likert-scale
UK[ˈlaɪkət skeɪl]US[ˈlaɪkərt skeɪl]
n
A psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires to measure attitudes or opinions, typically offering a range of responses from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."
Morpheme Breakdown
likert
scale
likert
proper name
scale
measurement system
Etymology
The term is a compound eponym, fusing the surname of its creator, Rensis Likert, with the common noun 'scale'. Likert, an influential social psychologist, developed this method in the 1930s as a tool for attitudinal measurement. The word 'scale' itself descends from the Latin scala, meaning 'ladder', which metaphorically evolved to signify any graded series or system of measurement. Thus, the compound term literally means "Likert's ladder," a fitting metaphor for a tool that allows respondents to climb a graded series of agreement levels, transforming subjective opinion into quantifiable data.
Analysis
Structure: likert (proper name) + scale (measurement system)
- likert: A proper name (from Rensis Likert, American organizational psychologist). Its functional role is to denote the originator of the concept.
- scale: From Latin scala (ladder, staircase). Its functional role is to denote a graduated system of measurement.
Examples
The survey used a five-point Likert-scale to gauge customer satisfaction.
Researchers often analyze Likert-scale data using ordinal statistical methods.
Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement using the provided Likert-scale.