Fixed-Choice and Open-Ended Response Formats: A Comparison from HIV Prevention Research in Zimbabwe

This article examined similarities and differences in responses to open-ended and fixed-choice question formats gathered from Zimbabwean women participating in an HIV intervention study ( n = 227). Specifically, the authors compared the responses of women to two questions (one open-ended and one fixed-choice) about male condom negotiation strategies used with their partners. Comparisons across formats revealed that the definitions of negotiation categories coded from openended responses overlapped only moderately with categories used for the fixed-choice checklist. Fixed-choice reports of negotiation strategies were not statistically associated with reported condom use, but a statistically significant association was obtained with a category derived from open-ended questions. Although these results may be specific to this study and its specific study question, the data suggest that asking key study questions in both open-ended and fixed-choice formats may provide a valuable form of perspective for social and behavioral data.