1.2 Questions can be categorised into (three) 3 broad groups. Identify and discuss those groups.
The three broad groups of questions are open-ended questions, closed-ended questions, and probing questions.
1. Open-ended questions: These questions do not have a specific or definitive answer and require the respondent to provide a detailed or subjective response. They encourage the respondent to provide their own thoughts, opinions, or experiences. Open-ended questions usually begin with words like "how," "why," or "describe." These types of questions are useful in gathering qualitative data, exploring complex issues, and gaining deeper insights. For example:
- How do you feel about the recent changes in the company?
- Describe your ideal vacation destination.
- Why did you choose this particular career path?
2. Closed-ended questions: These questions have a limited set of predetermined responses and require the respondent to choose one or more options. Closed-ended questions are designed for gathering quantitative data and are useful for collecting specific data points, comparing responses, and analyzing statistics easily. They are often formed as a sentence with a question mark and offer options like "yes" or "no," multiple-choice options, or rating scales. Examples include:
- Have you ever traveled outside of your country? (Yes/No)
- Which of the following options best describes your level of satisfaction: highly satisfied, moderately satisfied, slightly satisfied, unsatisfied?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our product?
3. Probing questions: These questions are used to explore a topic or response in more depth. Probing questions help to clarify, uncover underlying motives, stimulate critical thinking, or gather further information. They are usually asked after an initial answer has been provided to dig deeper and seek more specific details. Probing questions can be open-ended or closed-ended, depending on the desired outcome. Examples include:
- Can you provide more examples or details to support your answer?
- Why do you believe that to be true?
- What factors influenced your decision?
By categorizing questions into these three groups, researchers, interviewers, and survey creators can tailor their approach to elicit the desired information and gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic at hand.