The Use, Misuse and Abuse of Likertscales in Advertising, Public Relations and Marketing Communications Research

Abstract

The Likert scale is a widely utilized tool in advertising, public relations, and communications research for measuring attitudes, opinions, and perceptions. Its simplicity and versatility make it a popular choice for researchers seeking to quantify complex subjective data. However, the scale's widespread adoption has also led to various forms of misuse and abuse, undermining the validity and reliability of the data collected. Grounded in the theory of measurement and scaling, with systematic literature review (SLR) as the methodical approach, this paper explores the proper use of Likert scales in the elds of advertising, public relations, and marketing communications research, highlighting best practices for designing effective and unbiased surveys. It also examines common pitfalls, such as the confusion in the interchangeable use of attitudes, opinions and perceptions; poorly worded questions, unbalanced response options, and the inappropriate treatment of ordinal data as interval data. Additionally, the paper addresses ethical considerations, including issues related to respondent bias, cultural differences, and data interpretation with the broad aim of showcasing how the strengths of Likert scales can be leveraged, while avoiding the common mistakes that can compromise research outcomes. The study concludes that researchers must make more informed and conscientious use of Likert scales, in order to promote rigorous standards that can improve the accuracy and relevance of research ndings in advertising, public relations, and marketing communications. It recommends that advertising, public relations and marketing communications scholars should pay more attention to the several prerequisites for the use of Likert scale in order to overcome the challenge of data bias.