Docs/Annotation Types

Radio & Multiselect

Single and multiple choice annotation types.

Radio & Multiselect

Radio buttons and multiselect checkboxes are the most common annotation types for classification tasks.

Radio Buttons

Use radio buttons when annotators should select exactly one option.

Basic Configuration

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: radio
    name: sentiment
    description: "Select the sentiment of this text"
    labels:
      - Positive
      - Negative
      - Neutral

With Keyboard Shortcuts

Add keyboard shortcuts for faster annotation:

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: radio
    name: sentiment
    description: "Select the sentiment"
    labels:
      - Positive
      - Negative
      - Neutral
    keyboard_shortcuts:
      Positive: "1"
      Negative: "2"
      Neutral: "3"

With Tooltips

Provide additional context for each option:

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: radio
    name: sentiment
    description: "Select the sentiment"
    labels:
      - Positive
      - Negative
      - Neutral
    tooltips:
      Positive: "The text expresses happiness, satisfaction, or approval"
      Negative: "The text expresses sadness, anger, or disapproval"
      Neutral: "The text does not express strong emotion"

Multiselect

Use multiselect when annotators can choose multiple options.

Basic Configuration

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: multiselect
    name: topics
    description: "Select all topics that apply"
    labels:
      - Politics
      - Sports
      - Technology
      - Entertainment
      - Science

With Minimum/Maximum Selection

Constrain the number of selections:

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: multiselect
    name: topics
    description: "Select 1-3 topics"
    labels:
      - Politics
      - Sports
      - Technology
    min_selections: 1
    max_selections: 3

Styling Options

Horizontal Layout

Display options horizontally instead of vertically:

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: radio
    name: rating
    labels:
      - "1"
      - "2"
      - "3"
      - "4"
      - "5"
    display: horizontal

Custom Colors

Assign colors to labels:

annotation_schemes:
  - annotation_type: radio
    name: sentiment
    labels:
      - Positive
      - Negative
      - Neutral
    label_colors:
      Positive: "#22c55e"
      Negative: "#ef4444"
      Neutral: "#6b7280"

Best Practices

  1. Keep labels concise - Use short, clear label names
  2. Use keyboard shortcuts - Speeds up annotation significantly
  3. Add tooltips for ambiguous labels - Helps ensure consistency
  4. Limit options - Too many choices slow down annotators
  5. Order logically - Most common options first, or alphabetically
NextLikert Scales