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The construction of a survey instrument that uses a Likert scale

Describe the construction of a survey instrument that uses a Likert scale to gather customer feedback, and discuss how questions are developed. What are the opportunities and limitations associated with this type of survey instrument? Additionally, construct a quantitative, five-question customer satisfaction survey using the Likert scale, such as might be used in a general practitioner's office.

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A Likert scale questionnaire consists of a set of statements, about which the respondents indicate how much they agree or disagree with that statement by circling an option on the scale. Most commonly, the scale consists of 5 options:

1. Strongly Agree
2. Agree
3. Neither Agree nor Disagree
4. Disagree
5. Strongly Disagree

Occasionally, the neutral middle option is removed because some feel that this is the "fallback" or easy option when customers simply do not want to fill out the survey or are feeling rushed and do not have time to truly assess the statement. As well, to make a Likert scale quantitative, points can be assigned along the scale, with a 5 or 7 point system being the most common.

The Likert scale can also have the respondent respond not just in agreement, but also to indicate level of importance (eg. How important is the following characteristics to you? Honesty: very important ---> somewhat important ---> somewhat unimportant ---> not important at ...