Asking responders to rank stimuli has drawbacks and should be avoided if possible. Responders cannot be reasonably expected to rank more than about six things at a time, and many of them misinterpret directions or make mistakes in responding. To help alleviate this latter problem, ranking questions may be framed as follows:

Following are three colors for office walls: 1) Beige 2) Ivory 3) Light green
Which color do you like best? _____
Which color do you like second best? _____
Which color do you like least? _____