A meta-analysis of single-item measures of overall job satisfaction (28 correlations from 17 studies with 7, 682 people) found an average uncorrected correlation of .63 (SD = .09) with scale measures of overall job satisfaction. The overall mean correlation (corrected only for reliability) is .67 (SD = .08), and it is moderated by the type of measurement scale used. The mean corrected correlation for the best group of scale measures (8 correlations, 1, 735 people) is .72 (SD = .05). The correction for attenuation formula was used to estimate the minimum level of reliability for a single-item measure. These estimates range from .45 to .69, depending on the assumptions made.

In general, single-item measures can be divided into two categories: (a) those measuring self-reported facts, such as years of education, age, number of previous jobs, and so on, and (b) those measuring psychological constructs, such as job satisfaction. Measuring the former with a single item is commonly accepted practice. However, the use of single-item measures for psychological constructs is typically discouraged, primarily because they are presumed to have unacceptably low reliability. In fact, the use of single-item measures in academic research is often considered a “fatal error” in the review process.

There are exceptions to the norm of using only scales to measure psychological constructs, however. If the construct being measured is sufficiently narrow or is unambiguous to the respondent, a single-item measure may suffice, as pointed out by Sackett and Larson (1990). For example, most expectancy theory researchers use a single item to measure the perceived probability that effort leads to performance (e.g., Ilgen, Nebeker, & Pritchard, 1981).

For more complex psychological constructs (e.g., personality), it is usually recommended that scales with multiple items be used. However, there is a middle ground between the extremes of simple (expectancy) and complex (personality) constructs where measurement with a single item may also be acceptable. Overall job satisfaction appears to be an example, particularly because it has a long history of single-item measures, beginning with the Faces Scale over 40...