All Possible Survey Question Types With Examples
What are Surveys and Questionnaires?
Surveys and questionnaires are the best tools for anyone trying to find answers to a specific topic or, in general, to know more about their customer, reader, viewer, etc. Correspondingly they are very effective for data collection. Many academics use them as research tools. To put it easier, they are as multifunctional as the little black dress in your wardrobe or the towel in your bathroom. To be the best in any engagement, you need to understand it inside out. Same with making surveys and questionnaires. An effective survey does not drive the form filler into boredom to the point they call it quits. It must be entertaining, not forever lasting, easy to understand, and complete. However, all these vary from the purpose of your survey to your reader. One thing is for sure you can by no means succeed in creating a survey that corresponds to all the stated points without knowing all the functionalities of its question types.
There are three survey question formats and nearly 13 types of questions which include: Multiple Choice questions, Rating Scale questions, Likert Scale questions, Matrix questions Dropdown questions, Open-Ended questions, Demographic questions, Ranking questions, Image Choice questions, Click Map questions, File Upload questions, Slider questions, Benchmarkable questions.
Let's analyze them one by one, and maybe by the end of this article, you will become a pro survey maker.
Multiple choice
It is the most popular question type. It is popular among survey makers for producing easy-to-analyze data. Multiple-choice questions have different formats; single-answer and multi-answer. Single-answer multiple-choice questions have a radio but, this format limits respondents with one answer. On the contrary, by multi-answer multiple-choice questions, respondents can check as many boxes as they wish. Everything sounds just perfect, Right? Unfortunately, as with nearly anything existent, this question type also has a drawback. The predetermined answers may not correspond with the respondents' answers. In this case, the most logical thing would be checking a random box, which can affect the accuracy of the results. However, just as any problem, this one also has a solution. You can click on "other" and give your respondents freedom to answer in their own words
Rating Scale Questions
These question types are used to know the respondents' opinion or attitude towards something. Ranking Scale questions make a numerical scale with a certain context. Some surveys also give the ability to make graphic rating scales. In different surveys, the scale can be from one up to a hundred. However, many researchers reported that scales of five-point and seven-points have the highest validity, also are the most preferable and easy to use. Not to mention that they collect qualitative information and accurate data.
Likert Scale Questions
Likert Scale questions are very similar to Rating Scale question, as they both try to find out more about respondents' attitudes towards the questions. However, Likert Scale questions are not of numerical type. These are the well-known "Do you agree or disagree" type of questions where the options range-for example, starting "Strongly agree" down to "Strongly disagree". These questions are easy to create and use. As a drawback, we can state that respondents may avoid extreme responses and cause the slightest inaccuracy.
Matrix Questions
Matrix questions are fun to play. By making Matrix questions, you can give freedom to your creativity. You can make several questions in a row. Not to mention that with Matrix questions, you can make both Rating Scale and Likert Scale questions. In Matrix questions, you can mix and match, but do not make infinite rows as in larger scales they can be confusing, especially on mobile devices.
Dropdown Questions
This question type is the scrollable option of single-multiple choice questions. If there are more than five answers, this is is a perfect way as it handles unlimited options, by one does not occupy a lot of space in your questionnaire as it is compact. They are easy to make but sometimes difficult to use for the respondents, and in case of many-option-dropdowns, they might not work on some mobile devices. To your surprise, the size can also be a disadvantage as respondents sometimes miss it as IT IS COMPACT!
Open-Ended questions
This question type is the equivalent of writing freedom, as the form filler answers in a written form without any pre-set answers. It helps to know more about your responders' thoughts and opinions. The inconvenience with Open-Ended questions is that they are not the best if you want a quick analysis of your data. However, the usage of this question type must be based on your survey theme. Sometimes people just prefer surveys that are not time-consuming. "Time saver" is probably not one of the characteristics of Open-Ended questions.
Demographic questions
Demographic questions are pretty similar to gossipmongers. These questions help you get an accurate insight about your audience, starting from their income level ending with relationship status. This question type is especially powerful in collecting data. So, if you want to find out more about your target audience DEMOGRAPHIC-MONGERS are the best. Consider using Airtable for efficiently organizing and analyzing demographic data, empowering you to understand your target audience better.
Ranking questions
Ranking questions try to get responders' attitude towards something. Now, you will probably think "If both Rating and Ranking questions are for getting responders attitude by a certain scale range, what is their difference?" The thing is that with Ranking questions, you can get opinions on more than one answer option. This way, you can also evaluate the popularity of each option. The cons of Ranking questions are taking a long time to answer, so keep in mind not to overuse them. These types of questions can be used for creating a great satisfaction survey.
Image Choice Questions
I know you already guessed what is Image choice question is all about. Right! It is for getting a review by using pictures or for a slight visual touch. The image can be not only the object of discussion but also the matter of destruction. You can put a refreshing picture to give the readers a little break. You can definitely have fun with this one!
Click Map Questions
The name speaks for itself. Apparently, using Click Map you can feel like a cartographer (person who draws maps). You can turn your website into a whole map and ask respondents to click on the spot they appreciate the most. It does not only refer to websites but nearly anything that your imagination creates. It is also used to make the form filler check their location on the map instead of writing it. We can easily replace Click Map questions can with others. However, the purpose of it is to break the monotony. It also does better location data analyses.
File Upload Questions
File upload question is more of a tool rather than a question type. They allow the collection of PDF, PNG, or Doc files. It can be used to collect CVs or to back up given information by documents. There is not much to say about File Upload Question types and their use as you will probably know yourself when you need them.
Slider Questions
Slider questions are the fun version of numerical scale questions. The difference is that you answer by dragging the slider. The advantage of Slider questions is that there can be several question sliders related to one topic and making multiple questions is unnecessary. And while some of the question types might not look good and are not easy to pass on mobile devices, Sliders work perfectly on both desktop and mobile.
Benchmarkable Questions
And the last one is Benchmarkable questions. The usage of this question type is as confusing as its name as it does not have any specific format. The idea of these question types is comparison. As Benchmarkable questions have very accurate data results they are mostly used by governments and in voting measures. However, if you are keen to use this question type in your survey, it can help you get satisfaction or website feedback measurements.
Keep in mind!
- Surveys should be mobile-friendly
- Keep your respondents guessing. Do not put all your question on one page.
- Before putting your survey out to the public, Test it!
- Do not use the question types altogether.
- Keep it as short and precise as possible.
Now that you read about all the question types, you must do your own research to understand what your readers like better. You must know which question type to use and when to use it. Overloading your survey with open-ended questions might drive away people who prefer quick surveys, on the contrary, not giving any chance to your respondent to express their thoughts might affect the accuracy of the results. Questionnaires fully made with images choice questions are not easy to use on a mobile device, but one or two can be great destruction. So, do not forget about BALANCE, and you will 100% succeed.
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