Checkbox Grid Surveys: Examples + Template

Definition: A checkbox grid survey lets you capture multiple feedback points about one general subject. For example, a questionnaire asking about brand perception would have each brand in a row, and characteristics like trustworthiness and quality would be presented in columns. Some questionnaires also use a single-column checkbox grid to collect multiple responses to a single question.

Checkbox grid questions are best used when evaluating similar sub-questions using the same options. For example, a marketing consultant could use a checkbox grid question to determine how consumers perceive brand names. Brand names would be the rows, and the attributes consumers evaluate would be the columns.

With a checkbox grid, respondents can then select all relevant columns, such as trustworthiness and reliability. The consulting agency might find consumers find all brand names trustworthy except for one: their client. This data can now be used to help with marketing and brand reputation initiatives.

Sometimes, a checkbox survey is called a tick box or single-choice grid. In these cases, standard checkboxes are occasionally used for a single question. In our example with brand perception, each question would be a separate brand, and respondents can select as many answers as they agree with. The survey template provided here will also include the single-choice grid.

• Survey questions that ask when people would be available on certain days (rows) and specific time slots (columns)
• A personal trainer asking about what time of the day (columns) their clients eat certain foods (rows)
• A research project where a teacher asks what political figures (rows) display certain leadership characteristics (columns)

You can choose between two question types to create a checkbox grid survey. The first is a "Checkbox Table" with multiple rows and columns. The builder can upload rows and columns in bulk, like from a text document. To limit survey fatigue, we recommend no more than ten rows and no more than seven columns rows and ten columns.

The second question type, "Select Multiple," can be used if you're looking to create a single tick box or single-choice grid. With this question type, you can show all answers in a single--, two--, or three-column format. Questions with many options are better suited for a three-column format.

For some surveys, it could be beneficial to include an additional column at the end for "N/A" or "Not Applicable." This option will be at the bottom of the question editor. You can also customize the text of the "N/A" column.

For both checkbox-type questions, there is an option to uncheck other answers if a specific column or answer is marked. For example, if you're asking about multiple brands and reputations, you wouldn't want to allow someone to check both "trustworthy" and "unreliable." Or you may have a single-choice grid with an option for "none of the above." And if selected, all other choices would be automatically unmarked. This option helps you manage scenarios similar to this.

A multi-row checkbox grid on mobile devices will display each row separately, with the column choices as answer choices. For a single-choice grid, the answers will be displayed in the displayed column regardless of how many columns you have. Keep this on mobile devices in mind when designing. Break more extended questions into multiple questions.

• Require an answer (can not proceed until answered - each row much at have one checkmark )
• Display logic can be enabled for this question type - meaning this question will only show if previous questions have been answered a certain way

The easiest option for collecting responses for your checkbox grid survey is to use a web link or a QR code. With this response, people only need to click a link or scan a QR code on their phone to open the survey. You could use an email collector to track people who have opened the email or clicked the survey link. When protecting identities is essential, use an anonymous link.

If you're conducting a vote, such as with a labor negation contract, using a passcode option in your survey may be a good idea to ensure only eligible people can submit a vote. You could also mark the option "allow responses from multiple devices" if you want people to submit more than one vote.

Results will include the response counts per column and row, with a resulting bar chart. The bar chart can help visualize trends easily. Below, you can quickly see that brand A has a small response count of "Trustworthy." If a respondent did not answer a row, then that row would not contain any counts for that particular respondent.

In the Excel export, a checkbox grid question will row the rows as column headers, and each respondent row will contain a list of answers selected in a comma-separated list. If a respondent did not mark any columns for a specific row, then the resulting cell will be left blank. You can use the text-to-column feature in Excel to separate these answers into separate cells if needed.

Creating a segment report for each checkbox grid question can help identify hidden trends. In the above example with the consultant, you might include a question in your survey asking the respondents' age range. You could then create a segment report (or a cross-tabulation report) by age. The results will include the table shown above, separated by age. You may notice only the younger age bracket doesn't think the brand is trustworthy. The consulting agency could use a more targeted approach to boost brand trust.

Some research studies could benefit from a MaxDiff on Conjoint question, giving you extra data points. These question types will make it easier to evaluate longer lists while also giving you higher-quality data. In the example relating to brand reputation, you could create a MaxDiff question for each brand and then add in the attributes you wish to evaluate. Respondents would pick the most and least valued attribute from a small subset of your total list. The results give the probability of something being the most basic.

A conjoint question is similar to MaxDiff but allows you to add more attributes, such as pairing brand characteristics with price. This would help you determine both brand attributes and an optional price point. The results will give you a breakdown of what attribute is most valued along with the most valued level within an attribute.