Web surveys pose a number of advantages over paper or telephone surveys, including speed, cost, and ease of data entry (Couper, 2000; Ferrara & Nolan, 1974; Kiesler & Sproull, 1986). However, research regarding survey mode differences highlights a number of potential challenges such as sample representativeness and data quality (Couper, 2000; Kiesler & Sproull, 1986). Likewise, open-ended questions (OEQs) offer both advantages and disadvantages (Poncheri, Lindberg, Thompson, & Surface, 2008). They provide an opportunity to gather rich data that might otherwise be lost if response options do not adequately capture the relevant aspects of the questionnaire item; however, decisions regarding response coding and manipulation are crucial to determining what researchers glean from the data. This study applies human coding to an OEQ on a mixed-mode (paper and electronic) quality of work life survey of military recruiters (N = 3,997). The item solicits respondents for comments they were not able to express elsewhere in the survey. In order to explore the impact of mode on quality of responses to open-ended questions, mode differences in various indicators of response richness will be tested for paper and electronic survey respondents. Dimensions of response richness include length, tone, and constructiveness. The impact of additional factors, such as respondent characteristics, will also be explored.