businesses and survey builders use a rating scale to determine the opinions of respondents. There are many benefits of this. Firstly, it is quantitative data that is fairly easy to monitor and analyze. Therefore, you can get results quickly and make changes based on the feedback you receive. Scale systems are also easier for… <\/p>\n

How To Improve On<\/span> Rating Scale Inefficiencies<\/div>\n

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