Likert scale agreement measure – UGC NET Question

A Likert scale presents statements and asks respondents to choose among ordered response categories such as strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree or strongly disagree. The responses are scored to reflect the direction and intensity of attitude toward the issue. It is widely used because it is simple to construct and easy for respondents to understand. Since the stem refers to indicating levels of agreement or disagreement with statements, the correct term is Likert scale.

Option A:
The Likert scale treats the ordered categories as reflecting increasing or decreasing levels of the underlying attitude and often sums scores across multiple items to obtain a composite measure. This approach matches the description in the stem, which emphasises degree of agreement with a series of statements.

Option B:
A semantic differential scale uses bipolar adjective pairs, such as good–bad or strong–weak, at the ends of a continuum and asks respondents to mark their position between them. It measures connotative meanings rather than straightforward agreement or disagreement, so it does not fit the stem.

Option C:
A Guttman scale, or cumulative scale, arranges items so that agreement with a particular statement implies agreement with all less extreme statements. It is more complex to construct than a Likert scale and is not simply about rating agreement for each independent item. Therefore, Guttman scale is not the best answer here.

Option D:
Thurstone scales involve expert judges assigning scale values to statements and then using these values to measure attitudes, which is a laborious procedure. While they also measure attitudes, they do not primarily use the familiar agree–disagree format described in the stem. Hence, Thurstone scale is not the correct completion.