Close ended questions are questions which expect a simple response from the respondent. They are designed in a way so that there is not much thought or idea incorporated into the single word answer.
Everyone loves to talk about themselves, especially answering the questions that made them explore themselves. When they get an opportunity, you will be shocked to know how much information they are disclosing to you. However, this is not the same case in closed questions.
Besides hearing all what they have to say, these questions are specifically targeted. These are ideal for quantitative research and market research where the individual answers the questions in a way such that they are less likely to disconnect.
What is a close ended question?
SUMMARY
Close ended questions refer to various questions from which individuals are given options to choose a response from. Basically, these questions could be answered with one word response or a simple “yes” or “no” answer.
Closed questions are suitable for online surveys and only allow a limited number of responses because you can get higher response rates when users have no need to type so much for answering. They are usually framed as a statement which requires a response.
These multiple choice form questions start with can, did, will or have. For making statistical data, they are simpler to answer which allows respondents to answer and quickly make the choice.
Close ended questions examples
Close-ended questions usually require the respondents to answer in one word which is ideal for survey questions or collecting data. Here are some of the examples of these types of questions.
Do you like vegetarian food?
Is India an underdeveloped country?
Have you enjoyed today’s event?
Do you like our customer care services?
Can you walk for 30 minutes every morning?
Were you born in 2000?
Did you use my sunglasses?
Apart from these straightforward questions, sometimes there are some closed ended questions which require an answer rather than a simple yes or no.
What is your date of birth?
Which university did you attend?
What is the capital of India?
Where did you steal the money?
How rarely do you use public transportation?
How satisfied are you?
Open ended vs closed ended questions
SUMMARY
Open ended questions require detailed answers from respondents while close ended questions require one word response to choose from.
The basic difference between open ended and closed ended questions is in the data that they collect. Close ended questions are the ones which can be used to draw generalized end results based on the statistical data analysis.
While open ended questions require the respondent to choose the answer in detail. In this individuals can write unique responses which is suitable for explained marketing research that looks to describe a subject based on trends and patterns. However, they need more effort and time to answer.
Let’s deep dive into the factors that lie in open ended and close ended questions.
1. Type of data
Close-ended questions are used to collect data during surveys for statistical significance. They provide clear direction of trends and collect quantitative data. Here the statements used are unambiguous and do not require any debate.
While open ended questions collect qualitative data with the experience of bad emotions that can be editable in nature. This data is used for sentiment analysis reports, text analytics and word cloud reports.
2. Depth of data
Close ended questions might be used for questions that collect quantifiable data required for primary analysis. While open ended questions can be used to find the reason behind the response. It helps to understand one’s purpose for a specific answer or feedback.
3. Circumstances
Close ended questions are easy and simple to answer and don’t need much time to answer them and are respondent friendly as well.
On the other hand, open-ended questions help to fill the gap and give freedom to individuals to answer anything they want. It is because sometimes the questions carried in the survey are not able to cover all the possible areas.
Examples of close ended questions vs open ended questions
Close ended questions can be elaborated into open ended questions with some minor changes so that respondents can get a chance to explain it in a better way. Here are 7 examples of these questions with comparison.
| Closed-ended question example | Open-ended question example |
| Would you suggest our product or service to a friend? | What were the primary factors that influenced your decision to use our product or service? |
| Did you have a positive customer service experience? | What were your thoughts on our customer service? |
| Would you be willing to use our product or service again? | What would make you want to buy our product or utilise our service again? |
| What did you think of our product or service? | What do you consider to be the most significant aspect of our product or service? |
| Do you want to purchase a product or service right now? | What are you seeking for today in terms of a product or service? |
| Are you satisfied with your time with us? | What words would you use to characterise your time with us? |
| Were you able to locate what you were looking for today? | What can we do today to assist you in finding what you’re looking for? |
Advantages of close ended questions
Close ended questions are ideal for asking respondents most of the time to answer a question. Therefore, here are some of the benefits of using these questions in surveys or data analysis.
1. Easy and convenient to answer
They are easy to understand as well as answer, therefore, respondents don’t need to spend so much on reading the question again and again. Moreover, they are quick and simple to respond as well.
2. Easy to compare
When the data gets collected and obtained from a large number of people, it needs to be compared for better insights. And that’s where closed ended questions help to easily compare and conclude the results on a large scale basis.
3. Less costly
Close ended questions are less costly to analyse as compared to open ended questions. The data gets collected and compared on the basis of a simple answer which thereby requires less cost and expenses on different aspects of data.
