Open Answer (OA / FA)
Free-text question types for collecting written responses, with OA used for long-form and FA for short keywords.
Free-text question types let respondents answer in their own words. kicue provides two variants depending on the expected length of the response.
OA vs FA
| Short name | Full name | Input field | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| OA | Open Answer | multi-line text area | opinions, reasons, long-form text |
| FA | Free Answer | single-line input | product names, keywords, short-form text |
When to use each
- OA: improvement suggestions, reasons for purchase, freeform feedback, anecdotes
- FA: product names, brand names, search keywords, top-of-mind keywords
Configuration
- Minimum / maximum character count — prevents extreme short or long answers
- Character counter — shows current character count to the respondent
- Placeholder text — shows an example in muted text
- Required / optional
Notes on tabulation
Free-text answers are hard to tabulate directly, so the following design patterns are common:
- Use a closed-form question for broad categorization, then OA / FA to dig into the reason
- Pair FA with an "Other" option on SA / MA to capture write-ins
- Plan for qualitative analysis (coding, text mining) when designing OA questions
Examples
Q. Please share your impressions of our service (OA)
[ (long text area) ]
Q. What brand did you most recently purchase? (FA)
[ ────────── ]
