Closed and open survey questions

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which one is a closed survey question?

A How do you feel about your sleep? Write your thoughts.

B How many hours do you sleep? Pick one: 5 or less, 6-7, 8-9, 10 or more

2. Which one is an open survey question?

A What would you change about the school canteen?

B Do you like the canteen? Yes or No

3. A rating scale from 1 (hate it) to 5 (love it) is which type of question?

A Closed

B Open

4. Which type of question gives free-text answers?

A Open

B Closed

5. You get 200 survey responses. Which type is easier to count?

A Open questions, because everyone writes a different answer

B Closed questions, because answers fit fixed choices

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Which sport do you play? (a) Netball (b) Football (c) Swimming		AThis is labelled closed but it has a blank space to write in, so it is really an open question. A closed question needs fixed choices.
2What do you like most about our school canteen?		BA closed question: it gives fixed choices to pick from
3A rating scale is a closed question because the answer is picked from fixed numbers		CThis is labelled open but it gives fixed choices, so it is really a closed question. An open question should have a blank space to write in.
4Closed answers are easier to count because you can use a formula on the fixed choices		DRate our canteen from 1 (poor) to 5 (great): 1 2 3 4 5
5Open question: How often do you read? (a) Daily (b) Weekly (c) Never		E=COUNTIF(B2:B30,"Netball")
6Closed question: Tell us how you feel about homework. ______		FAn open question: people write their own answer in their own words

Definitions

closed vs open question

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Q1: Describe your perfect lunch. type: ____

Q2: Pick one: A) Dog B) Cat C) Fish type: ______

=_______(B2:B30,"Yes")

Q4: What would you change at school? answer: ____ text box

Q5: Rate recess from 1 to 5. type: closed (rating _____)

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Q1 [closed] Pick your year:

B ( ) Year 7 ( ) Year 8

C Q2 [open] Rate lunch 1 to 5:

Question 2

A Q1 [closed] Do you like PE?

B Write your answer here: ____

C Q2 [open] Why do you like PE?

Question 3

A Q1 [closed] Favourite sport?

B ( ) Netball ( ) Soccer

C ( ) Tennis ( ) Other

D Q2 [closed] Why that sport?

Question 4

A Q1 [closed] Reading per week?

B ( ) 0-3 ( ) 2-4 ( ) 5+

C Q2 [open] Favourite book?

Question 5

A Q1 [closed] Own a phone?

B ( ) Yes ( ) No

C Q2 [open] ( ) Games ( ) Chat

Answer Key

Closed and open survey questions

Section A: Quick Questions

B — How many hours do you sleep? Pick one: 5 or less, 6-7, 8-9, 10 or more

A — What would you change about the school canteen?

A — Closed

A — Open

B — Closed questions, because answers fit fixed choices

Section B: Match the Pairs

Which sport do you play? (a) Netball (b) Football (c) Swimming → A closed question: it gives fixed choices to pick from

What do you like most about our school canteen? → An open question: people write their own answer in their own words

A rating scale is a closed question because the answer is picked from fixed numbers → Rate our canteen from 1 (poor) to 5 (great): 1 2 3 4 5

Closed answers are easier to count because you can use a formula on the fixed choices → =COUNTIF(B2:B30,"Netball")

Open question: How often do you read? (a) Daily (b) Weekly (c) Never → This is labelled open but it gives fixed choices, so it is really a closed question. An open question should have a blank space to write in.

Closed question: Tell us how you feel about homework. ______ → This is labelled closed but it has a blank space to write in, so it is really an open question. A closed question needs fixed choices.

Section C: Definitions

closed vs open question — A closed question gives fixed choices to pick from, like multiple choice or a rating scale. An open question lets people write their own answer, so it is harder to count.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Q1: Describe your perfect lunch.
type: open

Q2: Pick one: A) Dog B) Cat C) Fish
type: closed

=COUNTIF(B2:B30,"Yes")

Q4: What would you change at school?
answer: free text box

Q5: Rate recess from 1 to 5.
type: closed (rating scale)

Section E: Spot the Error

C — A rating scale gives fixed choices (1 to 5), so it is a closed question. The label should be [closed], not [open].

B — A closed question must list fixed choices to pick from. A blank writing space makes it open. The line should show options such as ( ) Yes ( ) No ( ) Maybe.

D — A 'Why?' question lets people write their own reason, so it is an open question. It should be labelled [open].

B — The fixed choices overlap, because 2 and 3 fit in two boxes. Closed question choices must not overlap, so the first choice should be 0-1.

C — An open question lets people write their own answer, so it should not list tick boxes. Fixed options would turn it into a closed question.