Quick answer
A dichotomous question is a closed-ended question with exactly two possible answers, such as Yes/No, True/False, Agree/Disagree or Fair/Unfair. Example: “Did you find what you were looking for today?” (Yes / No). Use them for facts, eligibility and clear splits; use a rating scale when you need to know how strongly someone feels.
What is a dichotomous question?
The word comes from the Greek dichotomia, “a cutting in two”. In survey research, a dichotomous question splits respondents into two mutually exclusive groups: everyone who answers chooses one option or the other, and no one can choose both. That makes it the simplest form of closed-ended question, the family of questions with fixed answer options that also includes multiple choice, rating scales and Net Promoter Score.
Because the answer is binary, the results are easy to read: “71% of respondents said Yes.” That clarity is the main reason dichotomous questions show up in almost every questionnaire, from checkout surveys to job applications and research screeners.
Types of dichotomous questions
Yes/No is the most common pair, but any two opposite, exhaustive answers work:
Dichotomous questionnaire example
Here is a complete, ready-to-use example of a dichotomous questionnaire: a seven-question post-purchase survey for an online store. Every question has exactly two answers, so it takes well under a minute to complete on a phone.
- Is this your first order with us? (Yes / No)
- Did your order arrive on or before the promised date? (Yes / No)
- Was everything in your order correct? (Yes / No)
- Did you contact customer support about this order? (Yes / No)
- Would you buy from us again? (Yes / No)
- Was the price you paid fair? (Fair / Unfair)
- May we contact you about your answers? (Yes / No)
Notice how each question covers one fact. If someone answers “No” to question 3, you know exactly what went wrong. To learn why, add one optional open question at the end, such as “Is there anything we could have done better?”.
Dichotomous survey question examples
The examples below are grouped by use case. Copy them as they are or adapt the wording to your product, team or event.
Customer feedback and satisfaction
Quick checks after a purchase, visit or support interaction. Pair one or two of these with a rating scale or an NPS question for the bigger picture.
- Did you find what you were looking for today?
- Was your issue resolved on the first contact?
- Did our team respond within the time you expected?
- Was the information on our website accurate?
- Have you recommended us to anyone in the past six months?
- Would you use this service again?
- Was the checkout process easy to complete?
- Did the product match its description?
Ecommerce and retail
Use these on order confirmation pages, delivery emails or a QR code on the receipt.
- Is this your first purchase from our store?
- Did you use a discount code for this order?
- Did your package arrive undamaged?
- Were you able to track your order?
- Did you return or exchange any item from this order?
- Would you like to receive restock alerts for this product?
Product and SaaS
Short in-app or email questions that tell you whether features are discovered and used.
- Have you used the reporting dashboard in the last 30 days?
- Did you complete setup without contacting support?
- Is this feature something you need for your work?
- Did the latest update change how you use the product?
- Would you be interested in joining our beta program?
- Do you use the product on a mobile device?
Employee and HR surveys
Keep employee surveys anonymous where possible, and follow sensitive yes/no questions with an optional open question.
- Do you have the tools you need to do your job well?
- Have you had a one-on-one with your manager this month?
- Do you know who to talk to if you have a concern at work?
- Was your onboarding completed in your first week?
- Do you understand how your work contributes to team goals?
- Have you considered leaving the company in the past six months?
- Would you like more training opportunities?
- Did you take part in the last team offsite?
Events, webinars and workshops
Ask right after the event while it’s fresh. Share the survey with a QR code on the last slide or at the exit.
- Is this the first event of ours you have attended?
- Did the event start on time?
- Was the venue easy to find?
- Did the session cover what was promised in the agenda?
- Would you attend a follow-up session on this topic?
- May we send you the slides and recording by email?
Education and training
Course feedback and knowledge checks. True/false items work well for short quizzes.
- Did you complete all the assigned readings this week?
- Were the learning objectives clear at the start of the course?
- Did you receive feedback on your assignment within a week?
- True or false: the final project can be submitted in pairs.
- Would you recommend this course to another student?
- Did you use the office hours this term?
Market research and screening
Screening questions decide who continues to the main survey. Yes/No is ideal because it gives a clean rule for who qualifies.
