Closed-ended questions are questions that offer a predetermined set of multiple-choice answers for respondents to choose from. These questions allow you to gather quantitative data that can easily be analyzed and compared.
They are useful in various situations, from customer interviews and research studies to product development and marketing strategies. However, there are some things to remember when using closed-ended questions.
Why Close-Ended Questions?
When collecting feedback, you need to gather accurate and precise information. Close ended questions allow you to collect quantifiable data that is easy to analyze and measure. This makes them useful for various situations, from surveys, interviews, and public opinion polls.
Open questions can leave a lot of room for irrelevant or ambiguous responses. Closed-ended questions restrict the number of options that can be answered, eliminating ambiguity and providing clear results.
They also encourage respondents to provide consistent answers, making them easier to compare and analyze. Closed-ended questions can also reduce survey time, resulting in a more efficient data collection.
They’re quick
Close-ended questions are a fast way to collect customer feedback. Respondents are asked to select an answer from a predetermined list of options so they don’t have to spend a long time writing their response. This also helps them to be more precise in their answers.
This fast pace of collecting and analyzing data makes closed-ended questions useful for gathering quantitative data like CSAT, NPS, CES and more. They are a great option when you need an objective measure of your customer’s experience and seek quantifiable information.
However, it is important to know the limitations of using closed-ended questions. For instance, they can lead to biased responses if the respondents misinterpret the question or the available answers. It is, therefore, important to pilot your questions before launching them with your audience to ensure they are clear and will elicit accurate responses. Other potential problems with closed-ended questions include using double-barreled questions that ask about two different variables (e.g., “Do you find our product easy to use and cost-effective?”), which can confuse your respondents and yield misleading results.
They’re Quantifiable
Closed questions provide specific, quantifiable data that makes analyzing and comparing participant responses easy. These short, fixed-answer questions are perfect for gathering the information you need when time is limited. They also help you reduce participant confusion and increase survey completion rates by limiting the number of choices available to answer.
By asking respondents to rate their experience on a scale or select one option out of many, closed-ended questions allow you to quantify and quickly compare their responses. Moreover, they can be useful for collecting demographic data.
However, as a researcher, it’s important to note that closed questions can limit the amount of detail collected from the respondent. For instance, the answer options may not accurately reflect the experience or opinion of the respondent, leading to incomplete or inaccurate data. Similarly, respondents who cannot choose an answer they feel comfortable with may opt for the closest one or give a default response such as “I don’t know.” These kinds of solutions can skew the results and lead to misleading data.
They’re Convenient
Closed questions also make it easier for respondents to complete your survey. They provide a predetermined list of answers for the respondent, making it easy for them to choose the solution that best suits their current knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
However, closed-ended questions may only sometimes provide the information you seek. For example, if you’re studying the habits of college students, it may not be easy to collect data that is wholly new with close-ended questions. While a single question can tell you how a student spends their time outside of class, it cannot tell you why they choose the activities they do.
For this reason, we recommend incorporating dichotomous questions into your surveys that allow for two response results. These include yes or no answers, true or false statements, and even agree or disagree questions. By limiting the options to just two responses, you can be sure that your participants are answering the question accurately. In addition, this will help you to gather quantitative data. That data type can be easily compared and turned into charts and graphs to gain a deeper insight into customer behavior.
They’re Easy to Understand
Close-ended questions ask respondents to choose one option from a short list of possible answers. This ensures that they don’t get distracted by other options and that their solution is not influenced by other people’s responses or other factors beyond their control. This also makes it easy for your survey to remain focused on the specifics of your research.
This question type is ideal when collecting quantitative data, as it eliminates ambiguity and allows you to compare results easily. However, you should be aware that close-ended questions can lead to acquiescence bias (customers will feel less inclined to criticize your products or company when given only preset options).
It’s important to avoid asking too many closed-ended questions in one survey because they can confuse your respondents and cause them to disengage. Try to limit the number of questions to 10 to prevent this from happening. When you need to ask more closed-ended questions, ensure you have a radio option so respondents can select just one option.
