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Question Types

Short Answer Survey Questions

Collect typed answers, numeric entries, and open-text responses with validation when the study needs it.

When To Use Short Answer

Short Answer questions collect open text, numeric entries, and brief free responses in academic survey software. Use them when a closed list would lose detail, when participants need to explain a choice, or when the study requires a typed number such as age, income, estimate, probability, or count.

Block Builder: Short Answer

Block Builder: Short Answer

Set placeholder text, character limits, and validation rules.

Closing text
Redirect (optional)

Short Answer is also useful for qualitative coding, manipulation explanations, recall tasks, comprehension checks, and open-ended outcome measures.

How It Supports Research Design

  • Open-ended text captures language that researchers can code later.
  • Length limits keep responses comparable across participants.
  • Numeric validation helps collect cleaner integer or decimal values.
  • Contains validation can check for required words or exclude disallowed text.
  • Python validation supports advanced custom checks when a protocol needs them.

Options: Short Answer Validation

Options: Short Answer Validation

Choose None, Integer, Number, Contains, or Python to control what values respondents can submit.

Configure It In Domandata

  1. Step 1: Open Block Builder. Open the survey and select the block where the typed response belongs.

    Step 1: Open Block Builder

    Survey Editor

    No-persist demo using the real builder shell.

    Add a Block

    Trash is empty.

  2. Step 2: Add a Short Answer question. Choose Short Answer from the question type selector.

    Step 2: Choose Short Answer question type

    Block Builder: Question Type

    Use the question type selector to switch between multiple choice, slider, grid, ranking, and more.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  3. Step 3: Write the prompt. State the desired response format, such as a sentence, number, or short explanation.

    Step 3: Write the prompt

    Block Builder: Short Answer

    Set placeholder text, character limits, and validation rules.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  4. Step 4: Add a helpful placeholder. Use placeholder text only when it clarifies the expected answer.

    Step 4: Add placeholder

    Block Builder: Short Answer

    Set placeholder text, character limits, and validation rules.

    Closing text
    Redirect (optional)

  5. Step 5: Add length rules. Set minimum or maximum length when response length matters for data quality or coding.

    Step 5: Add length rules

    Options: Short Answer Validation

    Choose None, Integer, Number, Contains, or Python to control what values respondents can submit.

  6. Step 6: Add validation. Choose integer, number, text contains, or Python validation when the response must follow a rule.

    Step 6: Add validation

    Options: Short Answer Validation

    Integer validation with Min: 18 and Max: 99 ensures the age field only accepts valid adult ages.

  7. Step 7: Preview invalid and valid answers. Use Preview to make sure the validation message helps respondents recover.

    Step 7: Preview validation

    Block Builder
    Preview
    Deploy

    Preview: Short Answer

    Open-text entry for political_views_open. Test with a valid response, an empty submission, and a response that exceeds the character limit.

Preview: Short Answer Respondent View

Short Answer: Respondent View

Type a response to see how a short answer question appears to participants.

Data And Export Notes

Short Answer exports the respondent text or validated numeric entry. If you plan to use the answer for by-variable assignment, range rules, or quota-driven rerouting, keep validation tight enough that the downstream flow can classify respondents reliably.

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