> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.dscout.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.dscout.com/study-basics/question-types/closed-ended-questions/scale-questions.md). # Scale questions

Study type	Availability
Screeners	true
Usability tests	true
Media surveys	true
Intercept studies	true
AI moderated studies	true
Diary studies	true

Scale questions let participants rate something by choosing a number on a scale. Use a scale question when you want ratings you can average and compare across participants, such as satisfaction, agreement, or likelihood.

The scale you build depends on your study type: * **Usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, AI moderated studies, and screeners:** The scale starts at 0 or 1 and ends at a number up to 10. You can label the start and end of the scale, and you can let participants mark a question as not applicable. * **Diary studies:** The scale starts at 0 or 1 and ends at a number up to 100. Diary scales don't have labels. In usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, AI moderated studies, and screeners, participants choose their rating from numbered buttons. In mobile studies, the numbers appear in a vertical list instead of a row. In diary studies, participants use a slider. ### Scale question settings The settings available on a scale question depend on which type of study you're building. Select your study type below for more information. {% tabs %} {% tab title="Screeners" %} Add scale questions to a screener in the **Additional questions** section of the **Screener** tab. | Setting | Description | | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Prompt** | The question applicants answer. You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. Type @ to recall a closed-ended response from earlier in your screener. | | **Start value** | The first number on the scale. Choose 0 or 1. | | **End value** | The last number on the scale. Choose a number up to 10 that is higher than your start value. New scale questions start with a scale of 1 to 5. | | **Start label** and **End label** | Optional text that appears at each end of the scale, such as "Not at all likely" and "Extremely likely." Labels can be up to 50 characters. Add both labels or leave both blank, and make sure they're different from each other. | | **"Not applicable (N/A)" option** | Adds an option for applicants who can't answer the question or who feel it doesn't apply to them. N/A answers aren't included in the average. | | **Stimuli** (optional) | Attach up to 5 images for applicants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md). | | **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each applicant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached. | | **Skip logic** (optional) | Route applicants to a later question or end the screener after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic in screeners](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-screeners.md). | {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** On Partner Panels screeners, a scale question doesn't support skip logic, stimuli, or prompt formatting. {% endhint %} {% endtab %} {% tab title="Usability, intercept, and media surveys" %} Add scale questions on the **Usability test**, **Study**, or **Media survey** tab of your builder. | Setting | Description | | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Prompt** | The question participants answer. You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. Type @ to recall a closed-ended response from earlier in your study. | | **Start value** | The first number on the scale. Choose 0 or 1. | | **End value** | The last number on the scale. Choose a number up to 10 that is higher than your start value. New scale questions start with a scale of 1 to 5. | | **Start label** and **End label** | Optional text that appears at each end of the scale, such as "Not at all likely" and "Extremely likely." Labels can be up to 50 characters. Add both labels or leave both blank, and make sure they're different from each other. | | **"Not applicable (N/A)" option** | Adds an option for participants who can't answer the question or who feel it doesn't apply to them. N/A answers aren't included in the average. | | **Stimuli** (optional) | Attach up to 5 pieces of media for participants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md). | | **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each participant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached. | | **Skip logic** (optional) | Route participants to a later question, question group, or the end of the study after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-usability-tests-media-surveys-and-intercept-studies.md). | | {% endtab %} | | {% tab title="AI moderated studies" %} Add scale questions on the **AI moderator** tab of your builder. Participants answer scale questions on screen by selecting a number. | Setting | Description | | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Prompt** | The question the AI moderator asks the participant. | | **Start value** | The first number on the scale. Choose 0 or 1. | | **End value** | The last number on the scale. Choose a number up to 10 that is higher than your start value. | | **Start label** and **End label** | Optional text that appears at each end of the scale. Labels can be up to 50 characters. Add both labels or leave both blank, and make sure they're different from each other. | | **"Not applicable (N/A)" option** | Adds an option for participants who can't answer the question or who feel it doesn't apply to them. N/A answers aren't included in the average. | | **Follow-up questions** | How many follow-ups the AI moderator asks about the participant's rating: **1 follow-up** or **2-3 follow-ups**. | | **Follow-up guidance** (optional) | Guide the kind of follow-ups the moderator asks. For example, to ask what would have made the rating higher. | | **Visual intelligence** | Captures expressions in participant responses. For more information, see [Visual intelligence](/ai-moderated-studies/analyze-an-ai-moderated-study/visual-intelligence.md). | | **Stimuli** (optional) | Attach images or media for participants to react to. The moderator can see and understand stimuli. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md). | | **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each participant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached. | | **Skip logic** (optional) | Route participants to a later question, question group, or the end of the study after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-usability-tests-media-surveys-and-intercept-studies.md). | {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Multiple choice and Scale questions don't count toward an AI moderated study's 30-question total. {% endhint %} {% endtab %} {% tab title="Diary studies" %} Add scale questions to a diary study on the **Questions** tab of your builder. | Setting | Description | | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Prompt** | The question participants answer. Tell participants what the scale means. For example: "On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is awful and 10 is awesome, how are you feeling today?" You can format the prompt with `*bold*`, `_italic_`, and `[link text](http://example.com)`. | | **Minimum** | The first number on the scale. Choose **0** or **1**. | | **Maximum** | The last number on the scale. Enter a number up to 100 that is higher than your minimum. New scale questions start with a maximum of 10. | | **Stimuli** (optional) | Attach up to 5 images for participants to react to. For more information, see [Question stimuli](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-stimuli.md). | | **Stimuli randomization** | Presents attached stimuli in a random order to each participant. This setting appears once the question has more than one stimulus attached. | | **Skip logic** (optional) | Route participants to a later point in the activity after they answer. For more information, see [Skip logic in diary studies](/study-basics/design-a-study/skip-logic-in-diary-studies.md). | | {% endtab %} | | | {% endtabs %} | | ### Add a scale question to a study {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** In a screener, scale questions go in the **Additional questions** section. They can't be knockout questions, and they aren't available on the screeners of auto-recruit studies, which support only multiple choice questions. For more information, see [Question types in screeners](/recruit-participants/what-are-dscout-screeners/question-types-in-screeners.md). {% endhint %} {% stepper %} {% step %} Navigate to the tab of your builder where you want the question—**Questions**, **Usability test**, **Study**, **Media survey**, **AI moderator**, or **Screener**, depending on your study type. {% endstep %} {% step %} Click **+ Add** in the center of the builder or in the left sidebar. (**+ Add question** in diary studies, or **Add additional question** in screeners.) {% endstep %} {% step %} Select **Scale**.

