Choosing a rating scale you can compare
Decide between three, five, and seven points, whether to label every option, and how to avoid scales that cannot be compared later.
Pick a length and keep it
Odd numbers such as five or seven provide a neutral midpoint, while even numbers force a side. Five points is usually enough for satisfaction; seven gives more room for detail. Whatever you choose, keep the same length across a research programme, or the results stop being comparable.
Label the ends at minimum
Label every point when the meaning of the middle is not obvious. A scale from “not at all” to “completely” is clear, while an unlabelled 1–7 row forces each respondent to invent their own meaning. Reserve the numeric-only format for the standard NPS question, where the definition is fixed.
Decide what the midpoint means
A neutral option lets people avoid taking a position, so if you need a direction, remove it deliberately and accept the trade-off. Report the distribution rather than only the average, and always state how many people answered, because small samples move a long way on a five-point scale.
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