Adding an "Other" Textbox or Comment Field
Adding an Other Textbox or Comment field to a close-ended question allows respondents to either offer additional information about their choice, or provide an alternative answer if the available answer choices do not apply to them.
To add an "Other" textbox to a question:
- Click the Design Survey tab.
- Click a question to edit it, or add a new one. It must be one of the following question types:
- Multiple Choice
- Dropdown
- Matrix
- Below the answer options, click Add an "Other" Answer Option for Comments.
- Customize the label for the "Other" textbox (optional). By default, the label will say "Other (please specify)".
- Change the size of the textbox or add validation (optional). See below for details.
- Click Save.
Additional Label Options
Multiple Choice
When you add an "Other" textbox to a Multiple Choice or Dropdown question, the following options will be available:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Display as an answer choice | This will allow respondents to select "Other" as an answer choice without selecting any other answer choices listed. You will also need to customize the error message that will display if a respondent select the "Other" answer choice without entering a comment. |
| Display as comment field | This will allow respondents to select their answer from the listed choices, and also add additional open-ended comments about their choice. |
Matrix
If you choose the option to Use Weights on a Matrix question, you will see the following options:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| One comment for the question | This will place a one textbox for additional comments below the entire question. |
| One comment per row | This will place one textbox for additional comments below each row in the question. |
Validation
You can choose from the following validation options to require respondents to enter their answer in a specific format:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Don't validate this answer | Respondents can enter an open-ended comment in any format. |
| Make sure it's a specific length | Respondents must enter an answer between a specific character range. |
| Make sure it's a whole number | Respondents must enter a whole number within a specific number range. |
| Make sure it's a decimal number | Respondents must enter a decimal number within a specific number range. |
| Make sure it's a date (MM/DD/YYYY) | Respondents must enter a date in MM//DD/YYYY format, within a specific date range. |
| Make sure it's a date (DD/MM/YYYY) | Respondents must enter a date in DD/MM/YYYY format, within a specific date range. |
| Make sure it's an email address | Respondents must enter an email address. NOTE: There is no way to validate that respondents have entered a valid email address. It will only detect whether or not their answer is in the format of an email address. |
NOTE: Edit the question text and customize the error message to be clear about the validation requirements of a question to ensure that respondents will be able to identify what they did wrong and successfully advance through the survey.