Resolving the 50‐year debate around using and misusing Likert scales

How Likert type measurement scales should be appropriately used and analysed has been debated for over 50 years, often to the great confusion of students, practitioners, allied health researchers and educators. Basically, there are two major competing views that have evolved somewhat independently of one another and of the associated empirical research literature on this ‘great debate’. Most recently in this journal, Jamieson outlined the view that ‘Likert scales’ are ordinal in character (i.e., produce rank order data) and that they, therefore, must be analysed using non-parametric statistics. Non-parametric statistics, however, are less sensitive and less powerful than parametric statistics and are, therefore, more likely to miss weaker or emerging findings.