{% endstep %} {% step %} Enter your **Prompt**. {% endstep %} {% step %} Set the start and end of your scale. In diary studies, set the **Minimum** and **Maximum**.

{% endstep %} {% step %} Configure the remaining settings. For details, see [Scale question settings](#scale-question-settings) above. {% endstep %} {% step %} Click **Done**. {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} #### Group and randomize scale questions Scale questions work with Dscout's question-organization features: * [**Question groups**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-groups.md) keep related questions together and can randomize the order they're presented in. * [**Multi-variate testing**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/multi-variate-testing.md) presents different concepts or design variants to different participants. * [**Question banks**](/study-basics/question-types/question-settings-and-organization/question-banks.md) let you save a scale question and reuse it across studies. ### Analyze a scale question Scale results appear as a bar chart with one bar for each number on the scale and, if you turned on the N/A option, one more bar for N/A answers. You can sort the bars in their **Original order**, by **Smallest to largest**, or by **Largest to smallest**. Smallest to largest and largest to smallest sort by the number of responses, not by the scale value. #### Screeners, usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, and AI moderated studies In the **Questions** view, a scale question shows: * **Average:** The average of the numbers participants chose. N/A answers aren't included. The average updates when you apply filters. * **Responses:** The number of responses, including N/A answers. * **Start and end labels** beneath the chart, if you added them.

To change what the bars show, click the **Chart settings** icon in the top right. You can show counts, percentages, or both. {% hint style="warning" %} **Important:** Bar percentages include N/A answers in the total, but the average doesn't. If you use the N/A option, the two can look inconsistent. {% endhint %} #### Diary studies In diary study analysis, scale questions live on the **Closed-ended responses** view and show the same bar chart as described above, without the average metric. In chart settings, you also have additional options of highlighting the largest response, rounding numbers, or enabling grayscale. To find the average of a diary scale question, export your data.

#### View individual responses Open a participant's entry or session to see their rating on its own. In usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, and AI moderated studies, the response shows the numbered scale with their choice highlighted and the start and end labels.

In diary studies, it shows a line between the minimum and maximum with their rating marked.

#### Filter by scale responses Open the **Filters** panel and expand **Close ended responses**. Each scale question gets its own section with a checkbox for each number on the scale, so you can narrow your results to the participants who chose a given rating. If you added labels, the first and last numbers show them.

#### Export scale responses Click the **Download chart data** button to download the displayed responses chart as a CSV or as a PNG. The CSV lists each number with its count, its percentage, or both, matching your chart settings. It doesn't include the average, and N/A answers appear as ∅. The CSV export of your study's response data has one column for each scale question with the number each participant chose. If a participant marked a question as not applicable, the cell reads **N/A**. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The study-wide crosstabs export lists each number on the scale as its own category. N/A answers aren't included. {% endhint %} ### Frequently asked questions

How large can a scale be?

In usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, AI moderated studies, and screeners, a scale starts at 0 or 1 and ends at a number up to 10. In diary studies, a scale starts at 0 or 1 and ends at a number up to 100.

Can I label every point on the scale?

No. You can label only the start and the end of the scale. Choose a short scale, such as 1 to 5, and use clear start and end labels so participants understand what the numbers mean. In diary studies, scales don't have labels, so state what the scale means in your prompt.

Why am I getting an error about my scale question's labels?

A scale needs either both labels or no labels, so add a start label and an end label, or clear both. The two labels also can't match each other, and each can be up to 50 characters.

Why does my scale question say it's outdated?

Scale questions created before labeled scales were introduced are considered outdated. In usability tests, intercept studies, and media surveys, an outdated scale question stops you from launching with the message *Replace the outdated scale question.* Delete the question and add a new Scale question in its place.

How do I see the average of a scale question?

In screeners, usability tests, intercept studies, media surveys, and AI moderated studies, the **Average** appears above the chart in the **Questions** view. Diary studies don't show an average, so export your study's response data to calculate it. This average is separate from the average ease rating that appears for the Single Ease Question follow-up on task questions.

Can I send participants to different questions based on the number they choose?

No. Skip logic on a scale question sends every participant to the same place after they answer, no matter which number they chose. To branch on a rating, use a [multiple choice](/study-basics/question-types/closed-ended-questions/multiple-choice-questions.md) question instead.

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