Neutral Alternative
Neutral alternative is also a characteristic of bipolar scales, where the respondents are not forced to make a choice in a specific direction. Neutral alternatives can be provided implicitly or explicitly.
Explicit neutral alternatives are usually labelled such as ‘‘neither A nor B’’, while implicit neutral alternatives do not need to be labelled to understand its implicit neutral connotation, i.e. a bipolar scale with an uneven number of points, the midpoint will be considered neutral even if it is not labelled.
Explicit neutral alternatives are usually labelled such as ‘‘neither A nor B’’, while implicit neutral alternatives do not need to be labelled to understand its implicit neutral connotation, i.e. a bipolar scale with an uneven number of points, the midpoint will be considered neutral even if it is not labelled.
Theoretical arguments
- Midpoints attract respondents under uncertainty (Bishop 1987).*
- Midpoints are used when respondents are undecided, misunderstanding the item, when their response is conditional or when they have a neutral opinion (Kulas and Stachowski 2009).*
- It is used to not force people to make a choice on a specific direction (Saris and Gallhofer 2014).*
- People do appear to have positions which are neutral; omitting will force these individuals to select an option which does not reflect the true opinion (Sturgis et al. 2014).*
- Respondents can interpret de midpoint in a scale as the most typical and use it as reference point (Tourangeau et al. 2004).*
Empirical evidence on data quality
YES means that there is an effect on quality either positive or negative impact. NO means that there is no effect.
*DeCastellarnau, A. Qual Quant (2018) 52: 1523. doi: 10.1007/s11135-017-0533-4
- Midpoints lower reliability, more valuable in 7 point scales [Proportion of variance attributed to true attitudes] (Alwin and Krosnick 1991) → YES*
- Midpoint had only slight effect on data quality [MTMM validity, method effect and residual error] (Andrews 1984) → NO*
- Midpoint reduces validity [Criterion validity] (Malhotra et al. 2009) → YES*
- Not providing a neutral category improves significantly both reliability and validity [True-score MTMM reliability and validity] (Saris and Gallhofer 2007) → YES*
- Explicit midpoint has no effect on reliability but a higher validity [True Score MTMM reliability and validity] (Scherpenzeel and Saris 1997) → YES*
- Offering the middle alternative increases the proportion of respondents in that category [Response style through distribution comparison] (Schuman and Presser 1981) → YES*
- Midpoint increases acquiescence and lowers extreme responses [Acquiescence and Extreme response bias] (Weijters et al. 2010) → YES*
YES means that there is an effect on quality either positive or negative impact. NO means that there is no effect.
*DeCastellarnau, A. Qual Quant (2018) 52: 1523. doi: 10.1007/s11135-017-0533-4
References
Alwin, D.F., Krosnick, J.A. (1991). The reliability of survey attitude measurement: the influence of question and respondent attributes. Sociol. Methods Res. 20, 139–181. doi: 10.1177/0049124191020001005
Andrews, F.M. (1984). Construct validity and error components of survey measures: a structural modelling approach. Public Opin. Q. 48, 409–442. doi: 10.1086/268840
Bishop, G.F.(1987). Experiments with the middle response alternative in survey questions. Public Opin. Q. 51, 220–232. doi: 10.1086/269030
Kulas, J.T., Stachowski, A.A. (2009).Middle category endorsement in odd-numbered Likert response scales: associated item characteristics, cognitive demands, and preferred meanings. J. Res. Pers. 43, 489–493. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.005
Malhotra, N., Krosnick, J.A., Thomas, R.K. (2009). Optimal design of branching questions to measure bipolar constructs. Public Opin. Q. 73, 304–324. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfp023
Saris, W.E., Gallhofer, I.N. (2007). Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. Wiley, Hoboken
Saris, W.E., Gallhofer, I.N. (2014). Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. Wiley, Hoboken
Scherpenzeel, A.C., Saris, W.E. (1997). The validity and reliability of survey questions: a meta-analysis of MTMM studies. Sociol. Methods Res. 25, 341–383.
Schuman, H., Presser, S.(1981). Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments on Question Form. Wording and Context. Sage Publications, Thousands Oaks.
Sturgis, P., Roberts, C., Smith, P. (2014). Middle alternatives revisited: how the neither/nor response acts as a way of saying “I don’t know”? Sociol. Methods Res. 43, 15–38. doi: 10.1177/0049124112452527
Tourangeau, R., Couper, M.P., Conrad, F. (2004). Spacing, position, and order. interpretive heuristics for visual features of survey questions. Public Opin. Q. 68, 368–393. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfh035
Weijters, B., Cabooter, E., Schillewaert, N. (2010). The effect of rating scale format on response styles: the number of response categories and response category labels. Int. J. Res. Mark. 27, 236–247. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2010.02.004
Alwin, D.F., Krosnick, J.A. (1991). The reliability of survey attitude measurement: the influence of question and respondent attributes. Sociol. Methods Res. 20, 139–181. doi: 10.1177/0049124191020001005
Andrews, F.M. (1984). Construct validity and error components of survey measures: a structural modelling approach. Public Opin. Q. 48, 409–442. doi: 10.1086/268840
Bishop, G.F.(1987). Experiments with the middle response alternative in survey questions. Public Opin. Q. 51, 220–232. doi: 10.1086/269030
Kulas, J.T., Stachowski, A.A. (2009).Middle category endorsement in odd-numbered Likert response scales: associated item characteristics, cognitive demands, and preferred meanings. J. Res. Pers. 43, 489–493. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.005
Malhotra, N., Krosnick, J.A., Thomas, R.K. (2009). Optimal design of branching questions to measure bipolar constructs. Public Opin. Q. 73, 304–324. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfp023
Saris, W.E., Gallhofer, I.N. (2007). Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. Wiley, Hoboken
Saris, W.E., Gallhofer, I.N. (2014). Design, Evaluation, and Analysis of Questionnaires for Survey Research. Wiley, Hoboken
Scherpenzeel, A.C., Saris, W.E. (1997). The validity and reliability of survey questions: a meta-analysis of MTMM studies. Sociol. Methods Res. 25, 341–383.
Schuman, H., Presser, S.(1981). Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments on Question Form. Wording and Context. Sage Publications, Thousands Oaks.
Sturgis, P., Roberts, C., Smith, P. (2014). Middle alternatives revisited: how the neither/nor response acts as a way of saying “I don’t know”? Sociol. Methods Res. 43, 15–38. doi: 10.1177/0049124112452527
Tourangeau, R., Couper, M.P., Conrad, F. (2004). Spacing, position, and order. interpretive heuristics for visual features of survey questions. Public Opin. Q. 68, 368–393. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfh035
Weijters, B., Cabooter, E., Schillewaert, N. (2010). The effect of rating scale format on response styles: the number of response categories and response category labels. Int. J. Res. Mark. 27, 236–247. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2010.02.004
