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A Ranking question presents the respondent with the list of answer options which they are asked to rank or grade, giving the answers a score from 1 to the total number of answers.
Note: A Ranking object cannot be made "required".
In the example below - - the respondents are asked to rank the list of cars. In this case they must type 1 into the box beside the car they liked the most, 2 into the box beside the car they thought was second-best, and so on until they have typed 8 into the box beside the car they liked the least. The ranking must be indicated using numbers, the numbers must start from 1, and they must be consecutive.
Figure 1 - Example of a Ranked multi
You can convert a Ranking question to a Single, Multi, Open Text List or Numeric List if you need to; to do so right-click on the object in the Survey Tree and select Convert to.
Drag-n-Drop Ranking
In a Ranking question's Properties page, the Advanced WI Features tab includes the Drag-n-Drop Ranking option (go to The Advanced WI Features Tab for more information). This changes the layout of the list, presenting it as two columns. The column on the left is the list of items that are to be ranked, and the column on the right is the "finished" ranked list - .
Note that this option is only available if Rank by Click is not selected.
Figure 2 - The same ranked multi but using the Drag-n-Drop option
Now, instead of the respondents having to click into the boxes and type the appropriate numbers, they can drag a car from the list on the left and drop it into the desired numbered box in the column on the right. The objects can be dragged in any order, and they are moved rather than copied so there is no possibility of repeat entries in the "ranked" column. . The respondent can also move the objects by first clicking on them in the list on the left to select them, then clicking the > arrow button. In this case the objects fill the "ranked" column from the top down. However once an object has been moved into the "ranked" column, it can be moved up and down in the list, either by dragging or by clicking the up and down arrow buttons.
Note that you can replace the arrow button images with your own customized images.
Note: When using right-to-left (RTL) languages, the > and < buttons are automatically reversed.
Figure 3 - The items in the process of being ranked
Once the respondent has moved all the items into the column on the right, and is happy with the order, he/she clicks >> / Next in the normal manner to move on to the next question.
Rank By Click
In a Ranking question's Properties page, the Advanced WI Features tab includes the Rank by Click option (go to Advanced WI Features for more information). This presents the list as one column, and allows the respondent to merely click in the boxes in the desired order. The appropriate rank number will be placed in the box as the respondent clicks - .
Note that this option is only available if Drag-n-Drop Ranking is not selected.
Figure 4 - Using the Rank by Click functionality
If the respondent changes his/her mind and wishes to change the ranking order, they click again on the box containing the error and that ranking number is removed. The sequence of selections is remembered, and any remaining ranked boxes are then re-numbered to take into account the rank of the box that was de-selected.
Note: For interviewers using the CAPI system, the animation/transition functionality is not available.
Overriding the Button Images
The button images in the Ranking question (default is arrows) can be overridden using styles. To do this:
- Upload the custom images that you wish to use to the File Library (go to File Library Overview for more information).
- Create four new HTML styles with the type "Class", using the names:
- confirmit-rankedorder-add
- confirmit-rankedorder-remove
- confirmit-rankedorder-up
- confirmit-rankedorder-down
- For each style, add the link to your custom image (in the File Library) as the Background Image URL.
Note that if your custom images differ in size from the default images, you will also need to adjust the height and width (under Position) for each style accordingly.