Survey questions can be broadly divided into multiple-choice questions (Closed-Ended Questions) and open-ended questions (Open-Ended Questions). Each question type has unique advantages and disadvantages, and they should be strategically selected and combined according to the survey's purpose and the nature of the information sought. Rather than saying one type is inherently better, wisdom lies in choosing the optimal tool for the situation.
1. Multiple-Choice Questions (Closed-Ended Questions): When You Want Clear Data Within a Defined Framework
- Characteristics: Questions that require respondents to choose one or more options from a predefined list of answers. Yes/No questions, multiple-choice questions, and scale questions (e.g., Likert scale) are typical examples.
- Advantages:
- Ease of Response: Respondents can answer quickly and easily, reducing response burden.
- Data Analysis Efficiency: Collected data is quantitative, making statistical analysis and comparison easy. Results are easy to visualize with graphs or charts.
- Tendency for Higher Response Rates: Due to the short time required for response, they generally show higher response rates than open-ended questions.
- Ease of Approaching Sensitive Topics: As they don't require direct description, there's a relatively higher chance of getting honest answers even on sensitive topics.
- Disadvantages:
- Limited Response Range: It's difficult to capture opinions or subtle differences in thought outside the predefined options.
- Importance of Option Construction: Responses can be biased depending on the content, order, or number of answer options. If all possible responses are not covered or options overlap, data quality can be compromised.
- Possibility of Obtaining Only Superficial Information: It's hard to understand the in-depth reasons 'why' they think that way.
- Usage Scenarios:
- Confirming specific facts (e.g., "Have you used OOO product?")
- Comparing preferences (e.g., "Which design do you prefer among A, B, and C?")
- Quantitative measurement of satisfaction, agreement level, etc. (e.g., "How satisfied are you with OOO service?")
- When quick and consistent data needs to be collected from a large sample.
- Good Examples:
- "What is your age group? (① Teens ② 20s ③ 30s ④ 40s ⑤ 50s or older)"
- "How satisfied were you with finding the information you wanted on our website? (① Very dissatisfied ② Dissatisfied ③ Neutral ④ Satisfied ⑤ Very satisfied)"
2. Open-Ended Questions: When You Want to Hear Respondents' Vivid Voices and In-depth Reasons
- Characteristics: Questions that allow respondents to freely write their thoughts, opinions, experiences, etc.
- Advantages:
- Acquisition of Rich and Detailed Qualitative Data: Can obtain in-depth information about respondents' thoughts, emotions, or experiences.
- Discovery of Unexpected Insights: Provides opportunities to discover new ideas, problems, or improvement measures that were not anticipated.
- Answers to 'Why?': Very useful for understanding the fundamental reasons behind specific behaviors or attitudes.
- Gives Respondents a Voice: Provides an opportunity to fully express their opinions, making respondents feel respected.
- Disadvantages:
- Increased Response Burden: Requires more time and effort to write answers, which can lower response rates.
- Difficulty in Data Analysis: Analyzing and coding collected text data requires a lot of time and expertise. Responses are diverse and subjective, making quantification difficult.
- Variation in Response Quality: The quality of answers can vary greatly depending on the respondent's expressiveness or sincerity.
- Usage Scenarios:
- Exploratory research (e.g., discovering new market opportunities, identifying unmet consumer needs)
- In-depth understanding of specific experiences or problems (e.g., "What was the most inconvenient experience while using the product and why?")
- Collecting improvement ideas or suggestions (e.g., "If you have any ideas for improving our service, please write them freely.")
- When seeking in-depth information from a small sample.
- Good Examples:
- "What are you most looking forward to about our new product, and why?"
- "Please tell us specifically about any inconveniences you experienced or areas you would like to see improved during your recent use of our customer center."
3. Strategic Combination: Leveraging the Synergy of Multiple-Choice and Open-Ended Questions
In actual surveys, it is effective to strategically combine multiple-choice and open-ended questions according to the purpose. For example, after identifying general satisfaction or preference trends with multiple-choice questions, you can use open-ended questions to delve deeper into the reasons for specific responses (e.g., very dissatisfied, selection of a particular item). A typical example is adding an open-ended question like "What is the main reason you would not recommend our service to others?" to customers who gave a low score in an NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey.
Marketers must find a balance between multiple-choice and open-ended questions by comprehensively considering the survey's goals, the depth and breadth of information sought, respondent characteristics, and available time and resources for analysis. This allows for securing both the clarity of quantitative data and the richness of qualitative data, contributing to a deeper customer understanding and the formulation of practical marketing strategies.