Q&A
IPIP-NEO questions and answers
Short answers to the questions people ask most, with links to the longer pages.
What does IPIP-NEO stand for?
IPIP is the International Personality Item Pool, the public-domain collection the items come from. NEO is a reference to the Neuroticism, Extraversion and Openness inventory of Costa and McCrae, whose thirty-facet structure the IPIP-NEO follows.
Is the IPIP-NEO free to use?
Yes. The IPIP items and scales are in the public domain: they can be copied, edited, translated and used for any purpose without permission or a fee. Citing the source is good practice.
How many questions does it have?
The original version has 300 items, ten for each of the thirty facets (Goldberg, 1999). The short version has 120 items, four for each facet (Johnson, 2014).
How long does it take?
The 120-item version took a median of 8 minutes 10 seconds in a sample of 3,079 completed results at JobCannon. The 300-item version has two and a half times as many questions.
What are the five domains?
Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, often remembered as OCEAN. The domains page describes each.
What are the thirty facets?
Six narrower traits inside each domain, such as Anxiety within Neuroticism or Orderliness within Conscientiousness. All thirty are listed A to Z with their questions.
Is the IPIP-NEO the same as the NEO PI-R?
No. They have the same structure, but different items, different owners and different licences. The comparison page sets them side by side.
Is the IPIP-NEO the same as a Big Five test?
The Big Five is the model: five broad traits. The IPIP-NEO is one inventory that measures them, and it also measures the thirty facets beneath them. Other Big Five tests use shorter or different item sets.
What is a good score?
There is no good or bad score; each end of a trait has strengths and costs. A score is a position on a scale. The guide to reading a score explains how to interpret it.
Does a score of 70 mean I am higher than 70% of people?
No. A score of 70 usually means 70% of the maximum possible points. A percentile is a rank within a reference group and needs that group’s scores.
How reliable are the scores?
In 3,079 completed IPIP-NEO-120 results at JobCannon, Cronbach’s alpha for the five domains ran from .797 to .903, and the median facet alpha was .774. Details are in the technical manual.
Will my score change if I retake it?
It may move a little. Every score carries measurement error, and mood and circumstances on the day affect answers, so a retake rarely repeats the numbers exactly.
Can I use the items in my own research or product?
Yes. The items are in the public domain, so no licence is needed. If you also want the NEO PI-R, that inventory is a separate commercial product from Psychological Assessment Resources.