Matrix Questions

What is a matrix question?

A matrix question is a group of multiple-choice questions made up of rows and columns. The columns are used for a set of predefined answer choices that apply to each row, while the rows are anything from individual words, to full descriptive statements.

They are particularly beneficial when you want to ask the same question about multiple things, making it possible to use one matrix question instead of re-writing the same question over and over.

Example:

How important or unimportant are the following attributes when deciding which product to buy?

	Not at all important	Not very important	Somewhat important	Very important	Extremely important
Tastes great	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο
Low price	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο
Variety of flavor options	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο	Ο

Keeping an eye out for respondent experience

However, when using a matrix it's critical that we think of the respondent experience, especially for those taking your survey on a mobile device (which is most of them!).

On mobile devices, many survey platforms will automatically break up your matrix into individual questions, with one row per screen and the columns as the answer choices. This experience is more user-friendly for small screens and reduces the chances of someone selecting the wrong thing due to condensed real estate, issues with scrolling to see all columns etc.

This means that instead of seeing 1 matrix with 10 rows, they're really seeing 10 identical questions back to back! We must be mindful of this when writing surveys to account for the appropriate length of interview and avoiding respondent fatigue.

Example:

How important or unimportant are the following attributes when deciding which product to buy?

Tastes great

Not at all important
Not very important
Somewhat important
Very important
Extremely important

How important or unimportant are the following attributes when deciding which product to buy?

Low price

Not at all important
Not very important
Somewhat important
Very important
Extremely important

How important or unimportant are the following attributes when deciding which product to buy?

Variety of flavor options

Not at all important
Not very important
Somewhat important
Very important
Extremely important

Currently, Highlight uses this mobile-first experience for all device types, and matrices will always be presented as individual questions. This allows for consistent respondent experience and data capture regardless of device type.

You can still choose to randomize the rows/questions and/or show them all on the same page in case you want respondents to see everything together.

Viewing your matrix data in Insights

In Insights, matrix questions will show up as individual questions. You can utilize Scorecards to build custom views if you'd like to see any of the metrics side by side (e.g. create Top 2 Box entries for each row of your matrix)