What are questions that allow respondents to respond freely in their own words called?

• A. Closed questions
• B. Likert items
• C. Rating scales
• D. Open questions

Answer: (D)

Open-ended questions invite respondents to answer in their own words, without being restricted to predefined options. This lets people express thoughts, experiences, and reasons in detail, offering richer, qualitative data and the chance to uncover ideas you might not have anticipated. They’re especially useful when you want depth and nuance, or to explore new perspectives. In contrast, closed questions limit responses to set choices, making it easier to compare answers but potentially missing important nuances. Likert items and rating scales are examples of closed or semi-closed formats that measure levels of agreement or intensity using fixed options. Because open-ended responses vary in length and content, they require more effort to analyze, often involving coding for themes. So questions that allow free-form, in-their-own-words responses are called open questions.