title: Are Semantic Response Scales Equivalent?
abstract: Three frequently used response formats -- Likert, semantic-differential and single anchor (Stapel) -- are compared via analysis of covariance structures. The cumulative results based on four data sets provided evidence inconsistent with previous research suggesting that these formats are interchangeable. Consistently across studies, the semantic-differential format is most preferred while in most cases the Stapel format is least preferred.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ofir
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bechtel