Visualizing ranking data is one of the strategies you can use to make your data stories persuasive.
Our brains are engineered to recognize rank in visual content instantly. We recommend using ranking data visualization charts to create compelling narratives for your audiences (and readers).
Why?
The ranking data charts display insights in a particular order. And it can either be bottom-up or top-down.
The expert-recommended ranking data visualization design is a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart.
So, what is a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart?
It’s basically a ‘forced’ Likert scale. The reason it is named as such is that the user is forced to form an opinion. So, there is no safe ‘neutral’ option.
Excel does not natively support the 4-Point Likert Scale Chart. If you’re an ardent user of the spreadsheet application, you’ve got to explore other options.
It turns out you don’t have to do away with Excel. You can download and install a particular add-in to access 4-Point Likert Scale charts, plus more.
In this blog, you’ll learn the following:
Before diving right into the how-to guide, we’ll address the following question: what is a Likert Scale?
Definition: A Likert Scale Chart is a one-dimensional chart you can use to collect the attitudes and opinions of your target market.
Visualization Source: ChartExpo
This easy-to-interpret chart can help you understand the views and perspectives of the market toward your brand. The Likert Scale comes in different variants to help your business personalize its communication, among other benefits.
The Likert Scale Chart measures the qualitative data (opinions and sentiments) by categorically assigning value. In other words, responses are measured based on their disagreement or agreement level.
The Likert Scale is based on the rationale that the strength and intensity of the respondents’ answers are linear. More so, they can be measured on a scale ranging from a complete agreement to a complete disagreement.
You can use a wide variety of topics (general and specific questions) to probe respondents about their level of agreement, perceptions, or beliefs toward your brand.
A 4-Point Likert Scale is basically a forced Likert Chart.
The reason it is named as such is that the user is forced to form an opinion. So, there’s no safe ‘neutral’ option. You can use a 4- Point Likert Scale to get specific responses.
Check out the components of a 4-Point Likert Scale below.
Questions should be easily related to the sentence’s answers, regardless of whether the relationship between the item and sentence is evident.
Survey participants’ responses should always have two extreme positions.
The more items on the Likert Scale, the higher the reliability of insights produced.
You have an option of working with only even values by eliminating the “neutral” possibility in your Likert Scale examples.
Take a look at the survey results table below. Can you provide a coherent story of what’s going on?
Question | Rating | Count |
The virtual models of customized products are realistic | 1 | 324 |
The virtual models of customized products are realistic | 2 | 176 |
The virtual models of customized products are realistic | 3 | 230 |
The virtual models of customized products are realistic | 4 | 270 |
The virtual models of customized products are realistic | 5 | 0 |
The information about customized components is clearly identified | 1 | 138 |
The information about customized components is clearly identified | 2 | 186 |
The information about customized components is clearly identified | 3 | 176 |
The information about customized components is clearly identified | 4 | 230 |
The information about customized components is clearly identified | 5 | 270 |
The variety of customized products are satisfactory | 1 | 0 |
The variety of customized products are satisfactory | 2 | 138 |
The variety of customized products are satisfactory | 3 | 186 |
The variety of customized products are satisfactory | 4 | 176 |
The variety of customized products is satisfactory | 5 | 500 |
Image rotation is useful for viewing the product from different angles | 1 | 5 |
Image rotation is useful for viewing the product from different angles | 2 | 100 |
Image rotation is useful for viewing the product from different angles | 3 | 146 |
Image rotation is useful for viewing the product from different angles | 4 | 116 |
Image rotation is useful for viewing product from different angles | 5 | 420 |
Note the difference after visualizing the data above using a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart, as shown below.
In the coming section, we’ll cover how to analyze data using a 4-Point Likert Scale.
Follow the steps below religiously.
In the coming section, we’ll take you through how to create a 4-Point Likert Scale in Excel?
Excel is a trusted data visualization tool because it’s familiar to many. But the spreadsheet application lacks ready-made Likert Scale Charts.
We understand switching tools is not an easy task.
This is why we’re not advocating you ditch Excel in favor of other expensive data visualization tools.
There’s an easy-to-use and amazingly affordable visualization tool that comes as an add-in you can easily install in your app to access ready-made survey charts, such as the 4-Point Likert Scale. The tool is called ChartExpo.
So, what is ChartExpo?
ChartExpo is an incredibly intuitive Excel add-in you can easily install in your Excel without watching hours of YouTube tutorials.
With many ready-to-go visualizations, the app turns your complex, raw data into compelling, easy-to-digest charts in excel and google sheets that tell the data stories in real-time.
More benefits
In the coming section, we’ll take you through how to visualize data using the Likert Scale Chart in Excel using the ChartExpo add-in.
You don’t want to miss this!
This section will use a 4-Point Likert Scale to display insights from the table discussed above.
ChartExpo will generate a 5-Point Likert Scale by default. To change the chart to a 4-Point Likert Scale, follow the instructions below:
Keep reading because, in the coming section, we’ll address the following question: when should you use a 4-Point Likert Scale?
In the following video, you’ll learn how to create a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart in Excel.
You’ll agree when we say measuring and analyzing the quality of products or services using the market perspective is increasingly becoming a norm.
The 4-Point Likert Scale is increasingly helping businesses like yours understand their niche markets in-depth. Essentially, you can use this chart to analyze responses (opinions, beliefs, and sentiments) from a just-concluded survey exercise.
Besides, you can empower your potential customers to decide how your products and services can best serve their needs.
How?
You can achieve the aforementioned by having them provide their honest opinion (data) about the critical issues they feel you should address, such as the quality of a product/service, customer service, price, etc.
A 4-Point Likert Scale is a one-dimensional scale you can use to collect the attitudes and opinions of your target market.
It uses an ordinal scale to help you understand the views and perspectives of the market towards your brand. Besides, it has different variants to help your business personalize its communication.
Visualizing survey data is one of the strategies you can use to make your data stories persuasive.
Our brains are engineered to recognize rank in visual content instantly. We recommend using ranking data visualization charts such as survey charts to create compelling narratives for your audiences (and readers).
Why?
The ranking data charts display insights in a particular order. And it can either be bottom-up or the other way round.
The expert-recommended ranking data visualization design is a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart.
So, what is a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart?
It’s basically a ‘forced’ Likert scale. The reason it is named as such is that the user is forced to form an opinion. There is no safe ‘neutral’ option.
Excel does not natively support a 4-Point Likert Scale Chart.
So, what’s the solution?
We recommend you install third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, to access the ready-to-use Likert Scale in Excel.
ChartExpo is an add-in for Excel that’s loaded with insightful and ready-to-go Likert Scale Charts. You don’t need programming or coding skills to use ChartExpo.
More benefits
Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access ready-made Likert Scale Charts that are easy to interpret and visually appealing to your target audience.