Choosing the right question type is essential to designing surveys that are both engaging and insightful. Below is a breakdown of the main question groups, each with a brief description and the specific question formats included.
Regular Questions
The fundamentals of most research projects—these are your go-to tools for gathering structured quantitative data.
Includes:
- Radio Buttons – Single-choice selection
- Checkboxes – Multi-choice selection
- Combobox / Cascade – Dropdown menus, often used for hierarchical options
- Reorder – Ranking items by preference or importance
Context Questions
Use multimedia and instructional elements to create a more immersive and understandable experience for respondents.
Includes:
- Instruction Text – Clarify or guide without asking a question
- Image – Display visuals to support or frame questions
- Video – Embed clips to enrich context or simulate scenarios
Matrix Questions
Efficiently gauge opinions across multiple items or attributes. Ideal for capturing nuanced feedback on attitudes, importance, and satisfaction.
Includes:
- Sliders – Rate items on a continuum
- Progressive Matrix – Dynamic rating across rows
- Star / Smiley Rating – Visual scales for sentiment or satisfaction
- Distribute – Allocate values across categories
Qualitative Questions
Go beyond the numbers and capture the “why.” These tools help uncover the story behind your data.
Includes:
- Open-Ended Text – Freeform written responses
- Forms – Structured multi-field input
- Image Response – Upload or annotate images
- Video Response – Record verbal feedback
- Conversation AI – AI-powered verbatim coding and sentiment analysis
Specialty Questions
Discover unique tools that measure implicit reactions and uncover insights standard formats can’t reach.
Includes:
- Polarity Scale – Measure intensity of agreement or disagreement
- Side-by-Side – Compare attributes or options in parallel
- Heatmap – Click or highlight areas of an image
- Rapid Association – Capture instinctive word or concept associations
- Impression Dial – Track moment-by-moment reactions to stimuli
Research Tests
Advanced methodologies for choice modeling, product testing, and behavioral analysis.
Includes:
- MaxDiff – Identify most and least preferred items
- Van Konan – Prioritization and trade-off testing
- Topography – Explore layout or visual hierarchy
- Conjoint – Simulate real-world decision-making
- Shelf Test – Assess product visibility and appeal in a shelf layout
- Ecommerce – Test your products in real world, ecommerce environments, customizing and mimicking an online shopping experience for consumers.