Multiple Choice questions

MCQs

How to use multiple

choice

questions effectively.

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MCQ Questions

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Introduction

Why use multiple choice questions

Designing stems and alternatives

Sample multiple choice questions

Introduction

Multiple choice tests can be an effective and simple

way to measure learning. Multiple choice questions

can be assessed quickly, providing students with

prompt feedback. In addition, well-written multiple

choice questions can go beyond testing rote facts

and may measure higher cognitive abilities.

Why use multiple choice questions?

The use of multiple choice tests are attractive to

instructors for many reasons. From a time

management perspective, multiple choice tests

are very practical – particularly in large class

settings. Other advantages include:

Versatility:

Multiple choice test items can be written to assess

various levels of learning outcomes, from basic

recall to application, analysis, and evaluation.

Because students are choosing from a set of

potential answers, however, there are obvious limits

on what can be tested with multiple choice items.

For example, they are not an effective way to test

students’ ability to organize thoughts or articulate

explanations or creative ideas.

Reliability:

Reliability is defined as the degree to which a test

consistently measures a learning outcome. Multiple

choice test items are less susceptible to guessing

than true/false questions, making them a more

reliable means of assessment. The reliability is

enhanced when the number of MC items focused

on a single learning objective is increased. In

addition, the objective scoring associated with

multiple choice test items frees them from problems

with scorer inconsistency that can plague scoring

of essay questions.

Validity:

Validity is the degree to which a test measures

the learning outcomes it purports to measure.

Because students can typically answer a multiple

choice item much more quickly than an essay

question, tests based on multiple choice items

can typically focus on a relatively broad

representation of course material, thus increasing

the validity of the assessment. (Brame, 2013)

How to tackle Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)? – Medchrome

Stems and alternatives

A multiple-choice question consists of a stem

(question or problem) and a list of possible

answers (alternatives) containing the best answer

to the question and a number of conceivable but

incorrect answers. Students respond to multiple

choice question by indicating the alternative that

they believe best answers or completes the stem.

Here are some tips for designing effective stems

and alternatives:

Express the full problem in the stem. When

creating the item, ask yourself if the students

would be able to answer the question without

looking at the options. This makes the purpose

of the question clear.

Put all relevant material in the stem. Do not

repeat in each of the alternatives information that

can be included in the stem. This makes options

easier to read and understand, and makes it

easier for students to answer the question quickly.

The stem of the question should clearly indicate

what the student is to do (e.g., identify the best

answer, find the most recent accomplishment,

identify the answer with the best order of events,

etc.). Often, poorly worded questions do not

clearly state what the student is to do.

The stem should be in the form of a question

and be worded positively if possible. Irrelevant

material should be avoided.

Eliminate excessive wording and irrelevant

information from the stem. Irrelevant information

in the stem confuses students and leads them to

waste time.

Limit the number of alternatives. Use between

three and five alternatives per question. Research

shows that three-choice items are about as

effective as four or five-choice items, mainly

because it is difficult to come up with plausible

distractors.

Make sure there is only one best answer.

Avoid having two or more options that are correct,

but where one is “more” correct than the others.

The distractors should be incorrect answers to

the question posed in the stem.

Make the distractors appealing and plausible.

If the distractors are farfetched, students will too

easily locate the correct answer, even if they have

little knowledge. When testing for recognition of

key terms and ideas keep the distractors similar

in length and type of language as the correct

solution. When testing conceptual understanding,

distractors should represent common mistakes

made by students.

Make the choices grammatically consistent

with the stem. Read the stem and each of the

choices aloud to make sure that they are

grammatically correct.

Place the choices in some meaningful

order. When possible, place the choices in

numerical, chronological or conceptual order.

Randomly distribute the correct response.

The exam should have roughly the same number

of correct answers that are a’s, b’s, c’s, and d’s

(assuming there are four choices per question).

Avoid using “all of the above”. If “all of the

above” is an option and students know two of the

options are correct, the answer must be “all of the

above”. If they know one is incorrect, the answer

must not be “all of the above”. A student may also

read the first option, determine that it is correct,

and be misled into choosing it without reading all

of the options.

Avoid using “none of the above”. The option

“none of the above” does not test whether the

student knows the correct answer, but only that

he/she knows the distractors aren’t correct.

Refrain from using words such as always,

never, all, or none. Most students know that few

things are universally true or false, so distractors

with these words in them can often be easily

dismissed.

