Basic Blocks Overview
Overview
Basic Blocks are the fundamental survey question types available in Decode for collecting structured responses from participants. They are used across all types of studies, from screening participants before a study begins to gathering feedback and measuring satisfaction.
Basic Blocks can be used on their own or combined with blocks from other categories based on your research objectives.
Block Types
The following Basic Blocks are available in Decode.
Block | What it does |
Context Block | Display text or instructions to participants without collecting a response. Use this to introduce a section, provide background information or set context before a question. |
Date Time | Ask participants to select or enter a date and time. Use this when the research requires time-based responses such as last purchase date or frequency of use. |
Dropdown | Present a list of options in a dropdown format for single selection. Use this when the list of options is long and a dropdown keeps the survey clean and easy to navigate. |
Likert Scale | Ask participants to rate their level of agreement or satisfaction on a scale, typically ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Use this to measure attitudes, opinions or satisfaction levels. |
Multiple Choice | Ask participants to select one or more options from a list. Use this for questions with a defined set of answer options such as brand awareness, product usage or preference. |
Ranking | Ask participants to rank a set of items in order of preference. Use this when you need to understand priority or preference across multiple options. |
Smiley Rating | Collect feedback using a visual rating scale represented by facial expressions ranging from very negative to very positive. Use this for quick emotional response questions. |
Star Rating | Ask participants to rate something on a star scale, typically from 1 to 5. Use this to measure satisfaction, quality or overall experience. |
Text Response | Collect open-ended written responses from participants. Use this when you want participants to explain their answer in their own words. |
Thumbs Up/Down | Ask participants to give a quick positive or negative reaction to a statement, image or concept. Use this for fast binary feedback. |
When to Use Basic Blocks
Basic Blocks can be used where you need structured, measurable responses from a large number of participants. Use them when:
- You want to measure opinions, preferences or satisfaction across a large number of participants
- You are testing a concept, product, message or creative and need clear measurable responses
- You are running a pre-study screener to qualify participants before the main study begins
- You need responses that can be compared across different audience segments or tracked over time
USE CASES
Basic Blocks are commonly used across the following research types.
- Concept testing - Use Multiple Choice or Ranking blocks to ask participants which concept they prefer and why. Use Likert Scale to measure appeal and purchase intent across options.
- Brand perception - Use Multiple Choice to measure brand awareness and associations. Use Star Rating or Likert Scale to track how consumers feel about a brand over time.
- Customer satisfaction - Use Star Rating or Smiley Rating to measure overall satisfaction. Use Text Response to capture what participants would like to see improved.
- Usage and attitude studies - Use Multiple Choice to understand which products participants use and how often. Use Ranking to identify which features or attributes matter most.
- Ad testing - Use Thumbs Up/Down or Smiley Rating for quick emotional reactions. Use Multiple Choice to measure message recall and Likert Scale to evaluate clarity and relevance.