Open-ended question · Text

Open-ended questions

Let people answer in their own words. In the builder it’s Text / Essay: a comment box, a one-line field, or a field checked as a number, email, phone or postal code as they type. Numbers come back with a mean and median, and every answer can go into your export.

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The Open-ended question as respondents see it on a laptop and a phone

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Answer it. Your answer joins the results.

This is the question your respondents get. Type an answer and press Next: the results count you, and you can see the row your answer becomes in the export.

What’s one thing we could do to make your next visit better?

When to use it

Use an open-ended question when you can’t list the answers

When to use it

You want the reason behind a score, in people’s own words. Ask it right after the rating.
The possible answers are too many, or too unknown, to offer as options.
You need a short, exact answer you can’t list, such as an amount, an email address or a postcode. Pick a format and it’s checked as they type.
You’re exploring, and you don’t want to put words in people’s mouths.

When to reach for something else

You already know the likely answers. Offer them as options with single choice or multiple choice, and they’re counted for you.
You want a score on a fixed scale. Use a rating scale or a slider.
You need a date. The Date question gives people a date picker.
You need a name, email and phone together. Use a Contact Form (Professional+).

Sample wording

“What’s one thing we could do to make your next visit better?”

Best practices

Ask about one specific thing. “One thing we could do better” gets more than “Any other comments?”
Show how much to write. Set a Max Length and people see a counter, so a sentence or two feels right.
Use few open boxes. Each one takes effort, so save them for what matters.
For a short answer like a name, turn Long answer off so the box is one line.
For an amount or a count, pick Number, Percent or Currency, so you get a mean and median instead of text.

Every feature

Everything the open-ended question can do

A comment box or a checked field, the right keyboard on a phone, numbers you can average, and answers that stay private until you ask for them.

Build it your waySet-up in the builder.

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A comment box or one line

Long answer gives a multi-line box people can drag taller. Turn it off for a single line, for a name or a short reply. The builder preview shows the same box.

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Formats checked as they type

Number, Percent, Currency, Email address, Phone number, Postal / ZIP code, Website URL or US State. Phone and postal formats know the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

The same check runs again when the answer is saved.

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Numbers with limits

Allow whole numbers only or positive numbers only, set a minimum and maximum, cap the decimals, and show a label such as “$” or “kg” beside the box.

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Don’t know, without a fake number

Add a Don’t know or Prefer not to answer pill to a number question. It clears the box and stays out of the mean, and in an export it’s left blank until you tick Include open-ended answers.

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Your own pattern, tested first

Write a custom pattern for things like order numbers, and test sample answers in the builder. Patterns that are broken, or too slow to run safely, are flagged in the editor.

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Character limits and a counter

Set a minimum and a maximum. With a maximum, people see a counter such as 67/500 under the box.

Limits count characters, not words.

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Your own error message

Replace the standard message for a format with your own wording, translated per survey language.

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Required, soft required or optional

A required answer can’t be only spaces. A soft-required one warns once before a skip. An optional one can be left blank.

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Placeholder and pre-filled text

Write your own placeholder, or keep the standard one in the respondent’s language. Pre-filled text is only saved if the person changes it.

Your placeholder and pre-filled text aren’t translated.

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Pipe their words forward

Insert the answer into a later question with ${Q1}, such as “You said the wait. What would make it easier?” Show a follow-up only to people who wrote something.

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Import from Excel or Qualtrics

An OPEN, TEXT or ESSAY row in a sheet, or a Qualtrics Text Entry question, comes in as Text / Essay, with email, number and phone checks kept.

On the respondent’s screenWhat people answering see and use.

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The right keyboard for each format

A number keyboard for Number, Percent and Currency, an email keyboard, a phone keypad, a web address keyboard, and a number pad for US ZIP codes. Email, phone and postcode answers can autofill.

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Messages in their language

The standard placeholder, the format and length messages and the limit announcements come in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian. Or write your own error message.

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Checked on the server

Every answer is checked again when it’s saved, with the same rules, so a format or limit can’t be skipped.

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Named by its question

A screen reader announces the question as the box’s name, along with any help text, instead of the placeholder.

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The limit, read out

With a maximum set, the box is described as “Up to 500 characters”. Near the limit a screen reader hears it once, and again when the limit is reached, not on every key.

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Errors linked to the box

An error is announced and tied to its own box, even with several open questions on one page.

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Room to type, light or dark

The box is at least 44px tall with a clear focus ring, and follows the survey’s colours, dark mode included.

In your analysisResults, crosstabs and tab books.

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Answers at a glance

Results shows how many people answered and a sample of five answers, filtered like the rest of Results.

To read every answer, export them.

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A mean and median for numbers

A Number, Percent or Currency question gets the count of numeric answers, the mean, median, min and max beside its answers, weighted when you weight Results (Research Team).

LiveCrosstabs · Solo+Letters · Professional+

Crosstab a number

Put it in the rows against any banner: ranges set from the answers, a mean in every column, letters for the differences.

