This article explains how to read the results page in Score average view for the question types that support it: Reorder (Rank), Side-by-Side, Star/Smiley Rating, and Polarity Scale.
In This Article
- Switching to Score average
- How Scores Are Assigned
- How to Read the Charts
- What Counts Toward the Score
- Tools Available in Score Average
Switching to Score average
Chart views are controlled by the view drop-down above the chart. The drop-down always displays the name of the view currently applied—for Reorder, Side-by-Side, Star Rating, and Smiley Rating questions it reads Stacked by default.
- Click the chart view drop-down above the chart.
- Select Score average.
⚠️ Note: The view drop-down is not always present. It is hidden when a question has only one available view, and the list of views can be narrowed on a per-question basis. Polarity Scale questions are always shown as Score average and therefore have no selector at all—the interpretation below still applies.
How Scores Are Assigned
Each answer choice carries a score value. How that value is derived depends on the question type.
| Question Type | Score Values |
|---|---|
|
Reorder (Rank) and Side-by-Side |
Scores are reversed from the position ranks. The lowest-ranked item scores 1; the highest-ranked item scores the number of items tested (e.g., 4 if four items were ranked). |
| Star Rating | The score equals the rating value itself—3 stars scores 3. |
| Smiley Rating | Scores are centered on zero: −1 to +1 with no midpoint on a two-emoticon scale, −1 to +1 with a midpoint of 0 on a three-emoticon scale, and −2 to +2 with a midpoint of 0 on a five-emoticon scale. |
| Polarity Scale | The score equals the scale value selected along the polarity axis. |
⚠️ Note: Star and Smiley are two distinct question types with different scoring, even though they are often referenced together.
How to Read the Charts
The top chart is the overall score summary. Each bar is that item's total score divided by that item's base—in other words, the mean score among the respondents who scored it. The y-axis is labelled scores.
- The axis is pinned to a range of 0 through the top scale degree for scales with no negative values (Reorder, Side-by-Side, Star Rating).
- For scales that include negative scores—Smiley Rating, and Polarity Scale where applicable—the axis instead stretches to fit the data extents. This is why a Smiley chart's axis can look different from a Star chart's.
Below the summary, each subsequent chart breaks the result out by sub-question. For Reorder and Side-by-Side these show how respondents placed each item; for Star, Smiley, and Polarity Scale they show the rating distribution for each sub-question. A rating question with no sub-questions produces only the summary chart.
What Counts Toward the Score
⚠️ Important: If a Star Rating question has N/A enabled, respondents who select N/A are excluded from the base entirely. The score is rescaled to raters only, so the average reflects only respondents who gave an actual rating—not everyone who saw the question.
Keep this in mind when comparing a Score average figure against a completion or response count elsewhere in the report—the two bases will not match when N/A is in play.
Tools Available in Score Average
Score average unlocks analysis tools that other chart views do not offer:
- Items list—a question-level list of the items being scored.
- Column sort—reorder bars by score. Available only in this view.
- Plot-drag zoom—drag across the plot area to zoom into a range. Available only in this view.
- Hover detail—hovering a bar surfaces its margin-of-error band and significance shading.