4. Clarifies the question text
Closed-ended questions are easier to complete and that’s why these are layout of all possible answers and removing the task of individuals to come up with their responses.
5. Motivates to answer
They provide clarity in the response choices on the expected answer for the question asked. It’s easy to understand what the question is about and doesn’t discourage the response or lead to abandonment.
Disadvantages of close ended questions
Along with benefits, there are also some disadvantages of close-ended questions which are given below.
1. The respondents might not get the choice they are looking for since your list doesn’t contain all the available choices.
2. Some of the respondents might not get the options which they really wanted to select. Therefore, you should provide relevant and specific answers.
3. It is quite difficult to interpret if someone selects the wrong option by mistake and misunderstood the condition.
4. To identify statistical significance, you need to collect the data or run the survey on a large scale.
5. The format or idea of closed ended questions might be too complex for some users who really want more detail of a particular subject or question.
Types of closed ended questions
There are two types of closed ended questions. Let’s understand them closely.
1. Dichotomous or “yes” or “no” question
These are the subjective questions that can only be answered in one or two or simply with yes or no or true or false. For instance, give an answer with yes or no for, do you like Starbucks?
2. Multiple choice question
Multiple choice questions are types of questions in which respondents are given options to choose from. These are easy and convenient and help the researcher to obtain clean and easy to analyse data. It basically contains a question, correct answer, closet alternative and distractions.
Types of Multiple choice question
Here are four different question types of multiple choice questions based on different analysis and data collection.
1. Likert scale multiple choice questions
Likert scale contains 5 pointers or above rating scale questions where the individual is needed to complete the questionnaire that needs them to point out the extent to which they agree or disagree.
2. Rating scale multiple choice questions
These close ended questions need the respondents to select a fixed value in response that can be numeric. For instance, giving ratings to any service or product. The number of scale points is determined by the type of questions posed by the researcher.
3. Checklist multiple choice questions
This type of question gives the liberty to individuals to choose the desired option from many that have been stated. As a result, depending on the question, the respondent can select one or more possibilities.
4. Rank order multiple choice questions
These close-ended questions usually come with multiple options from which the respondent can choose or rank according to their preference. They need to rank or organize it from most preferred to least preferred.
Closed ended questions for interview
For identifying the best candidate for a job, you need to ask the right questions during the interview to determine the potential of the interviewee. The preparation for the same need to ask some of the close ended questions as well. These help to produce more nuanced information to help in firing decisions.
So, here are some of these questions that you should ask.
- Have you ever been fired from your job?
- Can you work under extreme pressure?
- Do you know how to work in a team?
- Do you know how to use or operate a typewriter, computer, drill press, SWOT analysis, etc?
- What’s your financial goal this year?
- How much salary are you expecting in the beginning?
- Have you held a position of leadership and supervision in any organization before?
- Was your last job challenging or rewarding or a mix of both?
- Are you looking for a job in a company of a certain size?
- How many times were you late at the office last year?
- What is the most important asset for a manager or salesperson?
- How many leaves have you taken for the last year for being sick or for personal reasons?
- How many interviews have you taken with other organizations? Can you tell their names?
- What was the last book that you read and why did you read it?
- How long have you been in the industry?
- What was the time duration you worked for your last employer or organization?
- Do you also have any experience of working remotely?
- What was your most liked subject and lecture in college?
- What do you prefer the most, working in a team or working individually?
- Do you have any interest in giving presentations?
- Did you ever take the office work at home with you?
- Do you motivate yourself to work hard every day?
- How can you describe yourself?
- How would your boss, co-worker or volunteer describe you?
- Do you have any strengths and weaknesses?
- Do you ever get accomplishments from your previous boss, organization or colleague?
- Can you explain this gap into your employment history?
- Can you explain why you have changed so many job positions in such a short period of time?
- Have you ever sold an idea to your boss, co-worker and colleague?
- Have you ever faced a situation that demonstrated your coping skills?
- Have you ever been assigned to any complex project and how did you deal with it?
- Was there any time when your boss or co-worker disagreed with your ideas?
Close ended questions for sales
The buyers of this era are complex and have diverse needs and wants. They are so free to answer and share the information for endless access to product details. Therefore, in order to provide value to these customers, you have to ask good sales questions.
So, let’s have a look at the best close ended questions you can ask to buyers.
- Are you happy with the offer?
- Do you know what characteristics the chair you are looking for should have?
