There are different types of market research questions:
1. Open-ended questions - These are questions which give the respondent the choice of the content, the form and the length of the answer.
2. Close-ended questions - These are questions which impose the form and a limited number of possible answers on the respondent. Within this family we have 3 groups:
a) Dichotomous questions: When a question has two possible responses, we consider it dichotomous. Surveys often use dichotomous questions that ask for a Yes/No, True/False or Agree/Disagree response
b) Multiple choice questions with a single answer: the respondent has to choose one answer among more than 2 options
c) Multiple choice questions with multiple answers: the respondent can choose one or several answers among more than 2 modalities.
3. The scaled questions - These questions are aimed at measuring a belief, a will, the importance given to something, etc. Various scales exist :
a) Likert scale: this measure how much one agrees or not to a given statement.
b) Semantic differential: the interviewee is asked to choose where his or her position lies, on a scale between 2 bipolar adjectives, expressions or sentences.
c) Unidimensional semantic: scales on which wordings are equally distant from each other on a psychological point of view.
d) Intent scale: the objective of this type of question is to measure a declared behaviour intention from the interviewee.
e) Smiling face scale: these scales allow studies on populations whose treatment capacities are limited or vary from our own.