1. Chapter 3 Questions and Their Uses

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

3. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.

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

5. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.

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

7. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.

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

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

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

11. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.

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

13. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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

14. © 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 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.