4078.0: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - 9:02 AM

Abstract #29165

Practical measurement issues associated with data from Likert scales

J. Jackson Barnette, PhD, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, 2811 Steindler Building, Iowa City, IA 52242, 319 335 8905, jack-barnette@uiowa.edu

The orientation of the presentation will be to provide cautions and solutions to practical issues in using these types of surveys in public health data collection. In addition, an alternative approach to names or easily identifiable numbers for data matching in repeated-measures designs will be presented. This presentation provides a summary of research conducted by the presenter and others on Likert survey data properties over the past several years. It is based on the use of Monte Carlo methods, survey data sets, and a randomized experiment using a survey with six different stem and response modes. Findings presented include evidence that: different non-attending respondent patterns affect reliability in different ways, the primacy effect may be more a problem when the topic is more personal to the respondent, the use of negatively-worded stems has an adverse affect on survey statistics, and there is an alternative to using negatively-worded stems that meets the same need with no adverse affect on reliability.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to: understand the differential effects on Likert survey reliability of non-attending respondents, recognize that response primacy may be based on the scale purpose and nature of respondents, understand the effects of using negatively-worded stems on survey characteristics, and learn an alternative to the use of negatively-worded stems when it is needed.

Keywords: Survey, Data Collection

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.doc format, 143.0 kb)

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA