Survey: Structural Questions

Structured and Unstructured Questions

Quantitative research frequently uses structured questions in the form of a survey. Structural survey questions have multiple forms that involve quick responses, such as “yes” or “no,” and require lower cognitive thinking to answer. Qualitative research typically employs unstructured questions that can be used in an interview, focus group, or written questionnaire. In some cases, when an interview is conducted, follow-up questions are asked to clarify responses or to gain additional information. This is not done with structured questions. The response is simple and may include ranking choices with a Likert scale or determining if more than one response applies to the respondent. There are not follow-up questions, unless filtered through the survey. Qualitative research utilizes open-ended questions, leaving the respondent to provide unlimited possibilities to answer. There is no limit to how an open-ended question can be answered since there are not choices to pick from but rather telling a story. Structural survey questions in quantitative research use closed-ended questions in which there are only so many options from which to choose. Fewer choices and lower cognitive thinking make responding to structural questions easy and fast for respondents.

Advantages of Structural Questions

There are advantages to using structural survey questions in quantitative research. First, the data are more accurate since the respondent uses lower cognitive thinking to answer the question. When participants do not need to think hard to respond, they are more likely to respond precisely. In addition, the data are easier to code and analyze by the researcher since there are fewer response types, and no coding for themes required. When researchers use unstructured questions, respondents need to think at a higher level to respond appropriately. This in turn may cause a lower response rate or responses that are not accurate. The responses to unstructured questions may also provide more in-depth responses and explanations not expressed in structural questions that are more defined. However, there is much more time spent in coding and analyzing unstructured questions and ultimately they may not necessarily produce clear results. Structural survey questions, on the other hand, can be analyzed through statistical means, such as analysis of variance (ANOVA), to determine the significance of the data.

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