- Have you ever shopped for a new office chair?
- Have you got a chance to get acquainted with the range of our products?
- Am I right in guessing that we have reached an agreement at this point?
- Do I get the impression that I’ve allayed your fears?
- Is the chair comfortable for you?
- Are you dissatisfied with the price of this model?
- Are you planning to spend up to 10,000 rubles on a purchase?
- Maybe you want to learn more about this model?
- Do you mind if I show you products that meet the parameters I specified earlier?
- Isn’t it true that your final selection will be based on the cost of the office chair?
- There is a technique to save money on the purchase. Would you like to learn more about it?
- To get a discount on your purchase, you must complete a short questionnaire. Do you mind if I include your phone number in our retail chain’s questionnaire?
- Would you say that all of your customer care representatives are utilising technology to its maximum potential?
- Is it possible for your team to do more of X?
- Do you believe you’ve done everything you can in [insert area]?
- Do you believe [insert problem] is a concern for you?
- Are you seeking additional options right now?
- Will you make a choice within the next three months on this?
- Is there anything else you need to know?
- Have you spoken to all of the other people involved?
- Is everything clear now?
- Do you enjoy the characteristics of our product that deliver “X, Y, or Z”?
- Can I pay you a visit on Tuesday?
- Are you ready to take the next step?
- Do you consider “X” to be a problem for you?
- Do you want to start working on this right away?
- Do you enjoy how our product has this different feature?
- Were you happy with your previous vendor?
- Are you ready to take the next step in this transaction?
Close ended questions in research
When conducting research or for data analysis, it’s ideal to ask some closed ended questions. These can be asked during, before or after research sessions of nps surveys.
It’s easy to focus on what you want to know rather than how you ask, but the way you ask the questions helps in terms of what and how much you want.
- Do you like large events or intimate ones?
- Do you prefer being an introvert or an extrovert?
- Do you believe the future will be better or worse than the current state of affairs?
- Have you ever been ticketed for speeding?
- Do you normally wear a watch on your wrist?
- Do you have any wiggle room in your ears?
- If you were given the chance, would you lead your country?
- Do you play any musical instruments on a regular basis?
- Do you intend to go outside of the country in the coming year for vacation, business, or another reason?
- When do you believe you’ll be ready to retire?
- Do you think you’re stressed out more or less than the average person?
- Do you consider yourself to be a decent person?
- Have you ever changed the oil on your car?
- How many hours a day do you spend on average staring at a screen?
- What is the funniest term that comes to mind?
- Do you have a favourite type of international cuisine?
- Is it appropriate for people to be able to sell their organs?
- Do you have a knack for repairing stuff around the house?
- Do you own a car?
- Do you rather be in the woods or on the beach?
- Which country’s history is the most fascinating?
- Which key on the keyboard is your favourite?
- On average, how many movies do you watch every week?
- How corrupt do you think your government is, on a scale of 1 to 10?
- Do you unroll a toilet paper roll from the top or the bottom?
- What is the most crucial thing a person can do to better themselves?
- Do you want to take a lot of chances or do you prefer to play it safe?
- Do you work full-time or part-time?
- Which news organization is the least biased?
- Do you believe the average individual is mature enough to make all of their own life decisions at the age of 67?
- Do you have any siblings?
- What is your favourite flavor of ice cream?
- Have you ever had an incident while texting?
- What year did you come into this world?
- Are you a believer in a half-full or half-empty cup?
- What is your favourite holiday to celebrate?
- What is your greatest fear?
- Where would you like to live the most?
- Do you prefer to be awake at night or in the morning?
- Who did you spend the most time with as a child?
- Did you cast a ballot in the most recent major election?
- Who do you consider to be the most significant person in your life?
- Do you enjoy taking road trips?
- What programming languages do you know, if any?
- Do you know how to surf?
- How did you feel about your hometown when you were a kid?
- Do you believe some people are born with more luck than others?
- How long does it take you to go to work?
- How many pets do you have right now?
- Do you prefer bathing or showering?
- Have you ever travelled outside of your home country?
- What is your favourite type of book?
- What was the first place you met your best friend?
- What colour would you want grass to be if it could be any other colour?
- On a scale of one to ten, how creative are you?
- Is your country improving or deteriorating, all things considered?
Closed ended questions for preschoolers
Preschool is such fun while raising funds. Their progress is expanding and it’s never a dull moment when they are talking. For showing signs of anxiety at preschool, it’s recommended to reframe the requests with close-ended questions for kids to determine the value of creativity rather than a correct answer.
