Multiple Choice question type
About the Multiple Choice question type
The Multiple Choice question type lets respondents select several answer options at once — unlike Single Choice, where only one answer is possible. It's particularly well suited to questions where several statements, characteristics or preferences can apply at the same time.
Typical use cases for Multiple Choice questions:
- Which of the following features are especially important to you in an app?
- On which days of the week do you typically shop online?
- What are your reasons for not buying a product?
- Which communication channels do you use regularly in your daily work?
- Which symptoms have you noticed in the past 7 days?
These examples show that the Multiple Choice question type works for a wide range of scenarios — from behavioral questions to attitudes to symptom checks or multi-response categorizations. Whenever several answers are allowed or make sense at the same time, this question type is the right choice.
Questions of this type can also be supplemented with a free-text option ("Other: _____"). As with Single Choice, several layout variants are available, letting you adapt the display to the situation at hand.
Variants of the question type
QUESTIONSTAR offers several layout variants for Multiple Choice questions. They differ in how the answer options are arranged and allow flexible design — depending on the number of options, the available space and the device.
You can choose the specific variant via the "Question Type" tab in the settings panel on the right, or change it later at any time.
👉 More info: Change the question type later
The following layout variants are available:
Vertical, checkbox on the left
Classic layout: options are shown one below the other, with the checkbox to the left of the text.
This is the default display and works for most classic multiple-choice questions.Vertical, checkbox on the right
As above — but the checkbox is to the right of the text. Especially suitable for very short answer texts and for a more accessible display on mobile devices.
Horizontal
Answer options are shown side by side in a single row — ideal for short terms or scales with only a few alternatives.
Especially space-saving and visually compact.Rows
The options are displayed row by row — with the checkbox to the left of the text.
Unlike the horizontal variant, longer lists automatically wrap onto multiple rows.
Very well suited to mobile devices: space-saving and clear at the same time.Columns
The answer options are automatically distributed across several columns — ideal when there are a great many choices.
You can set the number of columns individually in the question settings.
Question-type-specific settings
The Multiple Choice question type offers a range of settings that let you fine-tune the behavior and display of the answer options:
Minimum Answers
Defines how many answer options respondents must select at minimum.
This setting is useful, for example:
- When at least two sources for a decision should be given.
- When reporting symptoms: "Please select at least two symptoms you experienced in the past 7 days."
- When it's about selecting "important criteria" — e.g. in a job search.
Important: Respondents can only leave the page once the required number has been reached — even if the question itself was not marked as "required."
Maximum Answers
Limits the number of answer options that may be selected.
Especially helpful:
- For long lists, when you only want to learn the most relevant answers.
- When you ask, for example: "Which of the following measures would you recommend? (Maximum 3 selections)"
Number of Columns (column layout only)
Specify how many columns should be used to display the answer options — e.g. 2, 3 or 4 columns.
This setting helps present long lists more compactly and clearly — especially on larger screens.
Random order of answer options
When enabled, the answer options are reshuffled each time the question is loaded by a new respondent.
This reduces possible answer tendencies caused by position bias (e.g. favoring the first or last options).
→ More info: Random orderCommon Prefix / Common Postfix
Optional text shown before or after each answer option — e.g. "approx.", units such as "kg", "€", "minutes" or symbols such as "#".
Especially helpful when the alternatives contain values or size specifications.
Display Mode
The type of selection controls (classic checkboxes or visual buttons) is defined globally in the survey layout.
However, you can override this setting for individual questions to use a different appearance where needed.Show Scale Labels (horizontal layout only)
Displays additional labels to the left and right of the scale — for example to clarify the meaning of the scale poles.
In practice, this feature is rarely used with Multiple Choice questions, since this isn't a scale in the classic sense.Note: If you know of a meaningful use case, we'd love your feedback! ;)
Answer option settings
Every answer option of a Multiple Choice question can be customized individually. To do so, click the gear icon in the help menu of the respective option.
👉 More info: Help menu for options
The following settings are available:
Highlight item
Gives the answer option a colored background highlight — e.g. to emphasize a particularly important or recommended choice.
Enabled by default
This answer is already preselected when the questionnaire loads.
Useful, for example, for:
- a typical choice ("I agree"),
- preset default values ("no answer"),
- frequently chosen answers ("Online shop" as the most-used sales channel).
Reset other answers
Enable this option for alternatives such as:
- "None of the listed options"
- "None of the above"
- "No answer"
When this option is selected, all other already-chosen answers are automatically deselected — and vice versa.
This improves data quality, since contradictory answers (e.g. "none" and two specific selections) are avoided.Prefix and postfix text
Add individual text before or after the respective answer option.
Example:
- Only for certain units ("approx.", "minutes", "people")
- Currency symbols ("€") only for relevant alternatives
Note: If you want a global prefix/postfix for all options, use the corresponding question-type settings instead.
Add text field
Adds a free-text field to the answer option. Ideal for "Other" answers or when additional input is expected.
"Other" answer required
Forces an entry in the free-text field as soon as this answer is selected.
Disable this option if an empty text entry should also be allowed.Text field placeholder text
An explanatory hint text in the empty free-text field — such as "Please enter" or "e.g. minutes".
It isn't saved, but helps orient respondents.