Open-Ended Question Design

Sometimes it's amazing how often a small change can have a big effect on your survey results. For example, a simple difference in language can yield drastically different results, as can question placement where results are affected by the question that was asked before it. The same is true with the size of the box you use for qualitative, open-ended questions.

Often these questions are added to surveys in order to get a more detailed answer. But it's not always enough to simply place a question box. You also have to worry about the size of that question box.

In the past we've mentioned the importance of only using qualitative questions when necessary, because they take up a great deal of space in a survey and can increase the workload on the survey respondent. It's the same reason you may be tempted to only put a small question box as well – so that it takes up less space on the survey.

But if the qualitative question is really important to your research, you may want to rethink the smaller box. That's because respondents often associate the size of the question box with the level of detail they're expected to provide with their answer. If the respondent sees only a small question box, they may think that you're only looking for a sentence or two, and if they answer they may be more likely to put something brief and inadequate.

If they see a larger box, they may realize that they are expected to provide something more in depth and go into great detail. When you need a longer answer, this may be advantageous.

But before you decide to start adding larger question boxes, remember that larger question boxes may also give off the appearance of expecting a lot of work on the part of the respondent, and this can affect your survey completion rate. Similarly, taking up that much space in your survey will be visually unattractive and could add extra time, either because of scrolling or because you are unable to fit as many questions on a page. That's why you need to really think about what your qualitative box size says about your survey and the answer you need.

If you really do need a long answer, increase the size of the box, but be aware that the increase in size can have its own repercussions.