SURVEY CREATOR - IMAGE PICKER QUESTIONS

Summary & Best Practices

In Survey Creator, the Image Picker question presents response options as a grid of selectable images rather than as text-based radio buttons or checkboxes. Participants choose an answer by clicking an image, making the component useful for research surveys in which visual recognition, preference, or comparison is important. It can be configured either for single selection, in which participants choose one option, or for multiple selection, in which they may select several images.

When to Use It in Participant Research

Use an Image Picker when the research question depends on visual interpretation or preference, such as:

• Asking participants to identify a product, symptom image, package design, logo, advertisement, or website layout.
• Comparing creative concepts, prototypes, medical-device designs, or intervention materials.
• Assessing visual preferences, emotional reactions, or perceived differences between images.
• Supporting participant onboarding or study instructions with recognizable icons or illustrations.
• Collecting selections in usability, consumer, behavioral, or patient-reported research studies.

Images should be clearly labeled when necessary, accessible to participants with visual impairments, and presented in a consistent format so that differences in size, cropping, or quality do not influence responses unnecessarily. If the images are study stimuli, use neutral filenames and descriptions so they do not unintentionally reveal the expected answer.

When Not to Use It

Avoid the Image Picker when choices require lengthy explanations, legal language, clinical definitions, or other text-heavy information. In those cases, use Radio Buttons, Checkboxes, or another text-based question type. It is also unsuitable for very large option sets, such as extensive product catalogs, because loading many images can slow the survey and overwhelm participants; a Dropdown, searchable list, or categorized question may be more appropriate.

Do not use it when images are low-resolution, visually ambiguous, inconsistently cropped, or difficult to distinguish on mobile devices. Poor image quality can introduce measurement bias and affect data quality. Before launching the survey, test the question across common screen sizes, confirm that images load correctly, verify single- or multi-select behavior, and ensure that response values are mapped consistently for analysis.

Property Grid

The General settings for an Image Picker question control its identity, appearance, media content, and selection behavior. You can define the question’s internal name, participant-facing title, description, visibility, read-only status, and whether a response is required. A comment box may also be enabled to let participants provide additional details, with customizable prompt and placeholder text. The question can display images or videos, while image-fitting options such as None, Contain, Cover, and Fill determine how media appears within its display area. You can also set minimum and maximum media dimensions or allow automatic sizing. The Allow multiple selection option determines whether participants can select one image or several, and captions can be enabled to provide explanatory labels. For participant research, use consistent media dimensions and fitting settings to prevent visual presentation from influencing responses, add captions when images may be ambiguous, and enable multiple selection only when the study design permits more than one choice.

The Choice Options settings let you add, edit, delete, and reorder image choices by defining each choice’s value, alternative text, and image or video URL. You can also copy choices from another question and set a specific choice order, such as leaving options in their default order or randomizing them.

Layout properties control how the question appears on the survey page. They let you place the question on a new line, hide its number, and determine whether it is collapsed or expanded. You can also adjust the alignment of the question title, description, and error messages, as well as control the question’s indentation and width. The settings also include the number of columns used to display the answer choices, allowing you to present them vertically or across multiple columns.

The Conditions properties control the question’s behavior based on survey responses or other conditions. You can determine when the question becomes visible, read-only, or required; set or reset its value; and define default values using expressions. These settings also allow you to hide the question when no choices are available and control when individual choices are visible or selectable.

Data properties manage how the question stores and uses response data. You can specify a Join identifier to connect related data, set or change the correct answer for evaluation purposes, and clear the answer when needed. The section also lets you choose whether display values should appear in dynamic text and determine whether answers to questions hidden by conditional logic should be cleared.

The Validation properties ensure that respondents provide acceptable answers. You can add validation rules to check whether responses meet specific requirements, such as a required format or value range. This section also allows you to customize the error message displayed when a required question is left unanswered.