Open-Ended Question

An Open-Ended Question prompts respondents to provide free-form, unrestricted responses, without predefined answer choices. The primary benefit of open-ended questions is their capacity to elicit rich and detailed qualitative information. By allowing respondents to express their thoughts in their own words, open-ended questions provide a more comprehensive understanding of attitudes, opinions, and experiences.

What Respondents See

Creating an Open-Ended Question

To add an Open-ended question to a survey:

1. On the campaign’s primary questions page, expand the + Add New Question menu, then select Open Ended.

2. Type the question and format it as necessary using the formatting tools.

3. In the variable section, select the type of textbox(es) to display for the respondent’s answer:

   1. Short Answer: a one-line textbox for the respondent’s answer. Placeholder text can be entered to preview before the respondent has typed.

   2. Comment Box: a larger textbox for the respondent’s answer, encouraging a longer response from the respondent. Placeholder text can be entered to preview before the respondent has typed.

   3. Multiple Textbox: add several text or data boxes for the respondents to leave their responses. The multiple textboxes can be labeled and formatted for text, numbers, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, and more. Placeholders can be selected for each field to preview before the respondent has entered a response.

5. Modify the placeholder text for the type of textbox you selected. This text will appear in the textbox before the respondent begins typing (as previewed below the placeholder box).

a. If you have selected Multiple Textbox, select the type of information that will be in the textbox (text, email, date, city, state, etc.), then select the placeholder to hold the space until the respondent answers.

6. At the bottom of the question editor, mark the question as required (toggle on) or optional (toggle off) for the respondents.

Analyzing the Response Data

Analyzing open-ended responses can be a more qualitative and nuanced process compared to quantitative data analysis. Remember that the goal of analyzing open-ended responses is to extract meaningful insights that can inform decision-making and drive positive change.