Use the words ‘best answer’ rather than ‘most

correct answer’ as there may be exceptions and

this phrasing will avoid any arguments.

Avoid overlapping choices. Make the

alternatives mutually exclusive. It should never

be the case that if one of the distractors is true,

another distractor must be true as well.

Avoid questions of the form “Which of the

following statements is correct?” There is no

clear question being asked, and the choices are

often heterogeneous. Such questions are better

presented in the form of True/False questions.

MCQs Preparation | MCQs Preparation 2021 | MCQs List - JavaTpoint

Use capital letters (A. B. C. D.) rather than
lower case letters (e.g., “a” gets confused with
“d” and “c” with “a” for those with vision
problems, poor photocopying, dyslexia, etc.)

Make all responses fairly equal in length. Avoid

making the correct response either the longest or

the shortest in length.

If “no” or “not” is used, underline it. Try to avoid

using negative constructions in the stem.

12 Types:

If you thought that a multiple-choice question

only includes a typical question with four options,

you might be wrong. You will be surprised to

know that at least 12 different types of MCQs

can be used for different purposes. Let’s explore

them right away.

1. Yes or No

This is a widely used multiple-choice question

that offers two obvious options – “Yes” or “No”.

It can be used to ask a direct question such as

‘Would you recommend our business to your

friends or family members?’ or ‘Does our

product serve your purpose?’.

2. True or False

The “True” or “False” questions are some of the

most commonly used multiple-choice questions.

It includes the stem (question or statement) and

two answer options – True and False. These

questions are used to test critical thinking and

evaluate the respondent’s knowledge by

challenging them to choose the correct option.

3. Odd One Out

The “odd one out” question provides several

options to respondents and asks them to

choose an option that does not match the

others or seems the most “odd.”

4. Image-Based MCQs:

As the name suggests, this type of MCQ

presents two or more images as response

options. To answer this question, the respondent

can select a single image or multiple images

if it is specified. Image-based questionnaires

are visually appealing, highly interactive,

and can be used to engage your target

audience.

5. Best Answer

This type of question can be quite challenging

for people to answer. But why? Well, in most

cases, the options include more than one answer

that might seem correct at first glance. However,

the correct answer is the one that is the truest.

The “best answer” question can be used to

understand what people think or perceive about

different situations. Let’s understand this better

with this multiple choice question example:

6. Single Select MCQs:

This is a common type of multiple-choice

question where the respondent is allowed to

select a single option from a list of options.

The dropdown menu is a great example of a

single select question.

7. Multiple Select Questions

Unlike single-select questions, the respondent

can select more than one option in multiple

select questions. While taking orders, such

questionnaires are often used by restaurants as

the customers can easily customize their meals.

8. Star Rating MCQs:

Star rating is another popular multiple-choice

question type that allows respondents to answer

on a rating scale. Respondents are usually offered

a 1-5 or 1-7 rating scale, where 5 or 7 stars

denote the highest satisfaction. Such questions

are quite interactive, easy to answer and work

great on mobile devices.

9. Matrix Table MCQs:

A matrix table question allows you to ask multiple

questions or multiple parts of a single question.

For example, you can take feedback about the

various elements of your website – design, user

interface, image quality, browsing experience,

product descriptions, payment options, etc.

10. Slider Multiple Choice

Question

This is another type of multiple-choice question

in which the respondent can use a slider to

answer the given question. The slider can be

adjusted to a numeric value that best describes

their answer.

For example, you can share the classic NPS

question:

“How likely are you to recommend our brand to

your friends or colleagues?” The customers can

adjust the slider and rate their answers on a

scale of 1-10. For a better understanding, you

can look at this multiple-choice example below:

11. Ranking Multiple Choice

Question

A ranking multiple choice question allows

respondents to rank the answer options based

on their importance or priority. The respondent

can first compare all the options against each

other and then rank them accordingly.

12. Drag & Drop Question

In these types of multiple-choice questions,

the respondent can drag and drop the answer

options to arrange them in the most suitable

order. This is quite similar to a ranking question;

however, the respondent can simply drag and

drop options to achieve the best order instead

of assigning a numerical value.

What Are Survey

Questions?

Survey questions are a way of gathering

information and opinions from people. Imagine

you have some curious questions you want to

ask your friends about their favorite foods,

movies, or hobbies. Well, surveys are like that,

but on a larger scale! They help researchers,

businesses, and organizations understand what

people think, feel, or do on specific topics.

