Range vs Input Answers

When you’re developing your survey, you often need to know specific numbers. For example: “How many times in the past year have you visited our coffee shop?” You then have your choice in how you want to allow respondents to answer the question. They can answer it with an exact number, where they enter the number of times into a box (such as “17”).

Or you can allow them to answer it with a range, such as: 0 times. 1 to 4 times. 5 to 10 times. 11 or more times. Many researchers choose to use the former option. After all, that option allows you to find a specific number, while a range can cause you to lose out on what may be interesting information.

Yet despite that possible benefit, there are many reasons to have a range answer instead of an answer that requires the sample to enter in their own number. These include: Time It takes a while for someone with an input answer to complete the question. They need to think back on the exact number, click on the box, and type it in before moving on to the next question.

With an input answer, they simply click and move forward. Every extra moment spent completing your survey matters, and spending all of that time providing an answer when a range would have sufficed is a wasted effort. Inaccurate Data The reality is that people also lose track of the exact numbers as well, reducing some of the value of having them input an exact answer.

If you ask how many times they visited the coffee shop, they will have to stop, think, and may not even be aware of the exact total, ending up with a rough estimate. Instead of a rough estimate (which hurts analysis) you could have come up with a range instead, which may not be as accurate a number but will not cause you to accidentally alter your results based on a guess. Outliers When you ask for an input, it is also possible for you to allow outliers that may affect your data.

If you use a range, there will be no outliers and you can analyze the information accordingly.

While input answers would be ideal, the lack of accuracy and time it takes to answer each question makes them not ideal for most research. You can consider input answers, but be aware that they may affect the quality of your data and your survey drop out rate.