Everything you need to know about ranked choice questions in Google Forms

Trying to create ranking questions in Google Forms? While Google Forms is a popular tool for creating ranking surveys and collecting feedback, setting up proper ranking questions requires some creative workarounds. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through exactly how to create ranked choice questions in Google Forms, explore best practices, and highlight some important limitations to consider.

Understanding ranked choice questions

Before diving into the technical setup, let’s clarify what ranked choice questions are and why they’re valuable. Ranking questions ask respondents to order items based on their preferences or priorities. For example, you might ask employees to rank workplace benefits from most to least important, or customers to rank product features they’d most like to see improved.

These questions are particularly useful for:

• Understanding user preferences in order of priority
• Gathering feedback on feature improvements
• Conducting market research
• Making data-driven decisions about resource allocation
• Running preference polls or rank voting

Create ranked choice in Google Forms

While Google Forms doesn’t have a built-in ranking question type, you can create one using the Multiple Choice Grid option.

1. Create a new Google Form

• Go to forms.google.com
• Click the + icon to start a new form
• Add a title and description

2. Set up the multiple choice grid

• Click the + button to add a new question
• Select “Multiple choice grid” from the question type dropdown
• Enter your ranking question in the question field

3. Add your options

• In the “Rows” section, add each item you want respondents to rank
• In the “Columns” section, add numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) representing the ranking positions

4. Configure essential settings

• Click the “Required” toggle to make the question mandatory
• Click the three dots menu (⋮)
• Select “Limit to one response per column”
• Optional: Enable “Shuffle row order” to randomize options

5. Test your form

• Click the “Preview” icon (eye symbol)
• Complete the form as a respondent would
• Verify that duplicate rankings aren’t allowed

We've also prepared a comprehensive step-by-step tutorial on how to add a ranking question in Google Forms that could be helpful.

Best practices for Google Forms ranking questions

To get the most useful data from your ranking questions:

Keep options manageable

• Limit choices to 5-7 items when possible
• Consider breaking up longer lists into separate questions
• Group related items together

Provide clear instructions

• Explain whether 1 or 5 is “most important”
• Include example responses if helpful
• Specify if all items must be ranked

Consider mobile users

• Test your form on mobile devices
• Remember that scrolling horizontally can be awkward
• Keep question text concise

Understanding and analyzing ranking results

One challenge with Google Forms ranking questions is analyzing the results. Here’s how to make sense of your data:

Viewing basic results

• Open your form
• Click the “Responses” tab
• View the automatic charts and graphs

For deeper analysis

• Click the Google Sheets icon to export responses
• Create pivot tables to aggregate rankings
• Calculate average rankings for each option
• Generate visualizations to communicate findings

Limitations of ranked choice in Google Forms

While the multiple choice grid workaround can function as a ranking question, it has several drawbacks:

User experience issues

• Grid format can be confusing
• No drag-and-drop functionality
• Horizontal scrolling on mobile
• Easy to make mistakes when selecting options

Analysis limitations

• No built-in ranking analysis
• Manual data processing required
• Can’t easily track partial rankings
• Limited visualization options

When to consider Formaloo instead

If ranking questions are important for your use case, you may want to consider a platform like Formaloo that offers native ranking question support. With Formaloo, you can:

Create true ranking questions

• Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
• Mobile-optimized experience
• Clear visual feedback for users
• Automatic error prevention

Get better analytics

• Built-in ranking analysis
• Visual preference tracking
• Export options for deeper analysis
• Integration with other tools

Plus advanced features like:

• Conditional logic based on rankings
• Custom styling and branding
• Enterprise-grade security
• Powerful API access

Final notes on ranked choice questions in Google Forms

While it’s possible to create ranking questions in Google Forms using the multiple choice grid, the process has significant limitations. For basic surveys where ranking isn’t critical, the workaround may be sufficient. However, for professional use cases where you need reliable ranking data and good user experience, consider a dedicated form builder with native ranking support like Formaloo.Want to see how much easier ranking questions can be? Try Formaloo free for 14 days and experience the difference yourself.