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Question Types

Heatmap Survey Questions

Collect click locations on images, prototypes, maps, advertisements, or other visual stimuli.

When To Use Heatmaps

Heatmap questions collect click locations on an image. They are useful for visual social science research, advertising tests, ballot or form design, map interpretation, prototype feedback, attention studies, and experiments where researchers need coordinates rather than a text or scale answer.

Block Builder: Heatmap

Block Builder: Heatmap

Upload a stimulus image and configure marker count and style.

Closing text
Redirect (optional)

Use a heatmap when the location of attention or preference is the data. Use a standard question type when the response can be expressed as a category, rating, or written answer.

How It Supports Research Design

  • Uploaded images: define the visual stimulus respondents click on.
  • One or more markers: allow single-click or multi-click tasks.
  • Custom marker styling: helps participants see placed clicks clearly.
  • Normalized coordinates: make exports usable across display sizes.
  • Stable stimuli: keep the image unchanged once collection starts so coordinates remain comparable.

Configure It In Domandata

  1. Step 1: Open Block Builder. Open the survey and choose the block where the image task belongs.

    Step 1: Open Block Builder

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  2. Step 2: Add a Heatmap question. Select Heatmap from the question type selector.

    Step 2: Choose Heatmap question type

    Block Builder: Question Type

    Use the question type selector to switch between multiple choice, slider, grid, ranking, and more.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  3. Step 3: Upload the stimulus. Use the final image file whenever possible, because coordinate data depends on the displayed image; place any related instructions in a content block when needed.

    Step 3: Upload the stimulus image

    Block Builder: Heatmap

    Upload a stimulus image and configure marker count and style.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  4. Step 4: Write exact instructions. Tell respondents what to click, how many clicks to place, and whether order matters.

    Step 4: Write click instructions

    Block Builder: Heatmap

    Upload a stimulus image and configure marker count and style.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  5. Step 5: Set marker behavior. Configure the maximum number of clicks and marker appearance.

    Step 5: Set marker behavior

    Options: Heatmap

    Set marker count, shape, border, and color for the click targets respondents place on the stimulus image.

  6. Step 6: Preview on desktop and mobile. Confirm the image fits, click markers are visible, and coordinates map to the intended area; see Mobile-Friendly Research Surveys for phone checks.

    Step 6: Preview on desktop and mobile

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Preview: Heatmap

    Click on the stimulus image to place a marker. The x/y coordinates are stored in the attention_click export column.

Data And Export Notes

Heatmap answers export as normalized x and y coordinates from 0 to 1. Multiple clicks preserve click order. Keep the image file stable after launch so coordinates remain comparable across participants.

Do not replace the stimulus image after live collection begins. Coordinates from the old and new image are not analytically comparable without separate hand-coding of which image each respondent saw.

Preview: Heatmap Respondent View

Heatmap: Respondent View

Click on the image to place a marker — the same interaction respondents see when a stimulus image is uploaded.

Options: Heatmap Configuration

Options: Heatmap

Set marker count, shape, border, and color for the click targets respondents place on the stimulus image.

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