Chapter 3 Questions and Their Uses

1. Chapter 3 Questions and Their Uses

2. Chapter Summary • Open and Closed Questions • Primary and Secondary Questions • Neutral and Leading Questions • Common Question Pitfalls • Summary © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Open and Closed Questions • Open Questions • Open questions are broad, often specifying only a topic, and allow the respondent considerable freedom in determining the amount and kind of information to offer. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Open and Closed Questions • Open Questions • Highly Open Questions • Moderately Open Questions • Open Questions Have Advantages • Open Questions Have Disadvantages © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Open and Closed Questions • Closed Questions • Closed questions are narrow in focus and restrict the interviewee’s freedom to determine the amount and kind of information to offer. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Open and Closed Questions • Closed Questions • Moderately Closed Questions • Highly Closed Questions • Bipolar Questions • Closed Questions Have Advantages • Closed Questions Have Disadvantages © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Primary and Secondary Questions • Primary questions introduce topics or new areas within a topic and can stand alone even when taken out of context. • Secondary questions attempt to discover additional information following a primary or secondary question. They are often called probing or follow-up questions. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Primary and Secondary Questions • Types of Secondary Questions • Silent Probes • Nudging Probes • Clearinghouse Probes • Informational Probes • Restatement Probes • Reflective Probes • Mirror Probes © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Primary and Secondary Questions • Skillful Interviewing with Probing Questions • Skillful probing leads to insightful answers. • Be patient and be persistent. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Primary and Secondary Questions © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Neutral and Leading Questions • Neutral questions encourage honest answers. • Leading questions direct interviewees to specific answers. • Interviewer bias leads to dictated responses. • Loaded questions dictate answers through language or entrapment. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Neutral and Leading Questions © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. Common Question Pitfalls • The Bipolar Trap • The Open-to-Closed Switch • The Double-Barreled Inquisition • The Leading Push • The Guessing Game • The Yes (No) Response • The Curious Probe • Complexity Vs. Simplicity • The Quiz Show • The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Summary • Questions are the tools of the trade for both interviewers and interviewees. • Knowing question types, unique uses, and advantages and disadvantages, allows one to develop considerable interviewing skill. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.