Psychometric Scales in Surveys

Likert scales are used in attitude research and social science projects to measure
participants’ views on different phenomena. It is a five or seven-point scale which is used to
measure an individual’s attitudes specifically regarding the extent to which they agree or
disagree with various statements. The five-point scale is the original form of the Likert scale,
ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. In between these extremes are the
“Disagree”, “Undecided”, and “Agree” (Jamieson 1217). The main assumption in using a Likert
scale is that the strength of an attitude is linear and measurable, hence each point is assigned a
numerical value.
The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) by Avolio, Gardner, and Walumbwa is
used to measure the elements that comprise authentic leadership. The scales in the ALQ measure
the intensity of self-awareness, transparency, moral perspective and balanced processing traits in
a leader (Walumbwa et. al 95). It is a valid scale and reliable because it is a tested theory-based
measure of authentic leadership.
The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) is a commonly used scale to measure
workplace bullying. It consists of 22 items that which are considered important indicators for the
three unique forms of bullying; work-related, person oriented, and social exclusion. According to
Notelaers et al, the NAQ-R has an internal reliability of α = 0.87 to α = 0.93. Although it is

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impossible to list all kinds of bullying actions, the questionnaire has been used in numerous
studies investigating workplace bullying.
The Kelloway, Gottlieb, and Barham’s Job Turnover Intentions Scale is a 4-item scale that
measures the degree of turnover intentions as the best predictor of actual turnover. The items
included in the scale are “I am thinking about leaving this organization”, “I am planning to look
for a new job”, “I intend to ask people about new job opportunities”, and “I don’t plan to be in
this organization much longer” (Karavardar 70)

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Work Cited

Jamieson, Susan. “Likert Scales: How to (ab) Use Them.” Medical education 38.12 (2004):
1217-1218.
Karavardar, Gulsah. “Organizational Career Growth and Turnover Tntention: an Application in
Audit Firms in Turkey.” International Business Research 7.9 (2014): 67.
Notelaers, Guy, et al. “Measuring Bullying at Work with the Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire:
Identification of Targets and Criterion Validity.” Work & Stress 33.1 (2019): 58-75.
Walumbwa, Fred O., et al. “Authentic Leadership: Development and Validation of a Theory-
Based Measure.” Journal of management 34.1 (2008): 89-126.