Stuck in the Middle: The Use and Interpretation of Mid-Points in Items on Questionnaires

Nadler, Joel T.; Weston, Rebecca; Voyles, Elora C.

doi:10.1080/00221309.2014.994590

Cited by 269 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…However, in terms of attitudes toward bisexual men and women, the majority of participants in our study remained “middle of the road” and were most likely to report neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the range of sentiments and stereotypes embedded within the BIAS items. These responses can be interpreted in a variety of ways, including the participant not knowing, the participant being unsure, or the participant not caring [47]. Additionally, mid-point responses may also reflect social desirability bias [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes toward Bisexual Men and Women among a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults in the United States

et al. 2016

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As bisexual individuals in the United States (U.S.) face significant health disparities, researchers have posited that these differences may be fueled, at least in part, by negative attitudes, prejudice, stigma, and discrimination toward bisexual individuals from heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals. Previous studies of individual and social attitudes toward bisexual men and women have been conducted almost exclusively with convenience samples, with limited generalizability to the broader U.S. population. Our study provides an assessment of attitudes toward bisexual men and women among a nationally representative probability sample of heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and other-identified adults in the U.S. Data were collected from the 2015 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), via an online questionnaire with a probability sample of adults (18 years and over) from throughout the U.S. We included two modified 5-item versions of the Bisexualities: Indiana Attitudes Scale (BIAS), validated sub-scales that were developed to measure attitudes toward bisexual men and women. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gamma regression, and paired t-tests. Gender, sexual identity, age, race/ethnicity, income, and educational attainment were all significantly associated with participants' attitudes toward bisexual individuals. In terms of responses to individual scale items, participants were most likely to “neither agree nor disagree” with all attitudinal statements. Across sexual identities, self-identified other participants reported the most positive attitudes, while heterosexual male participants reported the least positive attitudes. As in previous research on convenience samples, we found a wide range of demographic characteristics were related with attitudes toward bisexual individuals in our nationally-representative study of heterosexual, gay/lesbian, and other-identified adults in the U.S. In particular, gender emerged as a significant characteristic; female participants’ attitudes were more positive than male participants’ attitudes, and all participants’ attitudes were generally more positive toward bisexual women than bisexual men. While recent population data suggest a marked shift in more positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbian women in the general population of the U.S., the largest proportions of participants in our study reported a relative lack of agreement or disagreement with all affective-evaluative statements in the BIAS scales. Findings document the relative lack of positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals among the general population of adults in the U.S. and highlight the need for developing intervention approaches to promote more positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals, targeted toward not only heterosexual but also gay/lesbian individuals and communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes toward Bisexual Men and Women among a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults in the United States

et al. 2016

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“…Respuesta socialmente deseable (RSD): es la tendencia a responder de la manera que se espera que sea mejor vista por los demás. Se puede entender como una forma de deseabilidad social (Nadler, Weston y Voyles, 2015).…”

Section: Categorías Temáticas O Tópicosunclassified

“…En los estudios se llega a la conclusión de que la opción SO/NS es socialmente menos deseable que la alternativa intermedia (Johns, 2005;Nadler, Weston y Voyles, 2015). Así, cuando el encuestado no comprende el ítem, y además no se dispone de la opción SO/NS, la persona que contesta puede plantearse tres escenarios (Velez y Ashworth, 2007):…”

Section: Categorías Temáticas O Tópicosunclassified

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Diseño del formato de escalas tipo Likert: un estado de la cuestión

Matas

2018

REDIE

321

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ResumenLas escalas tipo Likert constituyen uno de los instrumentos más utilizados en Ciencias Sociales y estudios de mercado. No obstante, existe cierto debate sobre el formato de estas escalas para obtener datos de calidad. En este artículo se presenta un estudio de revisión sobre los formatos de las escala tipo Likert y su relación con la calidad de los datos que es posible obtener con ellos. Para ello se ha realizado una revisión sistemática junto con una síntesis del contenido, identificando un conjunto de temas o tópicos relevantes por sus implicaciones metodológicas: sesgos y estilos de respuesta, el número óptimo de alternativas, las razones de elección de la alternativa intermedia y el efecto de la alternativa ‚No opino‛. Con base en el análisis y discusión de estos temas se presentan algunas recomendaciones de formato en las conclusiones del estudio.Palabras clave: Escala Likert, encuestas, datos de investigación, sesgo. AbstractLikert-type scales are one of the most commonly used instruments in social sciences and market research. Nonetheless, there is some debate regarding the format needed in these scales to obtain quality data. This study is a review of Likert-type scale formats and their association with data quality. To that effect, a systematic review was performed, along with a synthesis of content, to identify a series of topics that are relevant due to their methodological implications: response bias and styles, the optimal number of alternatives, reasons for choosing the intermediate response, and the effect of the ‚No Opinion‛ alternative. On the basis of an analysis and discussion of these topics, the study presents some recommendations for formatting in the conclusions.

