Has anyone taken a research class or know about research methods? Question

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Specializes in OB, lactation.

Ughh.. I have a final I have to take tomorrow and one of our study questions is something I can't find anywhere (yes, I've looked on the net and throughout my text)...

"7-point Likert scales- how is "undecided" scored?"

'Likert scales' is in my text, but it does not tell how to score "undecided" (Likert scales are a way of measuring questionaires, they are those kind that give you the choices "always, usually, sometimes, rarely, never, undecided" etc.).

The class is online and I'm afraid my teacher isn't going to email me back before I have to take it. :o The class is really hard and I hate to give away a question that she told us to look up!

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

I'm not sure, but I think "undecided" would be given a score of 3. Since a Likert scale is a 5 point scale IE: Strongly agree>Agree>undecided>disagree>strongly disagree

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Specializes in OB, lactation.
I'm not sure, but I think "undecided" would be given a score of 3. Since a Likert scale is a 5 point scale IE: Strongly agree>Agree>undecided>disagree>strongly disagree

That's what I was wondering... 3 to keep the score kind of neutral???

If anyone knows for sure please post!! :)

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

Sorry, I missed the 7 point part of your post! On a 7 point it would be 4

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From my grad school textbook,"The Practice of Nursing Research"

"Use of the uncertain or neutral category is controversial because it allows the subject to avoid making a clear choice of positive or negative statements. Thus sometimes only four or six options are offered, with the uncertainity category omitted. This type of scale is referred to as a forced choice version. Sometimes respondents will become annoyed at forced choice times and refuse to complete them. Researchers who use the forced choice version consider an item that is left blank as a response of "uncerain." However, responses of uncertain are difficult to interpret, and if a large number of respondents select that option or leave the question blank, the data may be of little value. (p.431-434)

Burns & Grove

Hope this helps?

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Specializes in Telemetry, ICU, Resource Pool, Dialysis.

a median score of undecided would not influence the positive or negative outcome of the scale. You're right, it's a neutral score.

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Specializes in OB, lactation.

thanks for all the feedback... my teacher never wrote me back but the stupid thing wasn't even on the test anyway (don't know why the he11 she put it on the review guide; another part of it wasn't on there either- incidentally another thing i spent forever trying fruitlessly to find). i didn't do well on the test but exams are only 15% of our grade. i can't even say how happy i am to be done with that class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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