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Can you make a ranking question in Google Forms? Answered!

Can you make a ranking question in Google Forms? Well, not directly. But don’t worry just yet. There’s a workaround. Read this blog to learn more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

If you’ve ever created online quizzes or surveys, you’ve likely used Google Forms at some point. With lots of question types to choose from, customizable themes, and simple data management, Google Forms is a flexible platform that can be used for just about anything.

But can you make a ranking question in Google Forms, the kind where participants arrange their answers in a specific order? Well, no, and yes. Wait, I can explain. 

If I’m being honest, you can’t create a Google Forms ranking question directly. There’s no separate question type for this type of question. However, there’s a way to work things around if you’re a little smart. 

In this guide, I'll walk you through how to create ranking questions in Google Forms with just a bit of tweaking. 

What is a ranking question?

A ranking question is a type of closed-ended question where respondents rank the answer choices in a particular order. The order can be from most important to least important or from most likely to least likely.

Ranking questions are also called likert scale questions and are particularly useful for collecting quantitative data. 

Here’s a rank question example: 

Question: Rank the following features of a survey tool in order of importance (1 being the most important and 5 being the least important):

Answer choices: 

  1. Customizable Templates
  2. Multiple Question Types
  3. Real-time Data Analysis
  4. Integration with Other Apps
  5. Conditional Logic

Can you make a ranking question in Google Forms?

While there’s no direct “ranking question” option among the Google Forms question types, there’s a way to create makeshift ranking questions using a multiple-choice grid. 

When you select a multiple-choice grid option in Google Forms, a list of rows and columns will appear. You can customize these rows and columns to add your ranking items in rows and ranking scale in the column. 

For example, in the example question I used above, the answer choices go in rows, and the scale (1–5 from most important to least important) goes in columns. 

Since the process is a little tedious, let me show you how to create ranking questions in Google Forms in a step-by-step manner in the next section. 

How to add a ranking question in Google Forms?

Here are the exact steps you need to follow to create ranking questions in Google Forms using multiple choice grids. 

1. Start a new form

The very first step to creating ranking questions in Google Forms is to set up a new online form

Go to forms.google.com to land on the Google Forms homepage and click on the big + icon with the “Blank form” caption to start a new form. Alternatively, you can choose a template to get started with. 

Start a new form

Give your form a title and a description before we get into creating ranking questions. 

Give your form a title and a description

2. Add a multiple-choice question grid

Click on “Untitled Question” to open up the editable question field. You will see a list of question types in a drop-down menu right next to the question field. 

From the drop-down menu, select “Multiple Choice Grid.”

Add a multiple-choice question grid

Once you select “multiple choice grid,” rows and columns will appear beneath your question. 

Here, you will add the ranking items and the survey scales for your questions. 

add the ranking items

Let’s fill the rows and columns with the example question used above.

fill the rows and columns

3. Turn on the “Require a response in each row” option

Now that you have filled the question field with your ranking question and added the rows and columns, you need to set up the settings that allow for ranking. 

At the bottom right corner of the question field, you’ll see a toggle for “Require a response in each row.” Click to turn this on so that the respondents do not miss a row when answering the question. 

Turn on the “Require a response in each row” option

4. Limit responses to one response per column

While creating ranking questions in Google Forms, you need to make sure that every row gets a rank, and that each rank is used for only one answer.

To prevent your respondents from giving the same rank to more than one ranking item, click on the three dots at the bottom right section of your question field. Then, select “Limit to one response per column.”

Limit responses to one response per column

This action will ensure that only one ranking choice from 1 to 5 can be selected for each of the ranking rows. 

5. Shuffle the row order 

Right next to the ”Limit to one response per column” option, there’s also an option to “Shuffle row order.”

Now, shuffling the row order isn’t a necessary step. But, it’s a good idea to turn it on to avoid survey bias. It is natural for respondents to give the first few ranking choices a higher rank order simply because they are listed at the top. 

Shuffling answer choices for your respondents makes sure different people see the answer choices in a different order to protect your results from being skewed. 

Shuffle the row order 

6. Preview and share your form

And with that, you have just learned how to do a ranking question in Google Forms. Like any other form, it is always a good idea to preview your form by clicking on the eye icon at the top toolbar. 

Preview and share your form

View the form as if you were a respondent and fill it out to catch any errors that may have crept in while creating it. Once everything looks good to go, click on the purple “Send” button to share your form with ranking questions with potential respondents. 

There are three ways to share Google Forms: 

  • Sharing by email: Enter the email address of the recipients and an invitation to fill out the form will be sent from your Gmail account.
  • Sharing the link: You can directly share the link to the form through social media or direct messaging and anyone can fill it out using the link.
  • Embedding the HTML: You can also embed your form onto your website and website visitors will be able to directly fill in their response while they are on your site. 

Limitations of Google Forms ranking question

Google Forms is a tool for creating simple forms, but like most free services, it has some limitations when it comes to creating ranking questions.

Here are some of them.  

They’re difficult to set up

As demonstrated above, there’s no direct method to create ranking questions in Google Forms. Only the following question types can be added to a Google Forms survey: 

  • Short answer 
  • Paragraph 
  • Multiple choice 
  • Checkbox
  • Dropdown 
  • Linear scale 
  • Multiple choice grid 
  • Checkbox grid 

And although you can create a makeshift ranking question using a multiple-choice grid like I showed above, the process requires playing with settings that may end up in an error. 

Multiple choice grid doesn’t fit on mobile screens

One of the biggest limitations of using multiple choice grid for ranking questions is that the grid does not display well, sometimes not even on desktop screens. On mobile screens, it is almost impossible to see the entire grid in one frame. 

Respondents constantly have to glide right and left to answer multiple choice grid questions, which ruins the survey experience. 

Studies have explored how often people respond to online surveys on smartphones, with an average response rate of around 30%

Some estimates reach as high as 40%. When people taking surveys on mobile phones find it difficult to answer questions just because it doesn’t fit the screen well, the response rate is bound to go down. 

Analysis of ranking questions on Google Forms is too complex

The way responses of ranking questions in Google Forms are displayed makes it super hard to interpret the results. 

Ideally, you should get an automatic calculation and ranking of the answers from most to least popular or important. Instead, Google Forms uses a bar graph to show how many votes each item received for each rank.

Analyzing the data to determine overall rankings requires extra manual effort. You’d need to export the bar graph to an analysis tool or manually tally the results to figure out the top ranking choices.

FAQ

Is there a Likert scale in Google Forms?

There isn’t a clear likert scale in Google Forms, but you can work your way around it using its "Multiple Choice Grid" or "Linear Scale" question types. 

Is Likert scale a ranking scale?

Yes, Likert scale is a type of ranking scale that uses a range of answer choices from one extreme to another, such as strongly agree to strongly disagree. 

The middle point in a likert scale is often the neutral answer choice. The most commonly used likert scales are either 5-point scales or 7-point scales. 

Better alternative to Google Forms for ranking questions & more

Now that you’ve got the answer to the question, “Can you make a ranking question in Google Forms?” you know Google Forms do not offer the most efficient way.

Due to the limitations of ranking questions in Google Forms, Formaloo is recommended as an alternative. 

With Formaloo, you can create ranking questions in a much simpler manner without getting lost in rows, columns, and settings. You also get automated, real-time analytics and the ability to customize your form with various fonts and themes. 

Formaloo provides 200+ templates compared with only a handful available at Google Forms. 

Plus, you can integrate Formaloo with 3000+ other apps and set up automated workflows based on different rankings respondents submit. 

Get started with Formaloo for free today.

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Can you make a ranking question in Google Forms? Answered!