How to Design, Implement, and Interpret an Employee Survey

Response Intensity

Another condition to consider is the degree of response intensity. If you use a five-point scale (or other odd-numbered scale as recommended) and report responses as three basic categories: negative, positive, and neither positive or negative, an even distribution would put one-third of the responses in each category. However, in most cases, you will receive most responses in one of or both the positive and negative categories.

A great deal of neutral responses may indicate the participants do not understand the question or don't care. Equal negative and positive responses or a very high percentage of negative responses also indicates further information is required. In all cases, this may identify areas to explore through ...