Original Post by Carolyn Mikna:
Research question: To what extent does job training correlate with employee retention?
Open ended question: What are the main reasons why you have stayed in this position for X amount of time?
Closed ended question: I feel like the company provided training has had a positive influence on my work.
-Strongly agree
-Agree
-Neither agree or disagree
-Disagree
-Strongly disagree
My Comment:
Great research question- I specifically appreciate seeing “correlate” in the phrasing because it clarifies the relationship you are testing between job training and employee retention.
A strength of your open-ended question is it guides the respondents to consider all that they experienced throughout their entire duration at a company, rather than only referencing recent memories or their current perception of the position. A suggestion to improve the open-ended question is to make it even more appropriate for your overall topic. Particularly since the question is open-ended, respondents may list reasons that would be difficult to objectively link to job training.
My version: What aspects of the job training impacted you staying in this position for X amount of time?
A strength of your closed-ended question is there are no difficult language or phrases. Further, with five answer options, participants are able to specify the degree to which they agree with the statement. In the case you only listed two answer options (yes or no), you would have less understanding of their experiences. A suggestion to improve the closed-ended question is to remove “I feel like” and instead explain you are listing a statement. I would also change the word “work” to “life” because people decide to stay in a job due to its impact on overall wellness not only the work itself. Further, to avoid bias, I would only use the words “positive” and “negative” in the answer options instead of as part of the question.
My version: How has the company provided training influenced your life?
a. Strong positively influenced
b. Positively influenced
c. Neither positively nor negatively influenced
d. Negatively influenced
e. Strongly negatively influenced
Questions for you- What is the sample of the survey? Would you ask people from a specific company, age-group, region, or industry?