- Do you currently own a car?
- Have you bought pet food online in the past three months?
- Are you responsible for purchasing software at your company?
- Do you have children under 18 living at home?
- Have you taken part in a market research study in the past month?
- Do you work in marketing, advertising or market research?
Website and UX feedback
One-question widgets and exit surveys. A single Yes/No with an optional comment box gets far more answers than a long form.
- Was this page helpful?
- Did you find the answer to your question?
- Were you able to complete what you came here to do?
- Is this your first visit to our website?
- Did anything on this page not work as expected?
When to use dichotomous questions
- Facts and behavior. Whether something happened is a yes-or-no matter: “Did you contact support?”
- Screening and eligibility. A clean rule (“continue only if Yes”) is easy to apply and explain.
- Mobile and short surveys. Two large buttons are the fastest thing to tap, which helps completion rates on small screens.
- Large samples. Binary answers are simple to count and compare across thousands of responses.
- Branching. A Yes/No answer is the most natural place to send people down different paths, for example only asking “What went wrong?” after a “No”.
Disadvantages and limitations
- No middle ground. People with mixed feelings are forced to pick a side, which can frustrate them or make them skip the question.
- No intensity. “Yes, I’m satisfied” tells you nothing about how satisfied. Use a rating scale when the degree matters.
- Acquiescence bias. Some respondents lean toward “Yes” or “Agree” regardless of content, especially in long surveys. Mixing positively and negatively worded statements helps you spot it.
- Oversimplification. Complex topics squeezed into two answers can produce tidy numbers that don’t reflect what people really think.
How to write good dichotomous questions
- Ask about one thing. “Was our support fast and friendly?” is two questions. Split it, or someone who got fast but rude support can’t answer honestly.
- Make sure the two answers cover everyone. “Do you drive to work?” fails for people who work from home. Rephrase or add a screener first.
- Stay neutral. “Don’t you agree our new design is easier?” invites a yes. Ask “Is the new design easier to use than the old one?”.
- Set a clear time frame. “Have you bought online in the past three months?” gives better data than “Do you buy online?”.
- Avoid double negatives. “Do you not disagree…” confuses everyone. Use plain, positive wording.
- Follow up when “why” matters. Add an optional open question after the answers you want to understand better.
- Don’t force sensitive topics into two boxes. Identity questions such as gender need more inclusive options than a binary pair.
Dichotomous vs. other closed-ended question types
Choosing the right format is half the work. This comparison shows when a two-option question is enough and when to reach for something else:
Many good surveys combine them. The NPS survey template, for example, opens with the 0–10 recommendation question, asks an open “why”, and ends with a dichotomous “May we contact you about your answer?”.
How to analyze dichotomous data
Dichotomous answers produce binary data, the easiest kind to analyze:
- Report percentages. “64% of first-time buyers said they would buy again.” Always state the number of responses behind it.
- Add a margin of error. A percentage from a sample is an estimate. With 400 responses, a result near 50% carries a margin of about ±4.9% at 95% confidence. Check yours with the margin of error calculator.
- Code as 1 and 0. If Yes = 1 and No = 0, the average of the column equals the share of “Yes” answers, which makes spreadsheet analysis and charts simple.
- Compare groups with a cross-tab. Split answers by segment (new vs. returning customers, team, region) and use a chi-square test to check whether a difference is likely to be real.
Planning a survey from scratch? The sample size calculator tells you how many responses you need for the precision you want.
How to create a Yes/No question in Florm
Florm has a dedicated Yes / No question type, one of its 12 question types, alongside single choice, multiple choice, dropdown, rating scale and NPS. To build a dichotomous questionnaire:
- Create a survey in the online survey maker and add a Yes / No step.
- Write the question, add an optional description, and mark it as required if every respondent must answer.
- For other two-option pairs, such as Fair/Unfair or Email/Phone, use a single choice question with two options.
- On Basic and Professional plans, use logic branching to show a follow-up only to people who answered “No”.
- Share the survey by link or QR code, then read per-question results and drop-off in analytics, or export everything to Excel or PDF.
Get notified at launchBrowse survey templates
