Research Tips

Formatting Questionnaires that Include Open-Ended Questions

Including open-ended questions in surveys is often a good idea; however, the space provided for responses to open-ended questions (whether as text boxes on the Web or blank areas in paper questionnaires) is often inadequate. The space provided should be appropriate for the type of question asked: short spaces are acceptable if the response is likely to be a one or two word answer, but more space is needed when longer and more complex responses are expected. Leaving too little space can irritate respondents or discourage them from answering open-ended questions. It can also cause problems with entering data from paper questionnaires (because responses may be hard to read or may bleed into areas intended for other questions), and can make interpreting responses difficult because they may have been truncated.