ArticleBMC medical research methodology2004
"Any other comments?" Open questions on questionnaires - a bane or a bonus to research?
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 219 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
219 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Implementing a successful proactive telephone breastfeeding peer support intervention: volunteer recruitment, training, and intervention delivery in the RUBY randomised controlled trial.International breastfeeding journal · 2021Trial
- Volunteers' experiences of providing telephone-based breast-feeding peer support in the RUBY randomised controlled trial.Public health nutrition · 2020Trial
- Six versus 12 months' adjuvant trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer: the PERSEPHONE non-inferiority RCT.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Trial
- Thematic analysis of a United Kingdom-wide survey to explore women's perceptions and concerns about assisted reproductive technology.Human fertility (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- "Acting as the Face of a Broken System": Challenges Experienced by Mobile Crisis Workers.Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- Hypnosis for Postoperative Pain Management Following Colectomies: A Single-Center Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial.Diseases of the colon and rectum · 2026Article
- Complications in Central Venous Access Devices in Paediatric Cancer Care: A Global Cross-Sectional Survey.European journal of haematology · 2026Article
- Healthcare professionals' perspectives regarding the foundations of a patient reported measure for adults receiving Home Enteral Tube Feeding-A Delphi study.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit: an ACT-based intervention to improve parental/carer stress and psychosocial well-being of carers of children with appearance affecting conditions and injuries.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2026Article
- Development and Preliminary Validation of a Tool to Assess Barriers and Facilitators to Participation in Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Switch Trials.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Knowledge and awareness of colorectal cancer in central Uganda: a community cross-sectional survey.The oncologist · 2026Article
- Men's perceptions of long-term health outcomes following fertility problems: a UK-based mixed-methods survey.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- Developing and Assessing the Acceptability of an Information Booklet for Patients in Surveillance for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: An Intervention Development Study.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- Patient Involvement to Promote Empathy in Preclinical Medical Students: Cross-Sectional Intervention Study.Journal of participatory medicine · 2026Article
- The Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit: development of an ACT-based intervention to improve the well-being of parents and caregivers of children with appearance-affecting conditions and injuries.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2026Article
- Measuring the Impact of a Multi-Site In-Hospital Intervention for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Provision: A Survey of Hospital-Based Clinicians.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Designing a systemic intervention for student loneliness and social connectedness using a mixed-methods, co-creation approach.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Food Agency and Intentions to Improve Cooking Skills Among Korean Young Adults: Demographic Differences and Motivators.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Factors influencing UK veterinarians' decisions to leave equine clinical practice.The Veterinary record · 2026Article
159 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe habitual "any other comments" general open question at the end of structured questionnaires has the potential to increase response rates, elaborate responses to closed questions, and allow respondents to identify new issues not captured in the closed questions. However, we believe that many researchers have collected such data and failed to analyse or present it. DISCUSSION: General open questions at the end of structured questionnaires can present a problem because of their uncomfortable status of being strictly neither qualitative nor quantitative data, the consequent lack of clarity around how to analyse and report them, and the time and expertise needed to do so. We suggest that the value of these questions can be optimised if researchers start with a clear understanding of the type of data they wish to generate from such a question, and employ an appropriate strategy when designing the study. The intention can be to generate depth data or 'stories' from purposively defined groups of respondents for qualitative analysis, or to produce quantifiable data, representative of the population sampled, as a 'safety net' to identify issues which might complement the closed questions. SUMMARY: We encourage researchers to consider developing a more strategic use of general open questions at the end of structured questionnaires. This may optimise the quality of the data and the analysis, reduce dilemmas regarding whether and how to analyse such data, and result in a more ethical approach to making best use of the data which respondents kindly provide.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.