What to Do with “Other, Describe”

Abstract

Measuring social categories and phenomena in survey questionnaires is complicated in a dynamic and diverse society. The use of “other, describe”–style open-ended text boxes can address this issue, but researchers rarely use these data because they lack guidance on how to code open-text information and manage small samples for analyses. The authors offer a roadmap to key decisions regarding the use of “other, describe” answer options and data during three stages of research: data collection and instrument development, data cleaning, and data analysis. The authors then use two cases, the Perceptions of Housework Pilot Survey and the Perceptions of Discrimination Study, to illustrate how decision making about open-text responses to demographic survey questions unfolded. These cases highlight the complexities and trade-offs in decision making and their implications for knowledge production. The authors recommend meta-practices for flexibility, transparency, and reflexivity, as there is not one “right choice” when it comes to using “other, describe” data.