Open questions are defined as

Open questions are defined as

• A. Questions with fixed answer choices
• B. Questions with no fixed answer; respondents can answer any way
• C. Questions that require yes/no
• D. Questions that lead to quantitative data

Answer: (B)

Open questions let respondents answer in their own words, with no fixed set of responses. This means there isn’t a pre-defined list to choose from, so the data gathered are usually qualitative and rich in detail. Because there’s no limited set of options, researchers can capture unexpected thoughts and nuances that fixed-answer formats might miss. However, this flexibility makes analysis more complex, often requiring coding or thematic analysis to identify patterns. In contrast, fixed-choice formats (like yes/no or multiple options) produce straightforward, quantitative data but can limit the depth of information collected.

Open questions let respondents answer in their own words, with no fixed set of responses. This means there isn’t a pre-defined list to choose from, so the data gathered are usually qualitative and rich in detail. Because there’s no limited set of options, researchers can capture unexpected thoughts and nuances that fixed-answer formats might miss. However, this flexibility makes analysis more complex, often requiring coding or thematic analysis to identify patterns. In contrast, fixed-choice formats (like yes/no or multiple options) produce straightforward, quantitative data but can limit the depth of information collected.