Understanding the different question types in Freshsurvey

Customer surveys are indispensable for gathering invaluable feedback and insights from your target audience. By seeking input directly from customers, you gain valuable perspectives on their experiences, preferences, and needs. To ensure meaningful responses, effective survey structuring is crucial. A pivotal aspect of survey design lies in selecting appropriate survey question types. Tailoring your questions to gather specific and relevant information enhances the quality of the data collected. From multiple-choice questions to open-ended prompts, the right mix of question types allows you to gain comprehensive and actionable insights, empowering your business to make informed decisions and deliver improved products and services that resonate with your customers.

Let’s take a look at the various survey question types that Freshsurvey offers and understand when not to use or when to implement each question type.

Multiple Choice Single Answer: 

A Multiple Choice Single Answer, also known as a Radio button, is a type of question format commonly used in surveys, questionnaires, and forms.

In this survey question type, respondents are presented with a list of options or answer choices, and they are required to select only one option that they believe best represents their response or preference. The term “Radio button” refers to the circular selection buttons often used in online surveys or forms, where respondents click on the circle next to their chosen option to indicate their answer. Once a radio button is selected for one option, all other options are automatically deselected, ensuring that respondents can only choose one answer for the question.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Gathering demographic data like age, gender, occupation, designation, etc.
  • Assessing preferences or choices among a set – e.g, prioritizing feature options.
  • Evaluating opinions towards any particular topic.
  • Conducting market research e.g. brand preferences, purchase habits, brand awareness, etc.
  • Segmenting the audience based on satisfaction, likelihood, frequency of product usage, etc.

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When the answer options are not mutually exclusive: If the options can overlap or if respondents could select more than one option. For example, a question asks, “Which social media platform do you use the most?” The answer options include “Facebook,” “Twitter,” and “Instagram.” However, respondents who primarily use both may find it challenging to choose a single option, as their usage is split between the two platforms.

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Quick and easy for respondents to answer.
  • Provides structured data that can be easily analyzed.
  • Allows for direct comparisons and statistical analysis of responses.

Long Text Question :

A long-text survey question, or an open-ended or free-text question, is a type of question format commonly used in surveys and questionnaires. Unlike multiple-choice questions, which provide predefined answer options, a long text answer question allows respondents to answer in their own words, providing detailed and unrestricted responses.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Exploring in-depth to delve deeper into respondents’ thoughts or suggestions.
  • Gathering feedback on complex issues or nuanced topics.
  • Uncovering unforeseen insights to identify alternate viewpoints or unique experiences.
  • Collecting testimonials or success stories.
  • Conducting qualitative research on underlying motivations, behavioral patterns, etc.

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When time is limited, or respondent engagement is a concern: Open-ended questions can be time-consuming for respondents – respondent attention and engagement might wane.
  • Long answer texts always need to come with instructions, like mentioning the length of the expected answer. A question asks, “Describe your experience with our customer support.” In this case, some respondents may provide lengthy paragraphs with extensive details, while others may offer brief one-sentence answers.
  • A better version would be – “Based on your recent experience with our support staff, do you have any suggestions for our support processes or anything that we can improve on. Please limit your answer to 7-10 sentences.”

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Enables respondents to provide rich and detailed feedback.
  • Allows for the expression of unique perspectives and ideas.
  • Provides opportunities to uncover valuable insights that may not have been discovered otherwise.

Multiple Choice Multiple Answers: 

Multiple Choice Multiple Answers, also known as Checkboxes, are a type of survey question format in which respondents are presented with a list of options or answer choices, and they can select one or more options that apply to their response. The term “Checkboxes” refers to the square or rectangular boxes often used in online surveys or forms, where respondents can mark or check multiple options that they believe are relevant to their answers.

Unlike Multiple Choice Single Answer questions (Radio buttons), which allow respondents to select only one option, Multiple Choice Multiple Answers (Checkboxes) allow respondents to choose more than one option if applicable.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Multiple valid choices e.g. preferred communication channels.
  • Assessing preference points or priorities / identifying popular choices or trends.
  • Evaluating usage patterns. 
  • Exploring opinions on multi-dimensional topics – e.g. factors influencing choice of vacation destinations or factors influencing “add to cart” decisions.
  • Understanding diverse customer segments.

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When the question does not have multiple valid answers: If the question is intended to have only one correct or appropriate answer, using this could result in respondents selecting multiple options even when they shouldn’t. 
  • Here’s an example of a poorly designed Multiple Choice Multiple Answers question in a SaaS (Software as a Service) context:
    • Question: Which of the following features do you want to see in our software? Select all that apply:
      • Improved user interface
      • Enhanced data security
      • Faster performance
      • Advanced analytics and reporting
      • Better customer support
      • Lower pricing

The question suffers from several issues, including a lack of prioritization, overlapping options, omitted important features, and the absence of a “None” or “Not applicable” option. The lack of prioritization makes it difficult to understand the true preferences of respondents, as they may select all options regardless of their actual importance. The overlapping options create confusion and hinder the accurate analysis of preferences.

