LISS Data Archive > Using Interactive Features to Motivate and Probe Responses to Open-Ended Questions

In August 2008, the LISS panel was presented a questionnaire on the effect of including motivational statements and follow-up probes on response length and response quality of the responses to open-ended questions. The questionnaire included four open-ended questions and several closed-ended questions about the current situation in Dutch society.

Respondents to the internet survey were randomly assigned to one of the four versions of the open-ended questions. The control version simply displayed the open-ended question; no motivating statement was included with the question and respondents were not branched to a follow-up probe. In the second version the open-ended question included the motivational statement ‘This question is very important to our survey’, but similar to the control version, respondents were not asked a follow-up probe.