Describe the use of 'open questions' and 'closed questions' in research, using any examples.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2019). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Open questions: allow P to choose own response; (1 for definition)
2. [1] Closed question: only allows P to choose from a limited number of options; (1 for definition)
3. [1] Open questions produce more detailed / in depth / descriptive / qualitative data; (1 for detail)
4. [1] e.g. answers to 'Describe ...' (1 for example)
5. [1] e.g. when Ps in Dement & Kleitman 'were instructed to ... relate the content of the dream.' (1 for example)
6. [1] Closed questions produce quantitative/ numerical data; (1 for detail)
7. [1] e.g. answers to 'How many times on a scale of 1-10 ...' (1 for example)
8. [1] e.g. Eyes test choices in Baron-Cohen; (1 for example)
9. [1] open questions are interpreted researchers / are subjective; (1 for detail)
10. [1] closed questions tend to be more objective /less subjective; (1 for detail)