Choosing the right question type is key to getting clear, reliable insight from your survey. Each question type in Attest is designed for a specific purpose, from understanding preferences to prioritising features or capturing detailed feedback.

This article explains the main question types available in Attest, what they are best used for, and when to choose one over another. For guidance For guidance on writing clear, unbiased questions, see our guide to writing good survey questions.

Single choice questions allow respondents to select one answer from a list of options.

They are best used when:

Common examples include brand choice, primary behaviour, or most-preferred option.

Single choice questions are simple for respondents to answer and easy to analyse, making them a good default where appropriate.

Multiple choice questions allow respondents to select more than one answer from a list. You can limit how many options respondents can select, or allow them to choose as many as apply.

They work well when:

Examples include brand awareness, feature usage, or behaviours that overlap.

Ranked questions ask respondents to order a list of options from most to least preferred.

They are useful when:

When using ranked questions, respondents must rank all options you include. For example, if you add eight options, respondents will be asked to rank all eight, not just their top three.

Because ranking can be cognitively demanding, keep option lists as short as possible. If you need to prioritise a longer list of items or want more robust results, consider using MaxDiff instead.

MaxDiff questions are used to understand relative importance by asking respondents to choose the most and least important items from small sets of options.

They are particularly useful when:

MaxDiff is more robust than simple ranking for larger lists, but requires careful setup. For detailed guidance, see our guide to getting started with MaxDiff research.

Grid questions ask respondents to answer the same scale or set of answer options for multiple items.

They are commonly used to:

A grid question typically combines:

Grid questions can be single choice or multiple choice. Subjects and answers can be randomised, though scales should usually remain in a fixed order to avoid confusion.

Grid questions are powerful, but should be used carefully to avoid respondent fatigue.

NPS is a standardised question used to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. Respondents are asked how likely they are to recommend a brand, product or service on an 11-point scale.

Responses are grouped into:

NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters, resulting in a score between –100 and 100.

In Attest, NPS is calculated automatically. NPS works best when tracked over time or compared across brands, and is often followed by an open text question to understand the reasons behind the score.

Open text questions allow respondents to answer in their own words.

They are best used when:

You can ask respondents to provide more than one free text response to the same question. This can be helpful when you want people to list multiple reasons, ideas or associations. You can also label each response field individually. These labels appear in your results and allow you to filter and analyse responses more easily.

While open text provides rich insight, it requires more effort to analyse. Attest includes AI-powered tools to help summarise and explore open text responses.

Video response questions allow respondents to record short video answers instead of typing a response.

They are best used when:

Video responses are a qualitative research method and work well alongside quantitative questions. For detailed guidance, see our guide to getting started with video responses.

Many of the most effective surveys combine quantitative and qualitative question types. Quantitative questions help you understand what is happening and how different groups compare, while qualitative questions such as open text and video responses help explain why. Using both together often leads to clearer, more confident decisions.