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Chapter 3 · Questionnaire · Slide 89/274

Scales and Answer Options Must Be Unambiguous

Words like "rarely," "sometimes" or "often" mean something different to every respondent. Use concrete, delimited frequency specifications.

3.1 · Asking Questions Rule 1 · Unambiguous Scales

Scales and Answer Options Must Be Unambiguous

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Vague frequencies

Words like "rarely," "sometimes" or "often" mean something different to every respondent. Use concrete, delimited frequency specifications.

✕Example
"How often do you shop at a supermarket in a typical month?"
NeverRarelySometimesOftenRegularly
✓Ask instead
"How often do you shop at a supermarket in a typical month?"
less than 1 time1–2 times3–4 timesmore than 4 times
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