---
title: "What is an open-ended question? Free-text answers in polls"
url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/open-ended-question/"
description: "An open-ended question lets people answer in their own words. When to use one, how to read the answers, and how to ask one in Slack as a short text poll."
---

# What is an open-ended question?

**Open-ended question**: An open-ended question lets people answer in their own words instead of choosing from a list. It surfaces things you didn't think to ask about, at the cost of answers you have to read and group yourself.

Also known as: free-text question, open question, short text question.

Closed questions measure what you already suspected. Open questions find what you didn't.
Most good surveys use both: a closed question for the number, an open one for the reason.

## Example polls

Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.

```text
/poll "What is one thing that would make our standups more useful?" short text anonymous
```

One anonymous open question. *Free.*

```text
/poll "Ideas for the next team offsite activity" short text :bulb:
```

Ideas people can vote up with the bulb reaction. *Free.*

```text
/poll "Release retro" "Anonymous, two minutes." anonymous close after 2 days --- "How smooth was this release?" scale --- "What slowed you down?" short text --- "Anything else?" short text optional
```

A rating followed by open questions, the last one optional. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.*

## When to ask one

- **After a rating**: "How did the sprint go?" on a scale, then "What would have made it
  better?"
- **When you don't know the options yet**: collecting ideas, questions or blockers.
- **Retros and feedback**, where the detail is the point.

Don't use one when you need a count. "What day works?" as free text gives you twenty
differently written answers to tally by hand.

## Asking one in Slack

In Simple Poll an open-ended question is a `short text` poll. It takes no options. Add
`anonymous` when people would hold back with their name attached.

Add one of the supported reactions after it, like `short text :bulb:`, and people can
vote on each other's answers, so the best ideas rise. The reactions you can use are
`:thumbsup:` `:bulb:` `:heart:` `:joy:` `:tada:` `:rocket:` `:fire:` and
`:small_red_triangle:`.

In a survey (Premium), a `short text` question can be marked `optional`. Make open
questions optional when they come after required ones: people who have nothing to add
can skip instead of typing "n/a".

## Reading the answers

Read every answer, group them into a handful of themes, count each theme, and quote one
or two answers word for word. Don't guess at who wrote what in an anonymous poll. If a
theme needs a decision, follow up with a choice or [ranked](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/ranked-choice-voting/)
poll on the top suggestions.

## FAQ

### Can I hide short text answers until the poll closes?

Yes, with `hide results`, as long as the poll has no voting reaction. With a reaction,
such as `short text :bulb:`, answers are always visible so people can vote on them.

### How many open questions should a survey have?

One or two. Each one takes real effort to answer and to read.

## Related

- [Sprint retrospective poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/sprint-retrospective/): At the end of every sprint, before the retro meeting, so people can answer honestly and you walk in with the themes already on the table.
- [How to create a survey in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-create-a-survey-in-slack/): A survey in Simple Poll is one Slack message with several questions behind it. People click the survey's Open button, answer in a pop-up without leaving Slack, and you get the results in the same place. Surveys are a Premium feature, with up to 20 questions each.
- [What is a retrospective?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/retrospective/): A retrospective is a meeting at the end of a piece of work where the team looks at how it worked, not what it built, and picks changes to try next time. In Scrum it closes every sprint.
- [What is survey fatigue?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/survey-fatigue/): Survey fatigue is when people are asked for feedback so often, or at such length, that they stop answering or start answering carelessly.

## Sources

- [What question types can be used in multi-question polls?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/133-what-question-types-can-be-used-in-multi-question-polls)

---

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