{"id":2000,"slug":"bars-smith-kendall-1963","title":"BARS (Smith & Kendall 1963) — anchoring scale points to concrete observable behaviors","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["survey-question-design","observable-proxies-for-judgment"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) — Smith & Kendall (1963, *Journal of Applied Psychology*): anchoring each scale point to a **concrete, observable behavior** reduces measurement bias (halo, leniency, recency) relative to abstract scales — \"sometimes (but not always),\" and the benefit depends on rigorous development.\n\n**Source:** Smith & Kendall 1963, JAP. Foundational with honest \"not always\" caveat from the primary literature.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Even when the widget must include a tier/rating element (e.g., when describing the OUTPUT tier), anchor each tier to a concrete behavior set — not abstract words like \"advanced\" or \"developing.\" See [[rule-r1-convert-judgment-to-observation]] and the presentation-layer brief [[research-brief-smb-widget-presenting-tiers-june-2026]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-capture-layer-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget capture layer — what owners can vs cannot self-report (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-r1-convert-judgment-to-observation","title":"R1 — Convert every judgment into an observation or counting task","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:00.940Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:00.940Z"}