A table preview shows the first few words of each response. It is tempting to conclude that the answers are short, especially when the column width makes every row look similar. The display may be abbreviating what the file actually contains.
Separate three possibilities before changing the data: the interface is truncating the display, the export has shortened the values, or the source itself stores only a limited number of characters. Each problem occurs at a different point and needs a different check.
Use a synthetic test response with a recognisable beginning and ending, such as a sentence ending with a distinctive marker. Send it through the same permitted workflow and compare the stored text at each stage. Do this in a test environment when the live system contains personal responses.
Inspect length without exposing the response
For real data, a character-count summary can help identify suspicious patterns without printing every answer. Many values ending at exactly the same length deserve investigation, but they do not prove truncation by themselves; a form may have an intentional documented limit.
Check a few authorised examples in their full representation. A wider column is useful only if the underlying value survives. Conversely, a shortened preview should not be “repaired” by deleting or rewriting an intact field.
Document the limit, the stage where it applies and how downstream readers can inspect full text. That note prevents someone from treating the visible beginning of an answer as the answer in its entirety.
Visual note: the image illustrates the subject, not a documented event.