According to OMBEA (2020), the Likert scale is a rating scale used in survey research to measure individuals' attitudes, opinions, and perceptions toward a particular subject or statement. The scale consists of a series of statements or items that express different degrees of agreement or disagreement. Typically, the Likert scale presents a range of response options, often five or seven, representing different levels of agreement, such as: (Strongly disagree - Disagree - Neutral - Agree - Strongly agree).
Demonstrating the validity and reliability of the Likert scale:
According to Joshi, Kale, Chandel & Pal (2015), there are several ways to verify the validity and reliability of the Likert scale. Some of the most common methods include:
- Content validity: This type of validity assesses the extent to which the scale items measure the construct they are intended to measure.
- Criterion validity: This type of validity assesses the extent to which the scale scores correlate with another measure of the same construct.
- Construct validity: This type of validity assesses the extent to which the scale measures the construct intended to be measured by examining the pattern of relationships between the scale and other variables.
- Reliability: This refers to the extent to which the scale produces consistent results over time.
Application to the selected article:
- Title: Exploring the Critical Success Factors of Value Management Implementation for Sustainable Residential Building Project: A Stationary Analysis Approach (Ahmed, Md & Alaa, 2022).
- Authors: Ahmed Farouk Kineber; Md Sharif Uddin; Alaa Fouad Momena
- Journal: ProQuest One Academic provided by TOURO UNIVERSITY
Likert Scale Analysis: The authors demonstrated the validity and reliability of the Likert scale in several ways:
- First: they conducted a pilot study to ensure that the items on the scale were clear and understandable.
- Second, they used a statistical technique called factor analysis to confirm that the items on the scale measured a single construct, in this case, the CSFs of VM implementation.
- Third: they calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale, which measures internal consistency. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.85, which indicates that the scale is reliable.
The authors also conducted a test-retest reliability study to ensure the scale was stable. In this study, the participants completed the scale twice, with a two-week interval between the two administrations. The results of the test-retest reliability study showed that the scale had a high correlation coefficient of 0.80, which indicates that the scale is reliable. The authors concluded that the Likert scale is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the CSFs of VM implementation (Ahmed, Md & Alaa, 2022).
Conclusion
The Likert scale is widely used in various fields, including social sciences, psychology, market research, and customer satisfaction surveys, to assess and quantify people's opinions, attitudes, and perceptions. Responses on the Likert scale are usually assigned numerical values, such as 1 to 5 or 1 to 7, allowing for quantitative data analysis. This enables researchers to calculate means, medians, and other statistical measures to summarize and compare the responses of different individuals or groups (Jebb, Ng & Tay, 2021).
References
Jebb, A. T., Ng, V., & Tay, L. (2021). A review of key Likert scale development advances: 1995–2019. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 637547.
Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British journal of applied science & technology, 7(4), 396.
Ahmed, F. K., Md, S. U., & Alaa, F. M. (2022). Exploring the critical success factors of value management implementation for
sustainable residential building project: A stationary analysis approach. Sustainability, 14(23), 16215. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316215
OMBEA (2020). 5-Point Likert Scale: The key to easily understanding your audience. Retrieved from
https://www.ombea.com/resources/articles/5-point-likert-scale-the-key-to-easily-understanding-your-audience