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Offers flexibility for respondents with diverse opinions or preferences.
  • Enables the identification of popular choices among multiple options.
  • Helps capture nuances in respondents’ selections.

Rating Scale:

A rating scale is a type of survey question that measures respondents’ opinions, attitudes, or perceptions using a predefined scale. The scale typically consists of several response options representing different levels of agreement, satisfaction, or intensity. The most common type of rating scale is the Likert scale, which typically includes five or seven response options, ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” or “Very Dissatisfied” to “Very Satisfied.” Respondents are asked to choose the option that best reflects their opinion or sentiment.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Measuring satisfaction or customer experience.
  • Gathering effort on particular actions – ease of use or feedback on reliability, performance, etc.
  • Assessing agreement or disagreement on a spectrum of opinions.
  • Evaluation importance – e.g., travel preference factors like price, location, amenities, etc.
  • Tracking changes over time with periodic surveys. 

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When the question requires qualitative, narrative, or descriptive responses: Rating Scale questions are limited to capturing quantitative responses on a scale.
  • Here’s an example of a poorly designed Rating Scale survey question in an employee feedback context:
    • Question: “Rate your overall satisfaction with the company culture on a scale of 1 to 10.” The poorly designed Rating Scale question in an employee feedback context lacks clarity in the rating scale and criteria, limits response options to a numerical scale without alternatives, and lacks contextual information, hindering accurate and meaningful feedback from respondents.
    • An improved version could be where you can ask separate Likert Scale questions to evaluate the various aspects of company satisfaction. For example, “Please rate your level of satisfaction with communication and transparency in our company, where 1 represents ‘Very Dissatisfied,’ and 5 represents ‘Very Satisfied.’

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Provides a standardized measurement for comparison and analysis.
  • Yields quantitative data, allowing for statistical analysis and trend identification.
  • Enables the assessment of trends or changes over time.

Yes/No Answers:

A Yes/No question in a survey is a type of closed-ended survey question that requires respondents to choose between two possible responses: “Yes” or “No.” This straightforward question format is typically used to gather direct and concise information from survey participants.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Simple binary decisions.
  • Basic eligibility criteria.
  • Quick opinion assessment.
  • Gatekeeping questions.
  • Validation or confirmation.
  • Basic demographic information like identifying whether the respondent has children or not, whether the respondent is of a certain age, if they are home owners, etc. 

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When nuanced or conditional responses are needed: Yes/No questions offer a binary choice and may not capture the complexity of certain situations or opinions.
  • For example, take this question – “Have you purchased a product from our online store in the last six months?” Respondents who purchased but later returned might be uncertain about how to answer. They may wonder if the question refers to purchases or only completed transactions. The better option would be to ask ” Did you make a purchase from our online store in the last six months, excluding returns?”

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Simplicity and ease of response for participants.
  • A quick and efficient way to gather binary data.
  • Useful for assessing the prevalence of a specific attribute or behavior.

Short Text:

A short-text question is an open-ended survey question that allows respondents to provide brief and concise responses in their own words. Unlike multiple-choice questions that provide predefined options, short-answer questions give respondents the freedom to express their thoughts, opinions, or feedback without any restrictions on the length of their responses.

These questions typically involve asking respondents to provide short, single-sentence answers or use just a few words to address the question prompt.

These questions are most commonly used in surveys for:

  • Specific feedback or suggestions.
  • Capturing personal experience briefly.
  • Qualitative research or gathering brief opinions on certain topics.
  • Gathering an overview about any topic/experience, etc.

It is important to not use these questions in the following scenarios: 

  • When a high degree of specificity is required: Short Answer questions provide brief, open-ended responses.
    • For example, “What improvements would you suggest for our website?” Some respondents might misunderstand the question as asking for technical issues and providing detailed suggestions for bug fixes, while others may focus on design aesthetics or content improvements, resulting in varied and divergent responses.
  • Often, this is confused between Long-Text questions and MCQ questions.
    • For example, consider “What do you like most about our product?”. Respondents are encouraged to provide a short answer, expressing the key aspect they appreciate the most about the product, which can be subjective. But a question that targets the improvements needed in-product, is better off shared as a long-text / paragraph question or a multiple-choice question.

Some advantages of this survey question type include:

  • Allows for a focused response to targeted inquiries.
  • Provides a balance between open-ended and structured data collection.
  • Enables respondents to share key information without excessive effort.

 

Our two cents

The diverse types of survey questions, such as multiple-choice, rating scale, and short answer questions, are crucial in extracting valuable insights and feedback from survey participants for various purposes. Harnessing these survey question formats empowers businesses, researchers, and organizations to gather well-rounded data, leading to informed strategies and tailored solutions. With Freshsurvey’s comprehensive platform, users can craft engaging surveys that encompass various question types to suit their specific research objectives. Furthermore, its robust analytics capabilities empower users to extract actionable insights from the collected data, enabling informed decision-making and fostering growth.

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