When to use it
- You want the reasoning behind a rating or choice, in the respondent’s words.
- The answer space is too broad or unknown to pre-list as options.
- You’re in exploratory research and don’t want to lead the answer.
- You’re pairing it with a closed metric like NPS to explain the score.
When to reach for something else
- You need clean, countable data fast — a closed question tallies instantly.
- You’re asking for something structured — an email, a number, a date — use a formatted field.
- You already know the likely answers — offer them as options and reduce effort.
Sample question
“What is the single most important thing we could do to improve your experience?”
Best practices
- Ask one specific thing — a focused prompt beats “any other comments?”
- Set expectations for length so people know a sentence is fine.
- Use open text sparingly; too many boxes tank completion rates.
- Apply format validation (email, number, postal) when the answer is structured.
- Place the big open question after the closed ones, while engagement is still high.
Data & reporting
Each response stores the raw text. Exports write the verbatim answer into a single column, unaltered. Reports show how many people responded and surface a sample of verbatims for reading; the free text itself is left intact for your own coding or theming.
Accessibility
The text field has a programmatic label tied to the question, announces any character limit or format requirement, and surfaces validation errors as text linked to the input so screen-reader users hear what needs fixing.
Compared to SurveyMonkey
Both capture verbatims; Surveti’s open field supports built-in format validation (email, numeric, postal, and more) so structured “open” answers are checked at entry rather than cleaned up later.
Frequently asked questions
How many open-ended questions should a survey have?
As few as will do the job. Typing takes effort, so each open box raises drop-off. One or two focused prompts — often a “why” after a key metric — usually outperform a survey full of text fields.
Can I validate the format of an open answer?
Yes. Surveti can enforce formats like email, numeric, percentage, currency, phone, or postal code on an open field, and set minimum or maximum length, so structured answers are checked as they’re entered.
How is open-ended data reported?
Reports show the response count and a sample of verbatims, and the full text exports untouched. Themes and coding are yours to apply — the raw words are preserved exactly.