In this post, I discuss the different types of questions in KoboToolbox and provide practical examples.
Select one
A type of question for which the researcher provides a list of options from which the respondents can only select one option.
Example:
- What is your highest level of education?
Select many
A type of question for which the researcher provides a list of options from which the respondents can only select multiple options.
Example:
- From the following list of electronics, which one(s) does your household own? Select all that apply: Radio, television, personal computer, laptop, feature phone, smartphone, cooker, microwave, fridge, printer
Text
This question is appropriate for responses that require the researcher or user to input as free text. It is best used in situations where the researcher cannot anticipate all the possible responses.
Examples:
- What is your name?
- What is the name of your school?
Number
This type of question is used for responses that are whole numbers or integers.
Examples:
- How many children do you have?
- How many cars do you own?
- How many students are in your class?
Decimal
This type of question is used for responses that are fractions or with decimals (e.g, 2.5, ¼, etc)
Examples:
- How many years of experience do you have with the bank?
- How far is your child’s school from your home (in kilometers)?
- How far is the nearest health facility from your home (in kilometers)?
Range
This type of question is used for responses that are in range rather than a specific value. It is also used when the user wants to limit the responses to a value in a given range. In this case, the user must define the start and end points of the range of values.
Examples:
- How much income (in range) do you earn from your farm on a monthly basis?
- What is your age group?
Rating
This type of question allows the user to rate a question or a set of questions based on some defined criteria. It is best used for Likert-type questions.
Examples:
- How satisfied are you with your working environment (where 1-extremely unsatisfied and 5-extremely satisfied)?
- How likely are you to refer others to our services (where 1-highly unlikely and 10 highly likely)?
Question matrix
The question matrix is used when the researcher wants to collect multiple similar information on several variables. The question matrix is displayed in a table with the rows representing the variables and the columns representing the different types of information to be collected from each variable.
Example:
| Age | Gender | Weight at birth | Has suffered from malaria | Has suffered from pneumonia | Ever been admitted in hospital | |
| First child | ||||||
| Second child | ||||||
| Third child | ||||||
| Fourth child | ||||||
| Fifth child |
Ranking
This type of question is used when the researcher wants the respondents to rank some items.
Example:
- Please rank the following items in order of importance (with 1 being the most important): education, home ownership, car ownership, family, friends, colleagues.
Calculate
This type of question allows the user to do some calculations based on previous responses from the form.
Example:
- Calculate the per capita income of a household.
For you to do this calculation, you need to have collected responses on: 1) the household income, and 2) the size of the household. To get the per capita income, you simply divide the household income by the household size.
Date
This type of question is used for responses that are in date format. The default date format is year, month, and date.
Examples:
- When was the last time you took part in a general election?
- When did you start your training?
Time
This type of question is used for responses that are in time format. The default time format is hour and minute.
Examples:
- What time do you eat dinner?
- What time do you leave for work in the morning?
Date & Time
This type of question is used for responses that require both date and time.
Examples:
- On what date and at what time is your appointment with the dentist?
- On what date and at what time is the next Board meeting?
Point
This question type is used when the researcher needs to know the location of a place, building, or feature. It enables the user to record the latitude and longitude coordinates of the location in question.
Example:
- Where is your nearest health facility located?
Line
This question is also used to record the location, but unlike the point coordinates, it provides more than one point coordinate that are connected to form some sort of line showing the movement from one point to another.
Example:
- What route do you use to move from your home to the nearest health facility?
Area
This is similar to the line question, with the difference being that the area question allows the user to show the boundaries of a certain building or feature.
Example:
- Kindly show the boundaries of the community football field.
Photo
This type of question allows the user to attach a photo or take a photo if using a mobile device.
Example:
- Take a photo of the children playing football.
- Take a photo of the healthcare workers administering the vaccine.
Audio
This type of question allows the user to attach an audio recording.
Video
This type of question allows the user to attach a video or record a video if using a mobile device.
File
This type of question allows the user to upload a file.
Note
The note option is not used to get any response from respondents, but rather it is used for including instructions either to the respondent or to the research assistant collecting the data.
Barcode / QR Code
This option is used to capture the barcodes or QR codes during data collection.
Example:
- Capture the respondents’ vaccination certificates by scanning the QR codes in their digital certificates.
Acknowledge
This type of question is best used to obtain consent, agreement, or acknowledgement from the respondents. The default response is “OK”, which, if checked, allows the user to proceed to the next question.
Example:
- Do you agree to take part in this interview?
Important points to consider when creating questions in KoboToolbox
Use the question hint option to provide a hint to your respondents on what is expected of them. For instance, for a question on distance, you can specify whether you want the response in kilometres or metres. For a question on size, you can specify whether you want the response in feet, inches, metres squared, etc.
Grouping questions: you can use this feature when you have many questions that you would like to categorise into different sections. For example, you can group demographic questions into one section, then the rest of the questions into a different section. To group questions:
- Select all the questions that you want to group.
- From the tool bar, select “create group with selected questions.
- Name the questions e.g background information
- The following images show the process of grouping questions together.
Example 1:
Example 2:
Always preview the form to see how the questions look. To view the form, download the file below.
Practice Exercise
For each of the following statements or questions, indicate the type of question that is appropriate to use when creating a questionnaire in Kobo Toolbox.
| Statement / Question | Question Type | |
| 1 | What is the name of your first-born child? | |
| 2 | How old is your first-born child? | |
| 3 | What type of school did you attend in your primary level? Public school Private school | |
| 4 | What is the distance between your farm and the main road? | |
| 5 | How long have you worked at the facility? | |
| 6 | How big is your house (in square metres)? | |
| 7 | On what date and time is your next well-baby clinic? | |
| 8 | Kindly rate your level of satisfaction with the following services at our facility (where 1-not at all satisfied and 5-very satisfied): Triage, Consultation, Laboratory, Waiting time, Pharmacy Admission | |
| 9 | Do you give us consent to proceed with the interview? | |
| 10 | How important is proximity of your home to school when choosing a school for your child? (where 1-not at all important and 10-very important) | |
| 11 | Please capture a picture of the house. | |
| 12 | Please take a video showing the football club training in action. | |
| 13 | Please attach your consent form. | |
| 14 | Calculate the age of the respondents |
Related posts
KoboToolbox Tutorial #1: Introduction to KoboToolbox for Data Collection
KoboToolbox Tutorial #2: Form Development in KoboToolbox
KoboToolbox Tutorial #4: Form Development in KoboToolbox: A Video Illustration