How Do Respondents Attend to Verbal Labels in Rating Scales?

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Natalja Menold - , Chair of Methods in Empirical Social Research, Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Author)
  • Lars Kaczmirek - , Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Author)
  • Timo Lenzner - , Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Author)
  • Ales Neusar - , Palacký University Olomouc (Author)

Abstract

Two formats of labeling in rating scales are commonly used in questionnaires: verbal labels for end categories only (END form) and verbal labels for each of the categories (ALL form). We examine attention processes and respondents' burden in using verbal labels in rating scales. Attention was tracked in a laboratory setting employing eye-tracking technology. The results of the two experiments are presented: One applied seven and the other applied five categories in rating scales comparing END and ALL forms (n = 47 in each experiment). The results show that the ALL form provides higher reliability, although the probability that respondents attend to a verbal label seems to decrease as the number of verbally labeled categories increases.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)21-39
Number of pages19
JournalField methods
Volume26
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2014
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 84891890293
ORCID /0000-0003-1106-474X/work/151436701

Keywords

Keywords

  • Cognitive response process, Eye tracking, Labeling, Rating scales