When it comes to survey scales, best practice is to provide response options that reflect the full range of potential response options and to ensure you offer a balance of positive and negative options. But I’m sure you’ve all come across survey questions where it seems the intent of the survey designer is to skew the data in their favour.
Sometimes it may be that the designer has overlooked the fact their scale is biased. Consider:
Overall, how would you rate the care you received in your visit today?
- Excellent
- Very good
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
- Very poor
The scale in the question above includes 4 positive options and 2 negative ones.
However, sometimes it seems the designer intends to mislead others with survey results. Consider this gem:
