Hinnangusskaale

Hinnangusskaale is the Estonian term for rating scales used to quantify evaluative judgments, perceptions, or attitudes. They are a common component of questionnaires and assessment tools across social sciences, education, and market research. The word combines hinnang (evaluation) and skaala (scale), reflecting their function as a graded measure of respondents’ views.

Types of hinnangusskaale include Likert-type scales (typically 5- or 7-point with explicit labels such as strongly disagree to strongly agree), semantic differential scales (bipolar adjectives, for example useful–useless), and numeric rating scales (for example 0–10). Visual analogue scales and other unipolar scales are also used. Scales can be unipolar or bipolar, and may include a neutral midpoint.

Design considerations involve clarifying purpose, choosing an appropriate scale type, and deciding the number of points. Common choices are 5 or 7 points with clear endpoints and, if suitable, a mid-point. Labels should be precise and culturally appropriate. Researchers may use reverse scoring to reduce certain biases. Pilot testing helps assess reliability and validity, and researchers should anticipate biases such as central tendency and acquiescence. While many analysts treat these data as interval, they are fundamentally ordinal and should be analyzed accordingly or with methods appropriate for interval approximations.

Applications span customer satisfaction, attitude and opinion research, education, and psychology. Hinnangusskaale enable comparisons across items and respondents, support statistical analysis of perceived intensity or agreement, and help translate subjective experience into quantitative summaries.