Ranking Component

The Ranking component allows participants to order items by dragging them into their preferred sequence. It's ideal for preference ordering, prioritization tasks, and forced-choice rankings.

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Key Features

• Drag-and-drop reordering
• Text and image options
• Horizontal or vertical layouts
• High/low labels for scale endpoints
• Touch-friendly for mobile devices
• Customizable appearance

When to Use

Use the Ranking component when you need to:

• Collect preference orderings
• Prioritize items or features
• Rank alternatives from best to worst
• Assess relative importance
• Create forced-choice preference data

Configuration

Basic Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Prompt	Instructions for the ranking task	(required)
Options	Items to be ranked	(required)
Output Variable	Variable to store the ranking	(required)

Options Format

Each option can include:

Field	Description	Required
text	Display text for the item	Yes
imageUrl	Optional image URL	No
value	Value to store (defaults to text)	No

Layout Options

Setting	Description	Default
Layout	Vertical or horizontal arrangement	vertical
Show Labels	Display high/low labels	true
High Label	Label for top/right position	"Most Important"
Low Label	Label for bottom/left position	"Least Important"

Appearance

Setting	Description	Default
Background Color	Container background	theme default
Card Color	Individual item cards	theme default
Text Color	Item text color	theme default
Drag Handle	Show drag handles	true

Examples

Basic Text Ranking

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Horizontal Layout

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Without Labels

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Setting Up Options

Options are defined as an array of objects:

options: [
  { text: "Quality", imageUrl: null },
  { text: "Price", imageUrl: null },
  { text: "Speed", imageUrl: null },
  { text: "Support", imageUrl: null }
]

With Images

options: [
  { text: "Option A", imageUrl: "/media/option-a.jpg" },
  { text: "Option B", imageUrl: "/media/option-b.jpg" },
  { text: "Option C", imageUrl: "/media/option-c.jpg" }
]

With Custom Values

options: [
  { text: "First Choice", value: "choice_1" },
  { text: "Second Choice", value: "choice_2" },
  { text: "Third Choice", value: "choice_3" }
]

Data Collection

The Ranking component stores the final order:

• Ranking: Array of items in selected order (top/left = first)
• Response Time: Time from display to submission
• Interactions: Optional tracking of drag operations

Example data structure:

{
  "ranking": [
    { "text": "Quality", "position": 1 },
    { "text": "Price", "position": 2 },
    { "text": "Speed", "position": 3 },
    { "text": "Support", "position": 4 }
  ],
  "responseTime": 8934,
  "timestamps": {
    "displayed": 1621453287000,
    "firstDrag": 1621453290125,
    "submitted": 1621453295934
  }
}

Analyzing Ranking Data

Average Rank

Calculate the mean position for each item across participants.

Rank Frequencies

Count how often each item appears in each position.

Kendall's Tau

Measure agreement between participants' rankings.

Top-K Analysis

Examine which items most frequently appear in top positions.

Best Practices

1. Clear Instructions: Explain what "higher" and "lower" mean in context
2. Reasonable Number: Keep to 3-7 items for manageable rankings
3. Distinct Options: Ensure items are clearly different from each other
4. Meaningful Labels: Use labels that match your research question
5. Mobile Testing: Verify drag-and-drop works on touch devices
6. Random Initial Order: Consider randomizing starting positions

Common Use Cases

Feature Prioritization

Prompt: "Rank these features from most to least important to you:"
Options: [Quality, Price, Speed, Support, Design]
High Label: "Most Important"
Low Label: "Least Important"

Preference Ordering

Prompt: "Order these options from your most to least preferred:"
Options: [Option A, Option B, Option C]
High Label: "Most Preferred"
Low Label: "Least Preferred"

Value Assessment

Prompt: "Rank these values based on their importance in your life:"
Options: [Family, Career, Health, Wealth, Happiness]

Related Components

• Multiple Choice - For selecting without ordering
• Likert Scale - For rating individual items on a scale
• VAS Rating - For continuous ratings per item