It is helpful to know that there are two basic categories of questions you can include in a survey: structured and unstructured. The kind of information you receive depends on the inquiry you ask. Thus, it’s critical to recognize the differences and know when to apply each.
You will learn everything there is to know about structured and unstructured survey questions in this post, including definitions, examples, benefits, and the ideal uses for each. To obtain even more informative data, you will also learn how to combine different sorts of questions. To begin, let us clarify the terms structured and unstructured survey questions.
What are structured questions?
Closed-ended questions are another name for structured inquiries. They offer responders a constrained, predetermined range of possibilities from which to select. Typical instances include the following:
Multiple-choice: These present a selection of possibilities. As an illustration, “What kind of ice cream is your favorite? A) Vanilla; B) Chocolate; C) Strawberry; D) Other.” Respondents may select one or more of these options for the multiple choice question, depending on your decision.
Likert scale: This kind of question gauges how much the respondent agrees or disagrees with a statement. “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” is the typical progression. For instance, “I enjoy reading books Strongly Disagree / Disagree / Neutral / Agree / Strongly Agree.”
Dichotomous: These inquiries are binary in nature. Easy and direct to the point! For example, “Do you drive a car? “Yes/No.”
One-choice: For the respondent, there is just one right response in this instance. In response to the question, “Where were you born?” people will have to name a single nation or location (Bristol, for example).
As you can see, responses to structured questions are standardized and simple to classify and analyze. They do, however, restrict the respondent’s capacity to elucidate or clarify their responses.
Advantages of using structured questions
Undoubtedly, a planned survey has its limitations. In particular, respondents find it more challenging to provide a thorough explanation for their responses. Yet, they do have a few significant advantages:
Simple to evaluate
The purpose of surveys is to learn more about people’s opinions. However, human emotion is nuanced and has numerous nuances. This ambiguity is eliminated by structured questions, which offer precise, well-defined response possibilities that produce data that is easy to compare and analyze.
It’s simple to determine how many buyers enjoyed a product, for instance, if you question, “Did you enjoy our product?” and accept yes or no responses. It’s not up to you to figure out what they meant.
Standardisation of responses
In order to obtain insights from survey results, it is necessary to compare responses. It is more difficult to identify trends if each person speaks in a totally own way. This problem is solved with structured questions. They ensure that all responses follow the same guidelines.
Imagine you wish to find out what the respondents think of a new phone. Eighty percent of respondents to constructed questions may give it a rating of four or five stars. It’s evident from that that they enjoy it! However, you might not find the information you’re seeking for if everyone gets distracted discussing which features are available or not.
Efficient for large-scale surveys
Typically, unstructured responses are more thorough and lengthy. That’s fantastic, but writing and analyzing them takes time. 100 lengthy answers could be possible to analyze. But ten thousand or a hundred thousand? A lot of reading, that is!
Time and resources are saved with structured questions. Because the responses can be processed quickly, they are ideal for large-scale surveys like those conducted for input on civic participation or bigger company projects. Even tools like those at SmartSurvey are available to assist.
Higher completion rate
Even the most devoted clients are busy people. While their time is valuable and lengthy surveys can be unsettling, they might be eager to assist you in improving your service. A structured survey is concise and to the point. This indicates a higher likelihood of completion.
What are unstructured questions?
What we just defined is the antithesis of unstructured inquiries. Because they are open-ended, respondents are able to write their answers in any way they like. Typical instances consist of:
Open-ended questions: Allow responders to write whatever in response. Such as “What do you think about our new product?”
Inquiring questions: These typically follow a formal inquiry to elicit further details. “Why did you choose that rating?” is one example.
fictitious inquiries: Find out what you would do in a hypothetical scenario. Like “If you were in charge for a day, what would you change?”
Essay-formatted answers: These are for more in-depth, lengthy responses. Such is “Describe your ideal vacation and why you’d enjoy it.”
Unstructured questions lead to qualitative, detailed responses with more context. But they make standardising and analysis more difficult.
Advantages of using unstructured questions
These answers can be long – from a few words to several paragraphs, making them harder to analyse than structured responses. So why bother with them? They can offer some significant advantages:
Rich, qualitative insights
Ultimately, what we want is data. You get rich, detailed information from unstructured queries. You’ll comprehend people’s true feelings and thoughts.
Asking “How was your experience with our customer service?” for instance, may bring out problems you were unaware of. Perhaps a lot of people comment on how kind the staff is, but they wish they could respond more quickly. It would be impossible to find that understanding with a simple scale rating.
Flexibility in responses
Formal inquiries may be restrictive. People may feel stuck if they are unable to provide the response they would like to. Even worse, they may select a response that deviates significantly from their initial assumptions.
Answers to unstructured questions are more nuanced and insightful because they allow respondents to freely express themselves in their own words.
Discover new ideas
When answering structured questions, you have to consider every scenario beforehand. But what if there’s a factor you overlooked? Unstructured inquiries may yield novel findings. Respondents may raise concepts or problems you had not considered. This may lead to fresh conversations or lines of inquiry regarding your company.
Comparing structured and unstructured questions
We have so examined both kinds of queries. But how do they compare with one another?
The primary variations are in respondents’ responses and the type of information obtained. Numbers from structured inquiries are organized and simple to interpret. You get thorough answers to unstructured inquiries. In other words, quantitative versus qualitative study.
Consider it akin to an exam in school. Similar to multiple-choice questions, structured questions are simple to mark and fast to respond to. Similar to essay questions, unstructured questions are more time-consuming yet provide a deeper insight.
Each has advantages and disadvantages. Understanding them aids in determining when to employ each kind. Next, let’s examine that.
Wrapping up
To obtain the most information possible, use the appropriate combination of structured and unstructured inquiries. Every format has a role in gathering individual insights and quantifying measurements.
A well-thought-out combination of closed- and open-ended questions will produce rich, useful data that will promote corporate success.