- Do you enjoy playing sports?
- What is your favourite food that you eat most?
- What was your day like?
- Did you enjoy your meal?
- Do you enjoy your role as a big brother?
- What is your favourite sport?
- Do you own any animals?
- Which ice cream flavor is your favourite?
- Did you have a good time at Joe’s place?
- Are you depressed?
- What irritates you?
- Do you enjoy going skiing?
- Did you have a good time at school?
- Is this a work of yours?
- Did you strike that kid?
- What’s your go-to snack?
- Do you like to visit school everyday?
- Do you want to make friends in school?
- Have you ever missed your homework?
- Do you like your teachers?
- Do you want to have more fun?
- Have you memorized any poem? If so, what is it?
- What is your favourite subject class?
- Do you enjoy drawing, art and craft?
- Do you like to visit science museums?
- Have you ever created any picture of your parents and yours?
- Will you visit Disneyland if you get a chance in the future?
- Do you like to read about freedom fighters?
- Can you tell me a story which is your most favourite?
- Do you like to eat chocolates, cakes and toffees?
Close ended question examples for students
Examination questions are generally used by teachers to get the information from students in order to test their understanding of a particular subject.
Therefore, giving educators and students the opportunity to share their opinions comes through your net promoter score and mobile surveys questions type that will help keep the school on the road to success.
So, here are some of the close-ended questions that you can include in the questionnaire while doing the survey.
- Do you believe in the power of good luck charms?
- What was/is your favourite subject in history class?
- What is your preferred social media platform?
- Do you enjoy living in your current location?
- Which corporation do you detest the most?
- Will extraterrestrial life ever be discovered?
- Have you ever attempted a skydive?
- What is your most time-consuming hobby?
- Do you brush your teeth on a regular basis?
- What is your favourite sport to watch?
- Do you enjoy being stranded in the rain?
- What animal is the polar opposite of a penguin?
- Do you want to donate your organs?
- Do you consider yourself a capable chef?
- Are you content with your current residence?
- Which of your possessions is your favourite?
- On a typical weekday, how many hours do you have free?
- Do you believe that in the next 100 years, mankind will occupy another planet or moon?
- When you go to someone’s residence to use the restroom, do you rummage through the bathroom drawers?
- What is your strongest emotion?
- On average, how many cups of coffee do you consume every day?
- Would you describe yourself as a goal-oriented individual?
- Where do you shop for groceries the most?
- Do you believe the universe is home to other intelligent life?
- Do you listen to audiobooks or podcasts?
- What superhero is your favourite?
- On average, how many books do you read every year?
- On a typical day, how many cans of soda do you consume?
Closed ended questions examples for survey
Close-ended questions for surveys give valuable insights into the results of your marketing and sales campaign. Respondents get the chances to choose the options and this way can improve the areas of working.
Here are a few questions that you should include in the survey to help you connect with your customers.
- How likely are you to recommend us to your friends and colleagues on a scale of 0 to 10?
- What is your opinion of your most recent engagement with our customer service team?
- How much do you agree with the following statement: “The company made it simple for me to deal with my problems and complete my task.”
- Please choose your country from the list below.
- Which of the four cuisines listed below would you choose?
- Is Norway the capital of America?
- Will you take our service again in future?
- How much will you rate our services below scale?
- Which service do you like the most from the options below?
- How much will you rate our platform?
- Which meal would you like to have again from the options below?
- Do you think we need any changes in our services?
- What will you rate the experience in below rating scale?
- Do you like our product after using it?
- Where do you want to visit for holiday from the below given options?
Close ended questions for customers
If you want to find out whether your customer service is top-notch or not, then you have to ask some relevant questions to your customer. Asking the right way and maintaining a strategy in mind will help you get the most out of your customer feedback questions.
So, let’s have a look at some close-ended questions to ask customers.
- Do you hear about us before visiting?
- Were your expectations met here?
- Did our customer service and staff help you?
- Are we missing any product, service or feature?
- Do you like to describe your experience with us?
- From 1 to 10, how would you like to rate us?
- Were you greeted in a friendly manner?
- Did our staff answer your questions?
- Did you find our staff helpful and kind?
- Were you served promptly?
- Can we make your experience better?
- Is our product or service no longer useful to you?
- Have you decided to test out a competitor?
- Did you notice any change?
- Are our products and services prices promptly?
- Which feature do you love the most from given below?
