A semantic differential is useful to measure what the attitude is of the respondent towards something. In a semantic differential, you have two opposing characteristics at either end of a scale (also called a bipolar pair). This scale in the middle typically has five or seven items. When the number of items on the scale is uneven, the middle one expresses a neutral point between the two extremes. But this is not necessarily so, you can also have a scale with an even number of items - sometimes up to ten items are used in the scale.
When you select 'Semantic differential' as the Question type, you will get an empty table with two label columns at either end, and a five-item scale in the middle:
Very much |
Somewhat |
Neither |
Somewhat |
Very much |
To change these column headers, just click somewhere in the column, and then on the button. You can also double-click on the column header. This will make a text field appear, where you can modify the name of this class (column).
If you want to add a class (column), click in the column to the right of where you want to insert it. Then press the button in the toolbar.
If you want to remove a class (column), click in the column itself and then on the button.
To add questions, go to the first row and enter the pairs in the 'Label' columns at the left and right of the table. The easiest way to come up with a bipolar pair is to write a word or concept in the first column, and to copy it in the last column and put 'not' in front.
Logframer will number the cells of the scale from 1 to the number of columns/classes. For instance, when you have a five-item scale, the cells will be numbered from 1 to 5. You can use these numbers to count how many people have chosen a particular column. Or you can use the values as scores, and calculate how well your project has done in comparison to a situation where all the beneficiaries have the maximum or minimum score (depending on whether the preferential choice is 1 or 5). The maximum and minimum scores are indicated on the right, above the table.
If you want to reverse the order of these scores, you can click on the button. Instead of 1-2-3-4-5, you will get 5-4-3-2-1.