Comparison of Six Lengths of Rating Scales: Students' Attitudes toward Instruction

Abstract

The characteristics of rating scales are very important in questionnaires on attitudes and satisfaction. In the construction of a rating scale, one is often concerned about the number of rating categories. Effects of scale length on relationships among variables are explored through a study of students' satisfaction with college instruction. Six rating scales of length n are compared, for n = 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10. The results indicate that deviations of actual averages from the theoretical means increase as the number of choice points increase. Also, Pearson's correlations and etas generally increase with scale length.