NCM 115 -Nursing Research 2

Module 03
ANALYSIS OF LIKERT SCALE
DATA
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The results of a single item answered on the Likert

response format was ANALYSIS
never meant to be
OF LIKERT analyzed
SCALE DATA
in isolation.
A common practice of researchers is to ask dozens of
Likert response items that are not related in a
questionnaire then analyze each question
individually.
Unfortunately, this is not really acceptable from a
statistical format.
Instead, Likert response questions are designed to
be analyzed as a grouped Likert score.
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A good solution when analyzing Likert data is to

design a survey containing a OF
ANALYSIS number
LIKERT of Likert
SCALE DATA
questions that all point in the same direction.
The group of Likert questions is then analyzed
together.
A Likert score is formed by a grouping of these Likert
questions with others of a similar topic.
This is the original use of the Likert
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Combined, the items are used to provide a

quantitative measureANALYSIS
of a character orSCALE
OF LIKERT personality
DATA
trait.
Typically, the researcher is only interested in the
composite score that represents the
character/personality trait.
Likert scale data are analyzed are created by
calculating a composite score (sum or mean) from
the questions or statements.
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[Example] Supposing we wanted to find out how

significant Valentine’sANALYSIS
Day is OF
to LIKERT
our respondents.
SCALE DATA
We decided to measure the significance using a 5-
point Likert scale and assigned points as follows:

Highly disagree (HD) ---------------- 1 point

Slightly disagree (SD) --------------- 2 points
Neither agree nor disagree (N) ---- 3 points
Slightly agree (SA) ------------------ 4 points
Highly agree (HA) -------------------- 5 points
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ANALYSIS OF LIKERT SCALE DATA

HD SD N SA HA
Statement
(1 point) (2 points) (3 points) (4 points) (5 points)
1. I believe in celebrating Valentine’s Day
2. I am excited when Valentine’s Day is fast approaching
3. It matters a lot to me if I have a date on Valentine’s Day
4. I usually buy a gift for my loved one on Valentine’s Day
5. I would not break up with someone on Valentine’s Day
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The questionnaires were answered by 50

respondents and theirANALYSIS
responses wereSCALE
OF LIKERT tallied,
DATA
resulting in the following data:
Number of respondents
Statement HD SD N SA HA
Total
(1 point) (2 points) (3 points) (4 points) (5 points)
1. I believe in celebrating Valentine’s Day 9 12 0 14 15 50
2. I am excited when Valentine’s Day is fast approaching 3 7 1 17 22 50
3. It matters a lot to me if I have a date on Valentine’s Day 4 6 0 11 29 50
4. I usually buy a gift for my loved one on Valentine’s Day 13 12 1 10 14 50
5. I would not break up with someone on Valentine’s Day 11 16 2 12 9 50
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Number of respondents
HD SD N SA HA Weighted mean
(1 point) (2 points) (3 points) (4 points) (5 points)
ANALYSIS
Total OF LIKERT SCALE DATA
9 12 0 14 15 50 [(9)(1) + (12)(2) + (0)(3) + (14)(4) + (15)(5)] ÷ 50 = 3.28
3 7 1 17 22 50 [(3)(1) + (7)(2) + (1)(3) + (17)(4) + (22)(5)] ÷ 50 = 3.96
4 6 0 11 29 50 [(4)(1) + (6)(2) + (0)(3) + (11)(4) + (29)(5)] ÷ 50 = 4.10
13 12 1 10 14 50 [(13)(1) + (12)(2) + (1)(3) + (10)(4) + (14)(5)] ÷ 50 = 3.00
11 16 2 12 9 50 [(11)(1) + (16)(2) + (2)(3) + (12)(4) + (9)(5)] ÷ 50 = 2.84

Composite mean = sum of all the weighted means ÷ number of statements = 3.44
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The next step is to interpret the composite mean

based on the Likert scale thatOFwas
ANALYSIS created.
LIKERT SCALE DATA
However, the Likert scale has to be modified first
into:
Composite
Weighted
Average
Highly disagree 1.00 –
1.79
Slightly disagree 1.80 – 2.59
Neither agree nor disagree 2.60 – 3.39
Slightly agree 3.40 –
4.19
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Therefore, the composite mean of 3.44 is

interpreted as “Slightly agree.”
ANALYSIS OF LIKERT SCALE DATA

There are also modified scales for the interpretation

of scores from the 3-point, 4-point, and 7-point
Likert.
These are available from the Internet, or may be
constructed manually.