No Opinion Response Option

Not long ago we discussed an article on the benefits and weaknesses of “Neither Agree Nor Disagree” as a survey response option. It has some benefits, because it provides an “out” for those that don’t have a strong opinion and avoids frustrating those that need the option available, but it also introduces several problems, including the idea that it allows people to not think critically about their opinion and often takes too much room on the page. Another option you may want to consider is adding something similar – a “No Opinion” option. “No Opinion” is a very similar response to “Neither Agree Nor Disagree,” but it does have some characteristics that may make it a better choice for researchers.

Place on Scale While NAND tends to be placed in the middle of the scale in order to indicate varying degrees of opinion, the “no opinion” option tends to be placed at the very end of the scale as its own completely separate option. On appearance alone, this will help make it look less like a part of the scale that someone may want to select, and more like an option to consider if they can’t come up with a real opinion. It will also make it less likely that someone who is trying to rush through the survey will select it.

More Concrete Language “No opinion” is unlikely to be misconstrued. NAND, on the other hand, may be seen by some people as a “no opinion” option, but seen by other people as a “middle of the road option.” In practice these may be fairly similar, but they are not exactly the same, so it’s possible they promote different opinions. No opinion is a fairly straight forward answer, and one that respondents are likely to fully understand before they select it.

This is not to say that “no opinion” is necessarily a better option. Very little research has been done to compare and contrast these two choices, and without that research there is simply no way to know other than our own guesses as to what will help a survey receive more accurate answers. On a surface level, however, it does look like “no opinion” has the potential to be a bit more helpful than the “Neither Agree Nor Disagree” answer, and while it’s not a perfect measurement by any means, it may be a better choice for your survey.