Types of Survey Questions

There are different types of survey questions, each

serving a unique purpose. Let’s take a look at

the main ones:

Multiple Choice Questions: These are

questions where you provide a list of possible

answers, and respondents pick the one that fits

them best.

For example, “Which color do you like the most? A) Red, B) Blue, C) Green, D) Yellow.”

Yes/No Questions:

As the name suggests, these questions only

require a “yes” or “no” response. For instance,

“Have you ever traveled abroad? Yes/No”

Likert Scale Questions:

These questions measure attitudes or opinions

on a scale, usually from “Strongly Disagree” to

“Strongly Agree.”

For example, “How much do you agree with the

statement: ‘Exercise is important for a healthy

lifestyle’?”

Open-ended Questions:

In these questions, respondents can freely

express their thoughts in their own words.

For example, “What improvements would you

like to see in our school?”

Ranking Questions:

Ranking questions ask respondents to prioritize

or rank items in order of preference.

For instance, “Please rank these pizza toppings

from 1 to 5, with 1 being your favorite and 5

being the least favorite: Pepperoni, Mushrooms,

Pineapple, Olives, and Onions.”

Demographic Questions:

These questions gather information about the

respondents, like age, gender, education, or

income. They help researchers analyze results

based on different groups.

Grid-of-Choice Questions:

This survey format groups related questions

together and uses a similar response scale.

For example, asking about preference levels

for different food items.

Advantages of MCQs:

1. Convenient

Whether you are taking an application form or

sharing feedback with your favorite brand, you

can fill MCQs anytime and from anywhere. As

long as there are fewer questions to answer, it

will not take a toll on your brain or body.

2. Avoid Subjective Opinions

There are situations when you don’t need the

subjective opinions of your respondents. For

example, if you wish to know the most popular

election candidate, you can simply present the

names of the people who are contesting.

Taking subjective opinions about the importance

of elections or democracy will not serve any

purpose here.

3. Takes Less Time to

Complete

Multiple-choice questionnaires take less time to

complete in comparison to open-ended questions.

For instance, if students are asked to write an

essay in a test instead of answering MCQs,

they will take more time.

4. Makes Data Analysis

Simpler

With multiple-choice questions, you can easily

automate your data analysis process. For

example, in the case of student tests, automated

grading can help teachers evaluate tests and

grade students on a larger scale. Even if a

thousand students are given the same test,

grading can be easily done.

Disadvantages of MCQs:

There are pros and cons to everything, and

MCQs are no exception. Here are some

common disadvantages of multiple-choice

questions:

1. People Can Get Lucky

People who have no idea about a question

might get lucky while answering an MCQ.

During a test, a student can randomly choose

an option (out of four), and there is a 25%

chance that it is the correct answer.

2. Can Take Time to Develop

There are certain types of multiple-choice

questions where you need to choose every

response option carefully. Giving more thought

to something only means spending more time

and effort.

For example, for a maths test, you need to

strategically choose potential answers to avoid

making the correct answer seem too obvious.

Framing such questions can take more time

than writing open-ended or fill-in-the-blank

questions.

3. MCQs Lack Qualitative

Data

With multiple-choice questions, you can

understand that a customer had an

unsatisfactory experience with your brand.

However, you cannot understand the “why”

behind it. In order to see the complete picture,

you need to use the right mix of both open

and closed-ended questions.

MCQs may not help you capture qualitative data

in the form of subjective opinions, perceptions,

stories, experiences, and more.

Create the Best MCQs:

Due to their versatile nature, multiple-choice

questions have gained popularity in education,

market research, customer feedback, product

development, and many others.

To create the best multiple-choice questionnaire,

you need to provide accurate and relevant

answer options, keep the language simple, and

add the “others” option whenever possible. With

well-framed MCQs, you can collect

comprehensive data and research your target

audience faster.

What do multiple Choice questions

measure?

To answer this question, you should go back to this diagram

to know whether

this multiple choice sentence measure low order or high order

thinking skill of Bloom's skills. External Link.

View other resources:

1-Idioms

2-Grammar Rules

3-Phrasal Verbs.

4-Grammar Lessons.

5-Grammar Exercises

6-Grammar resources

7-) Kinds of Sentences.

8- Punctuation marks.

19-) Direct & Indirect Speech.

10--The Communicative grammar.

11-Learn English Grammar .

12-Online grammar and vocabulary test.

13-English Proverbs.