---
url: "https://questionstar.com/principles-of-survey-research/chapter-3/slide-089.html"
title: "Scales and Answer Options Must Be Unambiguous"
type: "lehrbuch-slide"
chapter: 3
chapterTitle: "Questionnaire"
slide: 89
---

# Scales and Answer Options Must Be Unambiguous

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

### 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?"

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Regularly

### Ask instead

"How often do you shop at a supermarket in a typical month?"

less than 1 time 1–2 times 3–4 times more than 4 times

---

*Slide 89 of 274 · Chapter 3: Questionnaire · Principles of Survey Research · Dr. Paul Marx*