Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

ASKING AND RECORDING QUESTIONS 161
mation about the “average” against which they are asked to compare
their incomes. If you are really interested in finding out where
respondents’ income is compared to the average, you can compute
it from the reported family income and published figures about average
family income.
Questions using the concept of “average” will get different responses
from those that use an absolute rating scale based on such
terms as “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” and “poor.” A scale based on
absolute terms is clearly subjective and has no objective middle
point. It may well be a better type of scale to use if you are interested
in people’s views about how well off they are in particular
dimensions of their lives.
When concepts like “average” are used, there must be an odd
number of points (such as 5, 7, or 9) on the rating scale symmetrical
around the middle or average point. In some cases, using an odd
number of points on the rating scale will produce a pileup in the
middle category. With use of the term “average,” however, the
pileup tends to occur either in the first category above average or
the first category below average, depending on the content of the
question. Few people like to be average (with income being one
notable exception). The use of absolute rating points tends to give
a somewhat more symmetrical distribution of response, although
this is not invariably the case.
The third consideration in these types of scales is whether to
start with the lowest (or worst) category and proceed to the highest
(or best) category or vice versa. Although we know of no good evidence
that one form is universally better than another, it is our view
that if numbers are used, they should increase from left to right
(or top to bottom) and this should correspond with the lowest (or
worst) category and proceed to the highest (or best). Some questions
seem to lend themselves more naturally to starting with the
best end of the scale and proceeding to the worst, and others seem
to lend themselves better to a reverse ordering. We think a good
general rule to follow is to start with the end of the scale that is the