Many surveys and questionnaires force respondents into binary choices, even when they feel indifferent about the topic. This artificial polarization distorts feedback, as people must pick an extreme option ("Agree/Disagree," "Yes/No") rather than expressing neutrality. Including a "Meh" (or equivalent) option could improve data accuracy by capturing genuine ambivalence.

How It Works

The idea is straightforward: replace or supplement traditional binary or Likert-scale options with an explicit neutral choice. For example:

• Instead of: "Do you like this feature? (Yes/No)"
• Use: "Do you like this feature? (Yes/Meh/No)"

This could be implemented as a default feature in survey tools or promoted as a best practice in research methodology. The key advantage is clarity—respondents no longer need to interpret ambiguous midpoints (e.g., "3 out of 5") as neutral, since "Meh" explicitly communicates indifference.

Why It Matters

Forced-choice surveys often produce misleading data because they ignore neutral sentiment. A "Meh" option benefits:

• Respondents: They can answer honestly without being pushed into artificial extremes.
• Researchers & Businesses: They gain more accurate insights by accounting for genuine ambivalence.
• Survey Platforms: They could differentiate themselves by offering this nuanced feature.

Existing tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey already allow custom scales, but they lack a standardized, intuitive neutral label. Adding "Meh" would reduce ambiguity in responses.

Execution Strategies

One way to implement this idea is through advocacy—publishing studies or case studies demonstrating how forced-choice surveys skew data compared to neutral-inclusive designs. Another approach is collaborating with survey platforms to introduce "Meh" as a default option. For an MVP, a lightweight experiment could involve A/B testing surveys with and without the neutral option to measure its impact on response quality.

While not revolutionary, this small tweak aligns incentives across stakeholders: respondents get fairer surveys, and data collectors get better insights. The challenge lies in shifting industry norms, but evidence-backed advocacy could make "Meh" a new standard.