A comparison of open-ended and closed questions in the prediction of mental health

Oddgeir Friborg () and Jan Rosenvinge

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2013, vol. 47, issue 3, 1397-1411

Abstract: The statistical benefit of adding open-ended questions to closed questions was evaluated in a survey of 643 participants. The construct of coping was chosen as the measurement domain. Open and closed questions were used to predict mental health a year later. Verbatim responses to open questions were reliably coded (ICC = 0.92), but they did not increase the statistical prediction of measures of mental health beyond the contribution of closed questions. Open-ended questions provided more in-depth information than closed questions, but at the cost of more missing data and less degrees of freedom. The benefit of using open-ended in addition to standard closed questions was thus practically nil, hence questioning the use of qualitative information gathering in surveys for the purpose of statistical prediction. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Keywords: Survey questions; Open-ended; Closed; Statistical prediction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:qualqt:v:47:y:2013:i:3:p:1397-1411

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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-011-9597-8

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