chapter3

primary questions

(may be open or closed) introduce topics or new areas within a topic and can stand alone even when taken out of context. Example: Tell me about your internship with microsoft

Questions have three essential characteristics:

1. Open or closed 2. Primary or probing 3. Neutral or leading

types of probing questions

1.silent probe 2.nudge probe 3.clearing house probe 4.informational probe 5.restatement probe 6.reflective probe 7.mirror probe

neutral questions

allow respondents to decide upon answers without direction or pressure from the interviewer. Example: Are you going to the football game?

disadvantages of open questions

answers can be long, respondents may give irrelevant information or may hide information.

disadvantages of closed questions

answers often contain too little information (so you have to ask more questions), don't reveal much about the interviewee.

loaded questions

are extreme leading questions with the potential for interviewer bias. Example: (neutral) What did you think of the diversity workshop? (loaded) What did you think of the ridiculous and insulting workshop?

moderately closed questions

ask for specific, limited pieces of information, such as: Which writing courses do you feel have prepared you best for a career in advertising?

advantage of open questions

encourage respondents to talk and reveal information they think is important, easier for respondent to answer, less threatening

mirror probe

ensures that you have understood a series of answers or have retained information accurately; mirror questions summarize to ensure accuracy. Example: Let me check to make sure I have this right; I need to earn a graduate degree before I can get a job in this field.

bipolar closed questions

limit respondents to two polar choices, such as: Are you a full-time or part-time student? The most common bipolar questions ask for yes or no responses, such as: Are you willing to relocate?

probing or followup questions

may be open or closed) attempt to discover additional information following a primary question. They make no sense without connection to a previous question. Example: Tell me more about that.

closed questions

narrow in focus and restrict the interviewee's freedom to determine the amount and kind of information to provide.

yes or no response

occurs when the question has an obvious response. Example: Do you think you can handle this job?

leading push

occurs when you ask a question that suggests how the person should respond. Example: I really liked working at Microsoft, didn't you?

open-to-closed switch

occurs when you ask an open question, but before the interviewee can respond, you rephrase it into a closed or bipolar question. Example: Where are you going for your study abroad program? Are you going to London?

guessing game

occurs when you guess instead of ask (very common in all types of interviews). Example: Was English your favorite subject in college?

advantages of closed questions

permit interviewers to control length of answers and guide respondents to specific info, require little effort from either party, allow you to ask more questions in less time, easy to replicate and analyze from one interview to another

open questions

questions have some restrictions but give respondents considerable latitude in their answers, such as: What do you like most about your job?

restatement probe

restate or rephrase the question if the respondent doesn't answer the question that is asked or only answers part of it. For example: Interviewer: Tell me about your internship with Microsoft. Interviewee: It was great; the Seattle area is beautiful. Interviewer: I've heard Seattle is nice, but tell me about the internship.

leading questions

suggest the answer expected or desired; the respondent merely agrees with the interviewer. Leading questions may be intentional or unintentional, implicit or explicit, verbal or nonverbal. Example: You're going to the football game, aren't you?

reflective probe

the answer to verify or clarify it so you know you have interpreted it as the respondent intended. Example: You're still thinking about going to graduate school next fall?

open questions

these questions have virtually no restrictions, such as: Tell me about your job.

nudging probe

use if a silent probe fails or words seem necessary to get what is needed. Examples: I see, go on.

clearing house probe

use to discover if a series of questions has uncovered everything of importance on a topic, such as: What else can you tell me about your internship experience?

informational probe

use to get more information for vague or superficial answers. Example: What exactly did you do next?

silent probe

use when an answer is incomplete or the respondent seems hesitant to continue. Remain silent for a few moments and use appropriate non-verbal signals, such as eye contact, a head nod or a smile to encourage the person to continue

highly closed questions

very restrictive and may ask respondents to identify a single bit of information, such as: When did you switch majors from technology to engineering?

bi-polar trap

when you ask a yes or no question when you really need specific information. Example: "Are you familiar with this incident?" instead of "What do you know about this incident?"