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# Ranked Choice Questions
Ranked choice questions ask participants to put options in order of priority, so your results show which issues matter most rather than only which ones got picked.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Beta feature.** Ranked Choice is currently available as a beta release. Features and interface details may change as we refine the experience.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Survey Creator access required.** Only users with the Survey Creator permission can add or edit questions on the Design Survey page.
{% endhint %}
### What ranked choice does
A ranked choice question asks participants to rank a set of options instead of simply selecting them. The most common pattern is a top-N question such as "rank your top 3 reasons for leaving". The participant selects 3 options from the list and puts them in order, first through third. Compass records that order and reports the share of participants who ranked each option 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
Unlike a checkbox question, which tells you only how often an option was selected, a ranked choice question tells you how much weight participants gave it. That lets a leader focus action on the highest weighted issues instead of treating every selected option as equally urgent.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Best suited to exit surveys.** Ranked choice was built for exit survey questions such as reasons for leaving, where knowing the top reason matters more than knowing every reason. You can use it in any survey type.
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### Add a ranked choice question
1. Open your survey and click **Design Survey**.
2. Select the **Ranked Choice** question type.
3. Enter the question title, for example "Rank your top 3 reasons for leaving."
4. Add a description if the question needs extra instruction.
5. Enter the options participants will rank, one per option.
6. Set **Maximum choices to select** to the number of options a participant may rank. For a top 3 question, set it to 3.
{% hint style="info" %}
**The maximum controls the ranking, not the option list.** You can offer 8 options and still ask for a top 3. Participants select 3 of the 8 and rank only those 3.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="warning" %}
**Leave the maximum at 0 and there is no limit.** Participants can then rank every option the question offers. Set the maximum deliberately unless unlimited ranking is what you want.
{% endhint %}
### Pair it with a follow-up question
Ranking tells you which option came first. A follow-up question tells you why. On an exit survey, adding a question that asks the participant to explain their top-ranked reason produces the strongest data, because you can later read those comments filtered to the people who ranked that option first.
Use survey logic to show the follow-up question only to the participants whose answer warrants it. See Survey Logic and Display Conditions.
### What a participant sees
The question presents the option list alongside a separate ranking area.
A participant selects an option to move it into the ranking area. Position in that area is the rank, so the first option they place is 1st, the second is 2nd, and so on. When they reach the maximum, the remaining options become unavailable. Removing a ranked option frees a slot and makes the remaining options selectable again. Ranked options can be reordered at any time before the participant submits.
The question shows the cap to the participant, for example "Please rank no more than 3."
{% hint style="info" %}
**Only ranked options are recorded.** Compass stores the ordered list of options the participant ranked. An option left unranked is absent from that response rather than recorded at a lower rank.
{% endhint %}
### Where ranked choice is available
Ranked choice is available for Compass surveys. Results appear as a dedicated chart in the snapshot report and are included in both the PowerPoint and Excel exports. See Ranked Choice Chart.
Ranked choice items are not currently included in the following:
* **360 assessments**: the question type is not supported.
* **Dashboards**: ranked choice does not appear as a dashboard cell or in the dashboard export.
* **Benchmarks**: ranked choice items do not appear on the benchmark survey page or in the benchmark builder.
* **Previous period comparison**: ranked choice results are not compared period over period.
* **Convert to demographic filter**: ranked choice items cannot be converted into a demographic filter.
### Frequently asked questions
#### What is the difference between a ranked choice question and a checkbox question?
A checkbox question records which options a participant selected. A ranked choice question records the order they put them in. That order is what shows relative priority rather than raw frequency.
#### Do participants have to rank every option?
No. When you set **Maximum choices to select**, participants rank up to that maximum and leave the rest unranked. For a top 3 question they rank 3 and leave the others alone.
#### What happens to the options a participant does not rank?
They are not recorded at any position. Compass stores only the ordered list of options the participant ranked, so an unranked option is absent from that response rather than counted last.
#### Is there a minimum number of options a participant must rank?
No. Compass caps the maximum only. For reasons-for-leaving questions, capping the maximum at 3 keeps the data meaningful.
#### Can I ask participants to rank more than 3 options?
Yes. Set **Maximum choices to select** to any number, or leave it at 0 for no limit. Keep in mind that ranking is more effort than selecting, and long rankings carry less meaning.
#### How many options should the list contain?
Enough to cover the realistic answers and no more. A tight list of clearly different options produces cleaner results than a long list with overlapping choices, and it is faster for participants to rank.
#### Can I use a ranked choice question in a 360 assessment?
No. The ranked choice question type is not supported in 360 assessments.
### Troubleshooting
| Issue | Likely cause | Resolution |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| The **Ranked Choice** question type is not available | Your account does not have the Survey Creator permission | Ask your Site Admin to grant Survey Creator access |
| Participants can rank every option instead of a top 3 | **Maximum choices to select** is set to 0, which means no limit | Open the question on the **Design Survey** page and set **Maximum choices to select** to 3 |
| Participants cannot select any more options | They have reached the maximum the question allows | This is expected. Remove a ranked option to free a slot |
| The cap message shows the wrong number | **Maximum choices to select** does not match the question wording | Update the setting so it matches the number named in the question title |
### Related Articles
* Survey Designer - Complete Guide
* Survey Logic and Display Conditions - Quick Start
* Ranked Choice Chart
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