{"id":7088,"date":"2013-04-04T06:05:36","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T13:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=7088"},"modified":"2023-07-06T05:25:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T05:25:06","slug":"are-open-ended-questions-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/are-open-ended-questions-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Open Ended Questions Dead?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a world of 140 characters, quick conversations, texting and social media analysis &#8212; what happened to the traditional open-ended question? \u00a0Is it dead?<\/p>\n<p>Of course not. \u00a0But I think that our friend the open-ended question needs somewhat of a facelift or a makeover.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-6667 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/istock_000006304060xsmall.jpg\" alt=\"iStock_000006304060XSmall\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"color: inherit; line-height: 14px; font-size: 14px;\">Ditch the lazy &#8211;\u00a0<\/strong>I am SOOOO guilty of this. \u00a0Asking the lazy &#8220;why&#8221; question. \u00a0You know &#8212; you ask a multiple choice question and then just ask WHY? \u00a0This is so 1980&#8217;s folks. \u00a0Simply asking &#8220;why&#8221; is the lazy way out. \u00a0Your respondent won&#8217;t answer the question or you will get paragraphs of garbage.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 14px;\">Instead,\u00a0<\/span>Stop and think about what you are really interested in knowing and ask it. \u00a0Are you looking for what stops your audience from taking a specific action? \u00a0Ask them what is stopping them. \u00a0Are you interested in knowing exactly what they do after they&#8217;ve consumed your product &#8212; ask that. \u00a0But don&#8217;t just ask why.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ask what&#8217;s missing<\/strong>: \u00a0This is a favorite question of mine lately. \u00a0After I ask a closed ended question, I simply ask what&#8217;s missing from the picture or the offer that would make this a no brainer choice.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you&#8217;re asking your audience to rate something on a scale from 1-10, then you can add a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/follow-up-questions\/\">follow-up question<\/a> (instead of why) ask them what is missing that would turn their 8 into a 10. \u00a0You&#8217;ll be wowed by the specific answers you get that can turn into fantastic new ideas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do some qualitative research &#8212; before the research:<\/strong> \u00a0One of my favorite ways to leverage open eneded questions is to use them in qualitative research. \u00a0I don&#8217;t use open ends as the answers, I use open ended questions to collect future multiple choice options. \u00a0Of course, you can brainstorm your own, but the closer you get to using Voice of the Customer open-ended options &#8211; the better your response rates and your ultimate results.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">LEARN ABOUT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/qualitative-research-survey-question\/\">Qualitative Research Questions and Questionnaires<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m curious about how you use open-ended questions and what your success strategies are for open ended questions. \u00a0I find myself skipping most opportunities to leave open-ended answers &#8212; even if I have an answer that would benefit the researcher. \u00a0I just don&#8217;t want to type my answer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>LEARN ABOUT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/what-are-open-ended-questions\/\">Open-Ended Questions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>So how do you use open ended questions and answers &#8212; share in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a world of 140 characters, quick conversations, texting and social media analysis &#8212; what happened to the traditional open-ended [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[428],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Are Open Ended Questions Dead? 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