Question Types
To help you select the SurveyMonkey question types which will best work for your survey and obtaining your desired data, the most commonly used question types are displayed according to the type of response they are used to collect. For a full list of available question types and more in depth descriptions on the types of questions listed below, view SurveyMonkey’s list of question types.
Click on a question type listed below to view its description:
Set (Close-Ended) Responses
Multiple Choice
Ask respondents to select from a list of up to 200 answer choices provided by the investigator. This can be set to accept either single or multiple responses from participants. An “Other” option can be added and relabeled to appear as an answer choice participants can specify or as a comment field where they can justify a response.
Dropdown
Ask respondents to select from a list of up to 200 answer choices provided by the investigator. This can be used in place of a single answer multiple choice question when the investigator wishes to save space.
Ranking and Rating Scales
Ranking
Provide a list of options and ask respondents to rank them in the order they prefer using numeric dropdown menus or drag-and-drop.
Matrix/Rating Scale
Use a Matrix/Rating Scale question if you want respondents to evaluate one or more row items using the same set of column choices. You can set the matrix question to collect multiple answers or only one answer per row. You also have the option to turn the matrix question into a rating scale when you want to assign weights to each answer choice.
A Single-Row Rating Scale can also be built from this question type to create a weighted multiple choice question.
Matrix of Dropdown Menus
Ask respondents to evaluate several items specified by the investigator using the same set of measurements. They can choose an answer from a preset list of answer choices provided by the investigator that are presented in a dropdown menu.
Open Ended Responses
Textboxes
Add a Single Textbox to your survey when you want respondents to write in a short text or numerical answer to your question. You can also specify answer length, and require and validate a number value, date format, or email address.
Multiple Textboxes can be used to collect multiple short text or numerical answers with a single question. You can also specify answer length, and require and validate a number value, date format, or email address. When using multiple textboxes, individual textbox labels must be provided in addition to the question statement.
Textboxes have a maximum character limit of 100 characters.
Comment Boxes
Use the comment or essay box to collect open-ended, written feedback from respondents. The size of a comment box can be adjusted to accept single lines of text (up to 100 characters) or a paragraph of text. Paragraphs of text can be adjusted to accept anywhere from 2 to 20 lines of text, each containing up to 100 characters for a maximum input of 2,000 characters.
Descriptive Information
Page Titles and Descriptions
Page titles (100 characters max) and page descriptions can be added to the top of your survey pages to inform participants about the survey questions they are about to answer.
Text
Insert additional text to your survey design to provide extra context or description to your respondents. Unlike a page description, this descriptive text can be placed anywhere you would place a question.
Images
Insert an image into your survey by uploading an image file or specifying the URL of an image on the web.
