The chart below provides a clear overview of how the responses are distributed across one or more questions. The reason for examining the spread is that common mean values or index values do not indicate whether the responses are strongly polarized or if they are clustered. A 50% index value can be achieved both by having extreme responses, indicating polarization, or by having everyone respond similarly in the middle. Therefore, spread is a useful tool in interpretation.
Example of spread of responses to multiple questions in a chart
This chart shows the results of 7 questions. Each response option (1 to 6) is presented as a percentage of the individuals who responded with a particular value.
For example, 8% of those who responded to the question Work Joy answered option 1, which is the lowest value.
The chart color-codes the options to provide a simple visual overview. The sum of the percentages from 1 to 6 is 100.
Unknown / No opinion is shown separately as a percentage next to the bar
Next to each bar, the percentage of respondents who answered "Unknown", "No opinion", or similar options that should not be included in a calculation is reported separately. This is a good measure of how uncertain respondents are about the question. It may not be relevant to them, or they may be unsure how to respond.
Number of responses in parentheses
The number of responses to the question is shown in parentheses. In this case, there are 50 responses per question, but this may vary within a survey if not all questions are mandatory or if the questions are placed at different points in the survey.
Example of spread in a chart for a single question
This chart shows the results for one question where each response option is presented as a percentage of the individuals who responded with a particular value. In the chart, the percentages for "Unknown", "No opinion", or similar options are included among the other response options. The sum of responses 1-6 and "no opinion" is 100.