Stuck in the Middle: The Use and Interpretation of Mid-Points in Surveys Joel T. Nadler Southern Illinois University Carbondale Rebecca Weston The University of Texas at San Antonio

Likert type Attitudinal Scales  Likert type scales  Four to seven response options (Dillman, 2000).  Balanced  Standard (1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neither, 4= Agree, to 5=Strongly Agree)

Odd or Even?  Mid-points in Likert type scales (Fowler, 2008).  Even numbered  Force a choice  Middle choice may be a refuge (Schuman & Presser)  Odd numbered  Allowing neutrality

Methods: Survey  28 Questions  Issues and their political importance To which political party are the following issues more important? 1. Abortion Rights (Very Republican – Very Democrat) 2. Economy (Very Republican – Very Democrat)  Likelihood of voting for candidates How likely are you to vote for a person belonging to one of the following groups, regardless of their political party affiliation? 13. African American (Very Unlikely – Very Likely) 14. Asian American (Very Unlikely – Very Likely)  Voting tendencies 25. I am politically active. (Strongly Disagree – Strongly Agree)

Methods: Manipulation  4 point scale (forced choice)  5 point scale “Neither”  4 point scale “No Opinion”  All three scales were coded using the same 5 point scale. Strongly Disagree DisagreeNeitherAgreeStrongly Agree Strongly Disagree DisagreeAgreeStrongly Agree Strongly Disagree DisagreeAgreeStrongly Agree No Opinion

Method: Participants  College students at a mid-west state university  Data collected during the 2008 presidential election  N = 249  Age M = 22, SD = 5  133 men, 112 women  46 Republicans, 116 Democrats, 31 Independent, 11 Other

Results  MANOVA Response Mode on Mean responses  Results indicate 50% of the 28 item’s means significantly differed dependent on response options, Wilks Lambda =.59, F(56, 424) = 2.30, p =.001  The 4 point scale with “No Opinion” resulted in the highest means and the 5 point scale the lowest means.

Results Question4 Point Scale 5 Point Scale 4 Point Scale No Opinion Q4. Foreign Trade (1 Democrat – 5 Republican) *3.62 Q5. Gay Marriage2.46* Q7. Gun Control3.21*2.81*3.59 Q 9. Immigration3.43*3.14*3.96 Q12. Taxes2.93* Q13. African American (1 Unlikely – 5 Likely)3.68*3.72*4.33 Q14. Asian American3.15*3.28*3.56 Q16. Arab American2.44* Q17. Women3.32*3.63*3.96 Q18. Men4.28*4.09*4.53 Q21. Under *3.59*3.89 Q24. Extensive Experience4.14*4.15*4.48 Q25. I am Politically Active (1 Disagree – 5 Agree)2.43*2.73*3.07 Q27. Personal characteristics effect voting3.35* * Significantly different from “4 Point Scale No Opinion”

Results  Differences in the use of “Neither” compared to “No Opinion” were examined using a series of Chi-square tests  “Neither” was significantly chosen more often than “No Opinion” on 80% of the items.

Qualitative Results  When asked a question regarding the scale below how do you interpret the middle response? Strongly Disagree DisagreeNeitherAgreeStrongly Agree Interpretation of “Neither”NPercentage Do not know, unsure, or do not care4819% No Opinion4619% Neither or Neutral3916% Both equal parts of agree and disagree2912% Undecided229% Not applicable or confusing199% Unwilling to answer52% Disagree52%

Discussion  This study adds to Schuman & Presser’s (1996) work on the use of mid points and “No Opinion” options in survey research.  Response option effect outcomes  Participants interpretation of “Neither” vary  Response bias

Discussion  Validity of Likert type scales.  The 4 point “No Opinion” scale resulted in higher scores compared to other scales  This study suggest a four point scale with “No Opinion” may provide the best of both worlds.  Possible increase in the likelihood of detecting group differences  Even Number of responses provide forced choice  Still allowing participants to report no opinion

Discussion  The more often use of “Neither” compared to “No Opinion” and the variety of interpretations of neither offered by participants suggest that “Neither” may be over used and miss used by participants.  “No Opinion” and “Neither” seem to be measuring different attitudes.

References  Dillman, D. A. (2007). Mail and Internet Surveys. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.  Fowler, F. J. (2009). Survey Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.  Schuman, H. & Presser, S. (1996). Questions & Answers in Attitude Surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.