How (and when) to use multiple choice questions
Perfect multiple choice questionnaires for research. Write clear multiple choice questions that provide actionable feedback and survey data.
Multiple choice questions are a leading question style that researchers can use to get the data they need. But what makes a good multiple-choice question, and how can companies use them to generate insightful information from their respondents?
In this article, we’ll discuss the various survey question types, touch on the power of multiple-choice questions, outline different ways of using them, and give examples of great use cases of these question styles.
What are multiple-choice questions?
Multiple choice questions are survey response formats that offer respondents a selection of answers. Respondents can select one or several responses from a closed selection of choices.
Multiple choice questions are a typical type of closed-ended question. They are useful for generating quantifiable data for analysts to use. You could pair a multiple-choice question with an open-ended question that asks respondents to explain their reasoning for selecting the response they gave.
What does multiple-choice look like?
In a multiple-choice question, respondents will choose the answer that most closely aligns with their opinion from a set number of options. Answer options can either be worded or use a numbered rating scale format.
One of the reasons that multiple-choice questions are so powerful is because they help produce highly analyzable data. As they are closed-ended questions, they will generate responses that all fall into the same categories. Researchers can see the proportion of answers favored by respondents, facilitating quantitative research.