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“…Ressalta-se também um dos inconvenientes da utilização da escala de Likert com cinco níveis, visto que é comum nesse tipo de escala que muitos respondentes optem por não dar uma resposta nem positiva, nem negativa, principalmente quando se trata de expressar opinião sobre ambiente de trabalho, envolvendo direta ou indiretamente as ações dos superiores (Mattar, 2014). Uma alternativa seria adotar a escala Likert de quatro pontos, porém, seria preciso analisar com mais cuidado suas vantagens e desvantagens, pois há autores que a defendem (Garland, 1991;Nadler;Weston;Voyles, 2015), enquanto outros indicam a possibilidade de gerar distorções (Worcester;Burns, 1975). Outra opção seria apostar em uma escala de 11 pontos, pois os resultados seriam mais próximos de uma curva normal (Leung, 2011).…”

Section: Conclusãounclassified

Inovação no setor público: uma instituição pública de ensino sob a ótica dos servidores e colaboradores

Dória

Sano

Lima

et al. 2017

RSP

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Inovação no setor público: uma instituição pública de ensino sob a ótica dos servidores e colaboradores 286Rev. Serv. Público Brasília 68 (2) 285-318 abr/jun 2017Innovación en el sector público: una institución pública de enseñanza desde la perspectiva de los servidores y empleadosEste estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar la tendencia a la innovación en el ámbito administrativo de la rectoría de una institución de educación pública superior, basado en la percepción de sus servidores y empleados. La recolección de datos se llevó a cabo a través del cuestionario desarrollado por el Centre for Public Sector Innovation -CPSI (2008) y adaptado a la realidad brasileña. Los resultados revelaron que el nivel de la tendencia a innovación en la unidad de reporte corresponde a 37,04 puntos e, por lo tanto, está clasificada como un sector "situacionalmente innovador", o sea, es posible verificar acciones y pensamientos innovadores en la institución. Sin embargo, debido a la media estar muy cerca del nivel anterior que clasifica a las organizaciones como tendientes a ser "perezosas", se encontró que la institución no está orientada a la innovación, que esta ocurre por casualidad, que ni todos los procedimientos tienen el propósito de estimular y promover la creatividad, y que no hay una cultura muy innovadora institucionalizada en toda la organización.Palabras clave: innovación, modelo de gestión, enseñanza superior, administración pública Innovation in the public sector: a public educational institution from the standpoint of its public servants and collaboratorsThe objective of this paper is to evaluate the tendency to innovation at the administrative level of the rectory of a public educational institution, based on the perception of its employees and collaborators. Data were collected through a questionnaire developed by the Center for Public Sector Innovation -CPSI (2008) and adapted to the Brazilian reality. The results were then averaged and followed by an arithmetic mean of 37.04, which classifies the institution as "situationally innovative". In this level, innovative actions and thoughts can be found in the institution. However, the result is very close to the previous level that classifies an organization as being "slothful" about innovation, and, thus, it has been found that this institution is not innovation-oriented, which happens at random, and it also means that their procedures are not aimed at stimulating and promoting creativity, nor do they have a highly institutionalized innovative culture.

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Stuck in the Middle: The Use and Interpretation of Mid-Points in Items on Questionnaires

Cited by 269 publications

References 30 publications

Attitudes toward Bisexual Men and Women among a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults in the United States

Attitudes toward Bisexual Men and Women among a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults in the United States

Diseño del formato de escalas tipo Likert: un estado de la cuestión

Inovação no setor público: uma instituição pública de ensino sob a ótica dos servidores e colaboradores

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