Value of Open-Ended Questions in Research Proposal

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However, asking specific, open-ended questions about what the individual actually eats at Subway yields more interesting data than simply asking him or her if health is a question when ordering -- perhaps he gets a highly caloric meatball sub, and feels comforted that Subway is a 'diet restaurant.' In contrast, an individual with small children who frequents fast food restaurants might be marked as an unhealthy eater in a closed-question quantitative study if he or she is merely asked 'do you go to fast food restaurants that sell burgers more than three times a week?' That individual might order a salad at McDonald's while her children get happy meals, while someone who goes to Subway and orders the unhealthy food options will not have his or her food choices adequately recorded. A more accurate portrait of different ways of patronizing restaurants and what was consumed on the premises would be to ask for a list of restaurants and typical order, as well as the type of restaurant so the nutritional breakdown of the order to be 'done' on the part of the researcher, rather than on the part of the more subjective, and perhaps inaccurate part of the respondent. Again, specificity through open-ended questions, and only then quantifying the data, for example, estimating the calorie count or nutritional breakdown of the menu items after they are reported, yields a more telling result of the profile of the American eater by allowing the respondent to reflect his or her unconscious biases and to be more honest about his or her habits.

A final open-ended question of how do you define a healthy diet is another important question for the topic of the survey.

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Some respondents might define health in terms of maintaining a healthy weight, others in terms of cutting down the amount of processed foods they eat, or eating more veggies. The responses, although open-ended, could be divided into various categories, such as those who define healthy eating mainly according to: 'their weight concerns,' those who are most concerned about 'general physical health,' 'the health of the planet,' 'the health of their children and family on a psychological basis (like sitting down to dine, regardless of the meal's nutritional content). This is why the open-ended question is better than just asking "is healthy eating important to you, yes or no?"

The value in using open-ended questions on an issue as subjective as perceptions of health and diet is to bring out more realistic and also more subtle psychological factors than other types of directed-question questionnaires. Finally, through the use of open-ended questions, the individuals asking the questions would not be prompted to create a particular definition of healthy eating. Directed questions suggest to the guilty respondents that they should reply 'oh, of course, I seldom eat fast food, of course consider healthy eating a priority,' if asked in a yes/no format. Finding the truth by refusing to ask a leading question and refusing to allow the respondent to create a false image on paper must be the priority of accurate research on this topic and other similar health-related issues.

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