Rating images beside questions

Show an image next to a likert question on each survey page, one image per page.

When to use it

Use this when images need considered ratings and the picture should sit on the page with its question, in the style of a survey rather than a speeded task. Left to the defaults, consecutive questions collect onto one page, so all the images pile up in a single scrolling list where earlier pictures anchor the ratings of later ones. Breaking the page after each question gives every image its own screen and an unhurried judgement. If you want fast keypress ratings with reaction times instead, present the images as test trials with a digit keyboard.

Trial file

type	content	head	stimFormat	stim1	responseType	responseOptions	pageBreak	button1
instructions	Rate how pleasant you find each image.							NEXT
form		How pleasant is this image?	.jpg	beach	likert	Very unpleasant;Unpleasant;Neutral;Pleasant;Very pleasant	1
form		How pleasant is this image?	.jpg	forest	likert	Very unpleasant;Unpleasant;Neutral;Pleasant;Very pleasant	1
form		How pleasant is this image?	.jpg	street	likert	Very unpleasant;Unpleasant;Neutral;Pleasant;Very pleasant	1
form		How pleasant is this image?	.jpg	kitchen	likert	Very unpleasant;Unpleasant;Neutral;Pleasant;Very pleasant	1

How it works

The stimulus columns work on form rows too: putting a filename in stim1 on a type=form row displays the image next to the question. The image is display only there. It is not a clickable response option, and the answer comes exclusively from the question’s responseType widget, here likert buttons labelled by responseOptions.

stimFormat follows the usual media rules on form rows: the cell holds the extension (.jpg), the stim1 cells hold the basenames, and the extension is appended automatically. It also controls whether the images preload next to the question. What it never does is make the row a survey question; only type=form does that. Keep the filename case consistent with stimFormat, because the extension check is case-sensitive (BEACH.JPG with .jpg becomes BEACH.JPG.jpg).

Left alone, consecutive form rows would pile all four images onto one page. pageBreak set to 1 on each rating row ends the page after that row, so each participant sees one image with its question, presses NEXT, and moves to the next image. The last row’s break is technically redundant (a page always ends when the next trial is not a form) but keeping it makes the boundary explicit. If you keep an on/off habit in this column, note that any unrecognised value, 0 included, also forces a break; only a blank cell means no break.

Variations

• Shuffle the image order by adding random with 1 on the four rating rows; each pageBreak travels with its row, so every image keeps its own page.
• Rate several dimensions per image by adding responseRows (for example Pleasantness;Arousal); with an image present, the block of rows repeats for the stimulus and per-row answers are _-joined in the results.
• Swap responseType to slider with responseOptions such as 0(very unpleasant)_100(very pleasant) for a continuous rating.
• Drop pageBreak entirely to show all images and their questions on a single scrolling page.