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Originally Posted by Pip
Minor threadjack: I've heard you get a "better" result if you don't include a neutral option, because it forces people to express an opinion if they are unable to cop out with a neutral answer.
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"Better" only in the sense of getting more people to express an opinion. Most research shows, however, that most people don't have well formed opinions on most questions (see "The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion" by John Zaller). To keep people from expressing an opinion they barely hold, or from choosing answers randomly, you should usualy include a "don't know" option.
There's a really intersting study that found that upwards of 40% of the population will express an opinion on a totaly made-up issue if you don't include a "don't know" option.