What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to highlight the inadequacies of treating Likert data as fully quantitative and its implications for research.

July 20, 2026Discover SustainabilityOpen Access

The misuse of Likert data and the illusion of quantification in social and environmental research

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Examines the misuse of Likert data in social and environmental indicators, suggesting deeper measurement awareness is needed.

The aim is to highlight the inadequacies of treating Likert data as fully quantitative and its implications for research.
Theoretical analysis of measurement theory and systems epistemology.
Examination of the implications of treating ordinal data as continuous.
Discussion of the concept of metric inflation in the context of environmental governance.
Treating Likert data as fully quantitative leads to pseudoquantification.
Metric inflation amplifies subjective judgments and obscures uncertainty.
Misinterpretation affects policy priorities and evaluations in environmental governance.

Sibongiseni B. Hlabisa (2026) studied this question.

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