Eduardo E Sierra As a survey participant, one of my biggest pet peeves is getting asked a question with incomplete options.
Let’s take a look at the following question:
What’s your favorite sport?
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Tennis
How is someone with a passion for volleyball supposed to answer this question?
When respondents are faced with this dilemma, they may be inclined to provide a wrong answer and move on; while others simply exit the survey.
The good news is that you can fix this in two ways:
First, add the ‘Other, please specify‘ option.
What’s your favorite sport?
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Other, please specify________________
Second, change the question to a short answer, open-ended question.
What’s your favorite sport?
- ___________________________
It’s pointless to assume or decide for your participants; instead, encourage them to respond honestly.
