Are the Steps on Likert Scales Equidistant? Responses on Visual Analog Scales Allow Estimating Their Distances.

ABSTRACT: A recurring question regarding Likert items is whether the discrete steps that this response format allows represent constant increments along the underlying continuum. This question appears unsolvable because Likert responses carry no direct information to this effect. Yet, any item administered in Likert format can identically be administered with a continuous response format such as a visual analog scale (VAS) in which respondents mark a position along a continuous line. Then, the operating characteristics of the item would manifest under both VAS and Likert formats, although perhaps differently as captured by the continuous response model (CRM) and the graded response model (GRM) in item response theory. This article shows that CRM and GRM item parameters hold a formal relation that is

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Perez MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10795572 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature