Can you explain when to use Top 4 & 5 Box Scores and
when to focus only on Top Box Scores?

Response:

The “Top Box” scores represent the responses that fall only into “Excellent” (Top Box Score), while the Top 4 & 5 Box Scores show responses for those that indicated “Very Good” or “Excellent.” Calculating these scores allows an organization to identify the driving variables associated with the top performing units, departments, and/or facilities.

Most survey research responses result in scores clustered primarily in both “Very Good” and “Excellent.” As the goal of HealthStream Research is to identify pathways to Excellence, we recommend separating “Very Good” results from “Excellent” results. This allows you to identify the specific variables and best practices that separate the “Very Good” performers from the “Excellent” performers. For example, if most of the responses are clustered in the Top 4 & 5 scores, it is far more useful to separate the two groups so that you can address measures needed to move the 4’s to 5’s. Excellence is always the ultimate goal.

Our expert analysts recommend generating Top 4 & 5 scores only when there is a wide (and even) distribution of responses across the five point scale. This is typically only found in Employee and Medical Staff research. For patient studies, we virtually always recommend using the Top Box Score instead of the Top 4 & 5 Box Score.

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