Open-ended questions can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", instead they require thought, reflection, and explanation from the person responding.It takes as much effort to answer an open-ended question as it does to write it.Whether you are getting ready for an academic discussion, preparing to interview someone, or developing a survey for sales or market research, keep in mind that your questions should ideally spark reflection, discussion and new ideas from your respondents.
Step 1: Prepare questions based on reading.
If you are a high school, college, or graduate student, you may be asked to come up with questions based on assigned reading material.The best questions to prepare in these cases are open-ended, because the possibility of multiple correct answers leads to productive conversations.As you read, take notes.Write down broad questions about what you are reading while you read the source material for your class discussion.If you've been given a purpose for reading, use that to guide your questions.You can use the notes later to write more polished questions.If you have trouble coming up with specific questions while reading, underline or circle portions of the text that seem important, confusing, or connected to your purpose for reading.You can return to these later as starting points for your questions.
Step 2: New insights can be gained by adding open-ended questions to the market research surveys.
If you own or are employed by a business, you might periodically send surveys to current and potential customers to evaluate how satisfied they are with your product or service, or whether they would be interested in trying new or similar versions.Open-ended questions can yield feedback and ideas that you might not have expected, and can be helpful tools for improving your enterprise.Instead of asking if you were satisfied with your experience, you could ask your respondents what they found most satisfying.It might be easier to rely on multiple-choice, yes-no, or true-false questions, all of which are closed-ended, if you are looking for simpler, more quantitative data.If you want to find out which gelato flavor was the most popular at your shop this month, you can ask a closed-ended question and then list all available flavors as potential answers.
Step 3: To thoroughly screen a job candidate, use open-ended interview questions.
Before you hire someone for your services or expertise, you need to interview them.Asking potential employees open-ended questions will give you important insight into their personality, behavior, and character.You can assess whether your work relationship with the candidate would be productive and pleasant, and not just whether they can get the job done.In a previous job, have you ever made a mistake that you had to discuss with your employer?How did you deal with the situation?
Step 4: Prepare questions that are open-ended for journalistic interviews.
Asking open-ended questions is a great way to encourage your subject to explain their answers fully, instead of just rattling off their own personal talking points.When you sit down to write your article, you will have information about the interviewee's opinions and policies, not just canned statements or buzzwords.When interviewing candidates for public office, who are more concerned with pushing their own platform than with giving thorough, honest answers, this strategy can be especially useful.The closed-ended questions allow the interviewer to stop the conversation with a "Yes, but..." or "No, But..." response, and then move on to their own agenda.
Step 5: Your question should begin with how, why, or what.
Start your questions with words that could prompt multiple possible answers.Questions with more specific words, such as "which" or "when", often have a single correct answer.Debate and discussion of multiple ideas should be encouraged by your question.You can write a closed-ended question with any leading word.The closed-ended question is "What color shirt was she wearing?"
Step 6: There are questions that analyze, compare, clarify or explore cause and effect.
If you use any notes you have taken as a resource, you can come up with questions that look for reasons behind events or statements made.The types of questions that prompt multiple answers tend to lead to fruitful discussion.Analytical or meaning-driven questions might ask why a character in a literary text is behaving a certain way, what importance a particular concept is, or what the meaning of a scene or image is.In a class discussion about a novel, you might ask: "What is the significance of the fact that Mary held back tears as she finished her donut towards the end of Chapter 2?"In a marketing survey, you could ask which model of can opener was easier to use and why.Clarifying questions might ask what the meaning of a complicated idea is.If you are interviewing someone who keeps talking about the war on Christmas, you might ask them what they mean by it.Cause-and-effect questions might ask why a character is displaying an emotion in a particular situation, or what connections might exist between two different ideas.An example of a cause-and-effect question that you might ask in an interview is: "What aspects of your experience in college sports might influence your approach to this job?"
Step 7: Questions that are vague, leading, or answerable should be avoided.
It won't lead to a productive discussion if a question is unclear or can be answered with a word like "yes" or "no"."What about Jeff's strange behavior?" is an example of an excessively vague question.It is difficult for students who have different ideas to speak up because of a leading question.The ocean is a symbol of human insignificance and despair, and an example of a yes or no question would be: " Does the grandfather disapprove of his granddaughter's desire to become a cowgirl?"
Step 8: Don't ask questions with limited answers.
If you give respondents a multiple-choice survey question with a limited set of responses, they might not be able to give you the answer that feels truest to them.If you want respondents to express themselves freely, construct open-ended questions.They shouldn't be limited to a single correct response or a limited set of possible responses.The survey respondents could be offered a text box to type or write their answers in.In a journalistic setting, this means avoiding giving your subject potential answers when you pose the question.Instead of asking, "Would you prioritize an aggressive overhaul of public transportation or the increased use of alternative fuels?" ask a question like: "What strategies would you priority to make our city more energy-efficient?"
Step 9: Follow up with open-ended questions.
You can ask an open-ended follow-up question after a survey, interview, or discussion questions.You can get basic, essential information from a question with limited responses, but also find out why.How often do you visit your local public library?You could ask questions like "If you chose A, what aspects of our library keep you coming back?" or "What prevents or discourages you from visiting the library?"
Step 10: Make sure that your questions are open-ended.
When you are done writing your questions, think about how it will be answered.Your question is good to go if you can imagine a few responses.If it favors a particular response or can be answered in one word, revise it so it is more likely to lead to a longer discussion or a more thorough answer.