LiveTab books · Research Team

Number tables in tab books

Each number question gets a table of ranges and its mean across your banner, with letters. Written answers aren’t tabulated.

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Contact details masked on screen

Emails and phone numbers in answers are masked for Analysts and Viewers, such as t***@example.org. Researchers and above see them in full.

Stored answers and data exports are unchanged; reports, decks and portals always mask them.

Live

A fair low-effort check

On by default for plain-text answers. It flags keyboard mashing, one character typed over and over, and the same answer in every open box. “No” is fine, and text in other scripts isn’t called gibberish.

A short answer only counts below your Min Length, or under two characters on a required question. Tick Exclude from fraud & quality checks for a box that isn’t a real open-end.

In your dataWhat lands in your exports.

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One column per question

Each question gets its own column, Q1, Q2 and so on, labelled with the question.

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Private until you ask

Written answers read [OPEN_ENDED] until you tick Include open-ended answers. Email and phone answers also need Include personal data, and are encrypted when stored.

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Numbers export as numbers

A Number, Percent or Currency answer is always included: “41.50” arrives as 41.5, a number cell in Excel.

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Safe in a spreadsheet

In CSV, an answer that starts with = + - or @ (unless it’s a plain number such as -5) gets a leading apostrophe, so it never runs as a formula.

LiveSPSS · Professional+

SPSS strings that fit

Written answers become string variables sized to the longest answer, or a width you choose, with a warning for anything cut. A number question becomes a scale variable, until Include open-ended answers brings in an opt-out’s text, which makes it a string.

Not part of the open-ended question yet: word limits, dashboard tiles and report slides, and searching across answers. Read every answer by exporting them.

Build it

Add an open-ended question

1
Add the question
In the builder, add a question and choose Text / Essay. Ask about one thing, such as “What’s one thing we could do to make your next visit better?”
2
Pick the box
Keep Long answer (multi-line essay box) on for a comment box people can drag taller, or turn it off for a single line. The editor’s preview shows the box respondents get.
3
Choose a format
Leave Answer Format on Plain text, or pick Number, Percent, Currency, Email address, Phone number, Postal / ZIP code, Website URL, US State or a custom pattern. For numbers, tick Whole numbers only or Positive only, set a Min value and Max value, the Decimals and a Prefix such as “$”, and turn on Non-answer options for a Don’t know or Prefer not to answer pill.
4
Set limits and wording
Add a Min Length or Max Length in characters (a maximum shows a counter), your own Placeholder Text, and a Custom error message for a format.
5
Set the rules
In Rules, make it required, soft required or optional. Add pre-filled text if you like: it’s only saved if the person changes it.
6
Use the answer later
Pipe it into a later question with ${Q1}. If the box isn’t a real open-end, such as a reference number or a height typed into a Plain text box, tick Exclude from fraud & quality checks on the Design tab.

The Text / Essay editor for “What’s one thing we could do to make your next visit better?”: Long answer (multi-line essay box) ticked, Answer Format on Plain text, Min Length empty, Max Length 500 and the standard Placeholder Text, above the preview’s multi-line box with its limit under it — EditorThe box, the format and the limits in one place.

The editor with Answer Format on Currency: Whole numbers only unticked and Positive only ticked, Min value and Max value empty, Decimals 2, Prefix “$” and Suffix empty, then Non-answer options ticked with one row, Prefer not to answer beside PNTA, and Add option — Number optionsLimits, a “$” label and a way to opt out.

The editor with Answer Format on Custom pattern (RegEx): a booking-reference pattern under Pattern, and a matching booking reference under Test a sample answer, marked Passes — Pattern testerTry an answer before you launch.

The data you get

Every answer in its own column

Each question gets one column. Written answers stay out of your files until you ask for them, and numbers always come through as numbers.

Include open-ended answerswritten answersInclude personal dataemail and phone answers

respondent_id	Q1Comment	Q2Spend
47762a85-0001-4000-8000-000000000001	[OPEN_ENDED]	40
47762a85-0002-4000-8000-000000000002	[OPEN_ENDED]	11
47762a85-0003-4000-8000-000000000003	[OPEN_ENDED]	21
47762a85-0004-4000-8000-000000000004	[OPEN_ENDED]	15
47762a85-0005-4000-8000-000000000005	[OPEN_ENDED]	20.8
47762a85-0006-4000-8000-000000000006	(empty)	28
47762a85-0007-4000-8000-000000000007	[OPEN_ENDED]	31
47762a85-0008-4000-8000-000000000008	[OPEN_ENDED]	(empty)

Written answers read [OPEN_ENDED] until you tick Include open-ended answers. Spend amounts come through as numbers whatever the boxes say, and the last person’s Prefer not to answer is left blank. Q3 (email) is left out until you tick Include personal data. Trimmed to the three questions; the names under each header are for reading here. Every export also carries the standard respondent columns.