- How has a product and service made an impact on you or your lifestyle/business?
- Has any part of our service or business exceeded your expectations?
- Do you read paper books, magazines and newspapers or read online?
- Do you use free trials, coupons and offers?
- Do you use TV, smartphone or laptop?
- Did you try a competitor before us?
- Is there anything you missed about the previous product or service?
- Have you used or visited our website?
- Was it easy to find?
- Was the website easy to use?
- Would you find a new feature useful?
- Would you like a new product if we had it?
- Were you able to check out in a timely manner?
- Did you need to wait in the queue?
- Were you able to find what you were looking for?
- Were the staff able to answer your question or concern?
- Did our employee help you today?
- Would you like to work with this member again?
Closed ended questions for kids
In a busy schedule it’s quite difficult for parents to make the time out to understand their kids better. Many parents get worried that their kids are growing so fast and they’re not creating enough memories. When you try to get your kids to connect, it gets hidden behind the scene.
However, having the right tools and questions can help you have valuable conversation. Therefore, here are some close ended questions that you can ask your kids.
- Can you eat one thing for the whole of your life?
- Do you like to play with your friends?
- Do you want to read a new book?
- Did you listen to the newly released song?
- Do you have any lucky numbers or day?
- Do you have any favorites?
- Do you want to visit the world when you become successful?
- Do you love yourself?
- Have you ever made someone smile by helping them?
- Did you enjoy that day out with your friends?
- Are you really good at something?
- Did you ever feel proud of your parents?
- Do you want to be famous?
- Do you have any worries and problems in your life?
- Do you have any best friends or close friends?
- Is there anything that you can’t love without?
- Do you have any motivation in your life?
- Do you want to learn any skill later in future?
- Do you find your studies and subjects enjoyable?
- Do you think that it’s important to be rich or generous?
- Have you ever received a memorable gift?
- Do you think that going to school is the hardest part?
- Do you love any professional?
- Do you like to be on all social media platforms?
- Do you like to play inside or outside?
When to use closed-ended questions?
Perhaps, you end up answering only one category of questions that can be close ended questions. Therefore it’s necessary to understand where these questions help to gather actionable and quantitative data for a specific reason.
So let’s have a look at the possible areas where close ended questions can be used effectively.
1. For qualitative analysis
They usually require a restricted set of answers in one word, one can use these responses to deliver the value to every answer. This makes it easy to analyze the responses of various people which thereby provides statistical analysis of survey findings.
2. For bounding the response
In order to reduce the doubts, increase persistence and to understand the outside of a parameter among the respondents, these questions work best as they require specific answers which bound the respondents and allows the person running the survey to get more accurate and solid results.
3. For surveys
Close-ended questions are often used in conducting surveys and to collect facts about respondents. Since they require less time to answer and work best when the survey is running on a large number of respondents.
Tips for using close ended questions
Close ended questions are easy to ask and identify the goal of collecting information. It is quite subtle and convenient for asking the questions in only two ways. However, here are some of the tips that are suitable to include while asking questions.
1. Keep simple and clear questions
The questions you are asking should be specific and clear. If the question would be complex and not so easy to understand then the participants will most likely to misinterpret or disengage with the questions.
2. Write questions for those who are not so expert
It’s highly important to understand your research topic in order to ask the right questions and provide the valid answers. It’s your duty to translate the questions that you know which are understandable and easy for respondents.
If the individual is not able to understand your question and answers then the data you are collecting might be at risk.
3. Exclusive and exhaustive answer choices
You should ensure that the answer choices for closed questions should be exhaustive and exclusive. Exhaustive answer lists are ones that include all of the options. Exclusive answer lists are not related to choice, share intent or meaning.
The common form of this range is where the numerical group overlaps. For instance, 25-35 and 35-45, so if a participant is 35 then he might be confused which one to select in both of them. Moreover, words with similar meanings can also create confusion.
4. Only provide answers which are relevant
You should first analyze what kind of answers respondents will give you for each question. If you will not do this then it’s possible that your question might be hard or complex.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is quite necessary to understand that close ended questions are best when used for a short and direct answer for any specific questions. These are easy to transform into open ended questions with a few minor changes here and there.
Close ended questions are just simple questions that anyone can quickly answer merely because they require a yes or no answer. These might be also complex sometimes just as you have seen in multiple choice questions.
However, they are far easier to interpret and analyze than open-ended questions. For data collection, analysis and making the report in a survey, these questions are widely used.
