{"id":6917,"date":"2012-12-12T06:25:40","date_gmt":"2012-12-12T14:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=6917"},"modified":"2025-03-13T20:57:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T03:57:07","slug":"rank-order-ratings-constant-sum-question-types-which-should-i-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/rank-order-ratings-constant-sum-question-types-which-should-i-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Rank Order, Ratings, Constant Sum Question Types – Which Should I Use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but my default question type to use for any survey is the multiple choice question type. \u00a0It’s easy, it doesn’t require a lot of work and I thought that it would give me more or less the same result as any other kind of question type.<\/p>\n

Then QuestionPro updated it’s ordering and ranking question types by adding all kinds of bells and whistles such as the “Drag and Drop” question type, and the “start rating” question type. \u00a0This made me wonder about what the difference was between each type and when I should use each.<\/p>\n

I did a little digging and here is what I’ve learned:<\/p>\n

A\u00a0rating<\/strong> question type is used to compare different items using a common rating scale such as 1-10 for example.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0ranking<\/strong> question asks you to compare a list of items to each other.<\/p>\n

Use a rating scale when you suspect and want to allow people to assign similar values to items. \u00a0This requires less thought on the part of the respondent. \u00a0On the other hand, if your intention is to get an ordered list of top rated items similar to a ranking — this may not happen, especially if you have a large number of respondents giving numerous items the same rating.<\/p>\n

If it’s critical for you to get to a specific order of items on your list where there can only be a single top-ranked item, then you should consider\u00a0rank<\/strong> order questions.<\/p>\n

Rating and ranking question types from QuestionPro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luckily, QuestionPro has numerous options for both rating and ranking questions<\/a> for you to choose from:<\/p>\n

\"rating<\/p>\n

Rank order<\/strong> is the first most basic question type. \u00a0With this question type you ask the respondent to rank all the items in the order they prefer. \u00a0So if you have 10 items, they would rate each option from 1 – 10 and enter those number in themselves.<\/p>\n

This option is the traditional rank-order question type. \u00a0But one downside of this question type is that it can frustrate respondents because they actually have to devote more thought to filling it out. \u00a0And if they give any two items the same rating – they will be asked to go back and fix their answers and this can lead to people either dropping out of the survey.<\/p>\n

Drag and drop.<\/strong> \u00a0This is a new feature on QuestionPro that actually allows respondents to manipulate the items on your list into the order they would like to see it in. \u00a0The reporting outcome or results are the same as in the rating scale. \u00a0It’s simply an improvement in the user experience and interface because it eliminates the confusion and the option of giving two items the same ranking.<\/p>\n

Constant sum<\/strong> is another traditional question type that is best used when you want to understand how the respondent would weigh or trade off competing priorities. \u00a0A typical example might be asking the respondent to assign a percentage number to the list of items so that they add up to 100%. \u00a0For example: What percentage of your day is spent doing the following activities?<\/p>\n