Understanding Survey Comment Nonresponse and the Characteristics of Nonresponders

The vividness of verbatim comments may lead managers and training evaluators to place more weight on comments than quantitative data (i.e., ratings) when following up on survey results. This study suggests that those who do so may be basing their decisions on input from an unrepresentative segment of respondents. Steps should be taken to inform managers and training evaluators of the potential for nonresponse bias in open-ended comments. In addition, survey research and practice would benefit from interventions aimed at increasing the likelihood of hearing from the voices that often go unheard.