ABSTRACT
This chapter has two aims. The first is to investigate differences between 'Don't Know' responses and refusals in attitudinal surveys. Missing values can occur either when a respondent really does not know the answer to an item or when a respondent refuses to answer an item. The second aim is to find place of middle category in Likert type scales with respect to the rest of the response categories and derive attitudinal information. The methodology proposed is for analyzing scales that consist of any combination of binary, nominal scale polytomous, ordinal scale, and metric items. The chapter explores the idea of using polytomous response propensity variables to distinguish between different types of non-response in a latent variable framework. It discusses the issues of middle categories in Likert scales, using the same methodology but extended to ordinal variables.
