Scales, True/False

The Use of True/False Scales in Research

Although not widely used in communication research, true/false scales are effective at getting quick responses to relatively simple questions. True/false scales are often used in ability/aptitude testing to predict future work performance. True/false scales are useful for gauging the likelihood that a respondent will engage in a particular behavior (e.g., I voice concerns to my boss: True or False). True/false scales also work well to gauge attitudes or perceptions. Market research frequently employs true/false scales to gauge the likelihood of consumers responding to a particular campaign. For example, researchers interested in employing successful marketing campaigns to lure consumers away from one company to another could ask a series of true/false questions to determine the most effective marketing campaign to use. Psychology also uses true/false scales to measure attitudes and other variables such as personality, attachment, and self-efficacy to name a few. Despite the potential usefulness of true/false scales they are not used frequently in the field of communication. However, true/false scales have been used in the communication field to measure factors such as communication attitudes and anxiety.

Benefits of True/False Scales

Communication research scales often utilize Likert-type scales that move beyond agree or disagree to better understand the extent to which respondents agree or disagree with a particular statement. Critics of dichotomous true/false scales argue that forcing respondents to choose between only two answers does not capture the complexity of communication, or most research issues for that matter. In true/false scales, individuals must choose either true or false even though they may actually be neutral about a statement or it may only be true of their attitude in certain situations or contexts. This has led many researchers to call dichotomous true/false scales forced choice scales. Despite these criticisms there are also benefits of using true/false scales.

The first benefit deals with simplicity. True/false scales are generally easy for respondents to understand. There are no seven-point scales for participants to decipher and refer back to throughout the process of taking the survey. The simplicity of true/false scales also has a positive impact on response rates. True/false scales are typically less time consuming. Participants are more likely to fully complete a relatively quick and simple survey but may become overwhelmed by long, complicated surveys filled with complex scales.

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