{"id":2136,"slug":"schneider-stone-2016-vague-quantifier-caveat","title":"Schneider & Stone 2016 — caveat: vague quantifiers can sometimes match open numeric formats","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["survey-question-design"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **Honest exception to the open-counts-over-vague-quantifiers rule.** Some studies (e.g., Schneider & Stone 2016 on quality-of-life scales) find vague quantifiers (\"often / sometimes / rarely\") can sometimes MATCH open numeric formats when exact counts are hard to retrieve. The advantage of open numerics depends on whether the count is actually knowable.\n\n**Source:** Schneider & Stone 2016. Mixed-evidence counterpoint.\n\n**Confidence:** Single-source / Mixed-evidence.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** The widget rule remains: use COUNTS when the owner can read them off a screen ([[rule-r7-read-off-screen-beats-recall]]); use realistic bands when they must estimate from memory. This honest exception is why we do not say \"always use open numerics\" — the right format depends on retrievability.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-capture-layer-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget capture layer — what owners can vs cannot self-report (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T20:03:31.058Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T20:03:31.058Z"}