Likert-type scales are frequently used in medical
education and medical education research. Common
uses include end-of-rotation trainee feedback, faculty
evaluations of trainees, and assessment of performance
after an educational intervention. A sizable percentage of
the educational research manuscripts submitted to the
Journal of Graduate Medical Education employ a Likert
scale for part or all of the outcome assessments. Thus,
understanding the interpretation and analysis of data
derived from Likert scales is imperative for those working
in medical education and education research. The goal of
this article is to provide readers who do not have extensive
statistics background with the basics needed to understand
these concepts.