Middle category endorsement in odd-numbered Likert response scales: Associated item characteristics, cognitive demands, and preferred meanings

By John T. Kulas, Alicia A Stachowski. 2009

170 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Management Science and Operations Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c54f48dc214787c03a016d8ba6dee63abe2bd917

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In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

In Management Science and Operations Research

Citations in the corpus

Another Look at Likert Scales (2016, background): “(Dubois and Burns 1975; Kulas and Stachowski 2009; Shaw and Wright 1967; Tourangeau, Smith, and Rasinski 1997).”
Auditory interfaces in automated driving: an international survey (2015, background): “…selected the middle option Neither agree nor disagree, possibly indicating difficulties with 554 understanding the concept of the proposed system (for studies into middle category endorsement, 555 see Kulas, Stachowski & Haynes, 2008; Kulas & Stachowski, 2009; Sturgis, Roberts & Smith, 556 2012).”
Measuring Teachers’ enjoyment, anger, and anxiety: The Teacher Emotions Scales (TES) (2016, methodology): “We used a 4-point scale to avoid a middle category participants can choose simply to indicate “I don’t know/I don’t want to think about this” (e.g., Kulas & Stachowski, 2009), and to reduce the influence of response sets such as social desirability (e.g., Garland, 1991).”
Learning environments that support student creativity: Developing the SCALE (2018, unknown): “…was used, rather than a 3 or 5 point, because research has shown that the inclusion of a middle option can be seen as a dumping ground for respondents who are ambivalent, indifferent, or unsure and could potentially bias the results (Kulas & Stachowski, 2009; Kulas, Stachowski, & Haynes, 2008).”
Evidence-Based Survey Design: The Use of a Midpoint on the Likert Scale (2017, background): “Respondents may interpret and use a midpoint as a dumping ground or an easy way out (Kulas & Stachowski, 2009), or select a midpoint rather than selecting socially undesirable options (Garland, 1991; Raaijmakers, et al., 2000).”