Rating Scales are valuable measurement instruments in research. Researchers need to understand the properties of these scales, and their influences on the responses gathered from their use. Generally, balanced scales are being used in research. Findings show that there is a difference in results when a balanced scale is used instead of an unbalanced scale. Below we will discuss the difference between a balanced scale and an unbalanced scale, and when exactly it is best to use an unbalanced scale instead.
Balanced Rating Scales
A balanced scale question is generally used in quantitative research surveys or questionnaires to ask respondents about ordinal questions. For a scale question to be recognized as a balanced scale, two factors must be found:
- The number of positive and negative response options must be equal.
- There should be a neutral response option between negative and positive response options.
An evenly weighted scale with a neutral response option avoids respondents from providing answers that are just forced because they can’t find the right response options. Moreover, a balanced scale gives importance to clear and simple questions to avoid confusing respondents, resulting in less erroneous or distorted data.
Unbalanced Rating Scales
An unbalanced scale question is also an ordinal question used in quantitative research. The difference from the balanced scale is that it does not have an even number of positive and negative responses. For example, when asked whether a person agrees or disagrees with a certain topic, an unbalanced scale will look like this:
Moreover, an unbalanced scale may not have a mid-point, for example:
An unbalanced scale is selected by researchers when they know their target audience is in favor of one end of the scale than the other. However, the absence of a neutral response option is damaging, because the response options become limited, so respondents may provide answers that are not genuinely what they feel. This may also lead to additional survey fatigue and reduce the quality and quantity of your response rate.
Comparison of Balanced and Unbalanced Rating Scales based on Studies
- An experiment was designed and executed in the US entitled “A Comparison of Balanced and Unbalanced Rating Scale” to determine if the use of an unbalanced rating scale will cause subjects’ relative valuations of stimuli to be different than if a balanced rating scale were used. The design of the experiment was structured on the assumption that subjects make their attitude response either 1) in a relative way with reference to the extreme categories at both ends of the list of categories (the “position effect”) or 2) in an absolute way with reference to the meaning of the descriptors used to label categories (the “label effect”). Responses to three rating scales (one balanced, two unbalanced) were compared. The results indicate that the “label effect” is stronger and overrides the “position effect.”
- Moreover, research shows evidence that the presence or absence of a mid-point on an importance scale produces distortions in the results obtained. This research provides some evidence that social desirability bias, ie the bias arising from respondents’ desires to please the interviewer, or appear helpful, or not be seen to give what they perceive to be a socially unacceptable answer, can be minimised by eliminating the mid-point (‘neither… nor’, uncertain etc.) category from Likert scales.
When to Use an Unbalanced Scale?
Although a balanced scale is used most of the time, a researcher might use an unbalanced scale over a balanced scale for plenty of reasons. In the case of an unbalanced scale without a midpoint, the respondent may want to draw a line about a particular topic. This is favorable when the topic is something to which a person has to provide a definite answer, either positive or negative. Topics where one cannot be indifferent, or for extreme issues. In this situation, a person must make a clear choice, since the neutral option is not available. Unfortunately, choosing this path is not without risk. Respondents may jump over questions, answer it erroneously, or not finish the survey.
On the other hand, if you do decide to choose balanced questions to avoid forced answers from respondents, think well about the number of categories you want to use. It is often misconstrued that the more categories of the scale, the better the data; however, results show this is not the case. Create adequately distinct categories that are not too far apart so that respondents have no problem choosing between them. In short, find the perfect balance between too few and too many categories.
Survey design can be challenging, to make sure you have everything covered in your survey project check out our post on The Definitive Survey Design Checklist.
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