Open and close ended questions: These are the types of questions that you can come across in job interviews, projects, or surveys.
What are Open-ended Questions?
Open-ended questions are such questions that do not restrict someone in giving answers. People can answer freely without having any word limit or options (like yes or no).
The answers of such questions are usually longer. You can find out such answers, mainly, in job interviews. However, a few people may ask open-ended questions in surveys as well; but, in surveys, you may find out two-three questions, that are open-ended questions, out of 20 or more.
Following is the list of a few open-ended questions that you can come across in job interviews.
- How can you describe yourself?
- Can you list some of your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why do you want to work here?
- If you get hired, how can you help this company?
- Tell me something about this company.
- Where do you see yourself five years from now?
- Tell me something about your greatest achievement.
When to Use Open-ended Questions
Open-ended questions are most effective in situations that require in-depth insights or detailed responses. These are ideal for job interviews, where candidates can elaborate on their experiences and skills, or in brainstorming sessions, where creative ideas need to flow freely.
They are also used in qualitative research to understand participants’ thoughts, opinions, and behaviors without restrictions. Open-ended questions encourage thoughtful, detailed answers, making them useful when deeper information is needed.
Job Interview: “Can you describe a challenging project you worked on and how you managed it?”
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What are Close-ended Questions?
Close-ended questions are such questions that require a particular answer or may have specific options to select. They are very specific in a sense that the answers for such questions may be of one word or it could be very short. Close-ended questions can be very complicated in nature.
For instance, most of the close-ended questions may contain a yes or no answer. So, sometimes, a person can get confused whether to choose a yes or no without any debate. These types of questions are most likely to be asked on surveys because they are easy to analyze as a statistical data.
Following are a few close-ended questions for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
- Are you a graduate?
- May you help me please?
- Are you going to visit her or not?
- Do you want to become a doctor?
- Is this dress looking good on me?
Other examples of close-ended questions
- What is your date of birth?
- Does it contain salt or sugar?
The above examples do not expect a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer but the answers of these questions will be of one or two words.
When to Use Close-ended Questions
Close-ended questions are best used in contexts that require quick, specific answers or measurable data, such as surveys, polls, or assessments.
These questions are straightforward and easy to analyze, making them ideal for gathering large amounts of quantifiable data quickly, especially in customer satisfaction surveys or demographic questions. Their simplicity helps in creating clear, actionable results.
Customer Satisfaction Survey: “On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied are you with our service?”
Hybrid Questions: Combining Open and Close-ended Questions
Hybrid questions blend both open-ended and close-ended formats, allowing respondents to provide a specific answer first, followed by an opportunity to elaborate if needed.
These questions are useful in scenarios where a clear initial response is required, but additional context can be valuable, such as in feedback forms or post-event surveys. Moreover, hybrid questions balance brevity with depth, improving the quality of the feedback.
Event Feedback: “Did you enjoy the event? If yes, what did you like the most?”
What Did You Learn?
Open-ended question is the opposite of a close-ended question. Close-ended questions expect a particular short answer whereas; open-ended questions do not expect a particular answer and are not specific in nature.