Looking for tips to write the very best questions on your Polco polls and surveys? Below you will find the best response options that scientists at Polco/National Research Center recommend.
For more information on crafting quality survey questions, please see our webinar How to Craft Great Survey questions.
A couple of notes:
- The use of a DON’T KNOW is not listed in these scales, but please consider adding this option at the end if you are asking a question where the respondent really could not know.
Quality scales: good for evaluating services or community characteristics
- Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor
- Very good, Good, Neither good nor bad, Bad, Very Bad
- Very well, Somewhat well, Somewhat poorly, Very poorly
- Very satisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, Somewhat dissatisfied, Very dissatisfied
Problem scales: good for identifying concerns not sufficiently addressed by service delivery
- Major problem, Moderate problem, Minor problem, Not a problem
- Large problem, Small problem, Not a problem at all
- Major concern, Moderate concern, Minor concern, Not a concern
Change scales: good for estimating impacts of programs, interventions
- Much better, A little better, About the same, A little worse, A lot worse
- Much better, A little better, No change, A little worse, Much worse
Amount scales: good for estimating consumption or use (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)
- Too much, About right, Too little
- Too many, About right, Too few
- A great deal, Quite a bit, Some, Not too much, Very little
- None, A few, Some, Most, All
- None, A little, A lot
- Far too much/many, Somewhat too much/many, Right amount, Somewhat too little/few, Far too little/few
- Essential, Very important, Somewhat important, Not important
- Extremely important, Very important, Somewhat important, Not at all important
- Very important, Moderately important, Slightly important, Not important
Frequency scales: good for estimating use of services (if you are asking a series of questions using a grid format, make sure the frequencies make sense. Some types of activities make sense on a weekly level while others make sense on a monthly or annual level.)
[general]
- Never, Sometimes, Usually, Always
- Never, Almost never, Sometimes, Almost always, Always
- Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Almost always, Always
- Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Frequently, Always
[ever]
- Never, Once or twice, More than twice
- Not at all, 1 time, 2 times, 3 or more times
[times a year]
- Never, Once a year, Once a month, Once a week, Every day
[times a month]
- Never, One or two times a month, About once a week, A few times a week, Every day
- Never, 1 to 12 times, 13 to 25 times, 26+ times
Likelihood scales: good for projecting use of services not yet offered (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)
- Very likely, Somewhat likely, Somewhat unlikely, Very unlikely
- Very likely, Likely, Unlikely, Very unlikely
- Definitely will, Probably will, Probably not, Definitely not
- Definitely would, Probably would, Not sure, Probably would not, Definitely would not
“Polar” scales: good for determining policy options (consider a "Don't know" response option here)
- Strongly support, Support, Neither support nor oppose, Oppose, Strongly oppose
- Strongly support, Somewhat support, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose
- High priority, Medium priority, Low priority, Not a priority,
- Support/Oppose
- Strongly favor, Favor, Neither support nor oppose, Oppose, Strongly oppose
- Strongly favor, Somewhat favor, Somewhat oppose, Strongly oppose
Agree/Disagree: good if no better questions, as these require a positively or negatively skewed stem/list of items. (consider a "Don’t know" response option here)
- Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree, Strongly disagree
- Strongly agree, Somewhat agree, Somewhat disagree, Strongly disagree
Yes/No: For youth or respondents with minimal literacy.
Yes, No
Yes, No, Maybe
Yes, Sort of, Not really
Source: Citizen Surveys for Local Government: A Comprehensive Guide to Making Them Matter
© National Research Center, Inc., 2008, updated in July 2020