Comment Box Questions

Comment box questions provide a large text area for respondents to write detailed, open-ended responses. They capture qualitative feedback in the respondent’s own words.

When to Use

Comment box questions are ideal for:

Open-ended feedback - “Any other comments?”
Detailed explanations - “Please explain your answer”
Qualitative research - Exploratory questions
Verbatim responses - Testimonials, suggestions

Adding a Comment Box Question

Click Add Question in the survey editor
Select Comment Box
Enter your question text
Configure character limits (optional)
Add placeholder text (optional)

Configuration Options

Character Limits

Control response length:

Minimum characters:

Ensure substantive responses
Prevent single-word answers

Maximum characters:

Keep responses focused
Prevent extremely long answers
Common limits: 500, 1000, 2000

Show counter:

Display remaining characters
Helps respondents gauge length

Text Area Size

Rows:

Small (2-3 rows) - Short answers
Medium (5-6 rows) - Standard feedback
Large (8-10 rows) - Detailed responses

Auto-expand:

Grows as respondent types
Better mobile experience

Placeholder Text

Guide respondents with example:

"Please share any feedback about your experience..."
"Describe the issue you encountered..."
"Tell us what you liked most..."

Required Response

Toggle to require text entry before continuing.

Rich Text

Enable formatting options:

Bold, italic, underline
Bullet points
Links

Note: Rich text increases complexity and may not export well.

Best Practices

Question Wording

Be specific:

Good: "What specific features would you like us to add?"
Bad: "Any feedback?"

Encourage detail:

Good: "Please describe the problem in detail, including any error messages"
Bad: "What's wrong?"

Neutral tone:

Good: "What could we improve?"
Bad: "What don't you like about our amazing product?"

Placement

End of survey:

General comments
Additional feedback
Final thoughts

After specific sections:

Explain previous answers
Provide context

Following rating questions:

“Why did you give that rating?”
“What influenced your answer?”

Limiting Open-Ended Questions

Too many comment boxes:

Increase survey fatigue
Lower completion rates
Generate overwhelming data

Recommendation: 1-3 comment boxes per survey

Advanced Features

AI-Powered Analysis

Enable automatic analysis:

Sentiment analysis - Positive/negative/neutral
Theme detection - Common topics
Keyword extraction - Frequent terms
Summary generation - Key insights

Conditional Display

Show based on previous answers:

If NPS score ≤ 6:
  Show: "What could we do better?"

If NPS score ≥ 9:
  Show: "What do you value most about us?"

Piping

Reference previous answers:

You mentioned {{Q3}}.
Can you tell us more about that?

Input Validation

Validate response content:

Minimum word count
Required keywords
Format patterns
Language detection

Analyzing Results

Reading Responses

View individual responses:

Browse all responses
Search for keywords
Filter by other answers
Export for review

Text Analysis

Word cloud:

Visual frequency display
Identify common themes
Quick overview

Sentiment analysis:

Automatic positive/negative scoring
Track sentiment trends
Compare segments

Theme categorization:

Group similar responses
AI-assisted coding
Manual tagging

Quantifying Qualitative Data

Turn text into numbers:

Code responses - Assign categories
Count frequencies - How often themes appear
Cross-tabulate - Compare by segment
Score sentiment - Quantify tone

Reporting

Include in reports:

Key quotes
Theme summary
Sentiment breakdown
Representative examples

Common Use Cases

General Feedback

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

[Large text area]

Follow-Up to Rating

You rated our support as "Dissatisfied."
What specifically disappointed you?

[Text area]

Suggestions

What features or improvements would you like to see?

[Text area]

Problem Description

Please describe the issue you experienced.
Include any error messages and steps to reproduce.

[Large text area with placeholder]

Testimonials

Would you be willing to share a testimonial?
Tell us about your experience with our product.

[Text area]

Open-Ended Research

Describe your typical workday and the tools you use.

[Large text area]

Response Quality Tips

Get Better Responses

Provide context:

Explain why you’re asking
How feedback will be used
What level of detail needed

Use prompts:

Specific questions
Examples of good answers
Clear expectations

Right timing:

When experience is fresh
After meaningful interaction
Not when rushed

Avoid Poor Responses

Prevent:

“N/A” or “None”
Single words
Irrelevant content
Gibberish

Solutions:

Set minimum length
Make optional (reduces junk)
Better question wording
Conditional display

Mobile Considerations

Touch Keyboards

Auto-expand text area
Large enough tap target
Show character count

Shorter Responses

Mobile respondents type less:

May need lower minimums
Consider voice input
Keep questions focused

Troubleshooting

Low Response Quality

Question too vague (be specific)
No guidance (add placeholder)
Too many text questions (reduce)

High Skip Rate

Question seems optional (clarify importance)
Appears at bad time (move position)
Too demanding (lower expectations)

Analysis Overwhelm

Too many responses (sample or prioritize)
No structure (code themes)
Manual review impossible (use AI analysis)

Irrelevant Responses

Question misunderstood (reword)
Wrong context (add instructions)
Gaming/spam (add validation)

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