Multiple Choice Polls (Bar, Donut, Likert & Radar) in Poll Everywhere 2.0

In this article:

Multiple-choice polls ask participants to select from a set of predefined answer choices. Responses are collected in real time and displayed visually in one of four chart formats: Bar, Donut, Likert, or Radar. All four share the same underlying question structure; the difference is how results are displayed.

Bar

The Bar chart displays each choice as a horizontal bar, growing in length as votes come in. It is the default Multiple Choice visualization and the most widely used format.

Use case: Comparing responses across choices at a glance. Suited for any question with 2–8 choice options.

Donut

The Donut chart displays results as a circular chart with a hole in the centre, showing each choice as a proportional arc. Percentages and response counts update live.

Use case: Showing proportional distribution. Works well with 2–6 choices where you want to emphasize relative share rather than raw counts.

Likert

The Likert visualization displays choices on a horizontal agreement scale — ideal for questions using standard Likert response options (e.g. Strongly Agree → Strongly Disagree).

Use case: Attitude and opinion measurement. Use when your choices represent a spectrum or scale (e.g. satisfaction ratings, agreement levels).

Radar

The Radar chart (also known as a spider chart) plots each choice as a point on a radial axis, connecting them to form a polygon shape. The polygon grows outward as more votes accumulate on each choice.

Use case: Comparing multiple attributes or dimensions simultaneously. Effective for skills assessments, multi-criteria feedback, or comparing profiles.

Creating a Multiple Choice poll

1. From the Home page, click Multiple Choice in the category tabs.
2. Select your preferred visualization: Bar, Donut, Likert, or Radar.
3. The editor opens. Click the question title and type your question.
4. Click each Choice field and type your answer options.
5. Click + Add Choice to add more options (up to the plan limit).
6. To delete a choice, hover over it and click the delete icon.

You can switch between Bar, Donut, Likert, and Radar at any time using the Visualization panel on the right rail — without losing your question or responses.

Adding and managing choices

• Click any Choice option field to edit its text
• Use the drag handle to reorder choices
• Use the AI panel (✨ icon) to auto-generate choices, shuffle them, or improve wording
• Enable Show Correctness to mark one or more choices as correct, useful for quizzes.

Note: Character limits have been added to prevent excessively long poll content, question titles and choice titles are now capped at 10,000 characters, and submissions respect their configured max length (default 500 characters). This helps prevent abuse and performance issues.

Participant experience

Participants join by navigating to your join code (e.g. pe.app/joincode) or scanning the QR code on screen. They see:

• The question title
• A "You may respond X time(s)" indicator
• Their display name with an option to edit it
• All answer choices are selectable options

After selecting a choice, participants see their selection highlighted. If Show Responses is on, live results are visible.

Presenting

1. Click Present (top right of the editor) to enter live presentation mode
2. The poll activates — the green dot indicates it is live
3. Participant count and response count update in real time in the top-right badges
4. Use Lock to close voting when ready
5. Use the Exit button (bottom left) to return to the editor

Settings reference