NO
Ask an improper question
.

Lawyer: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for blood pressure?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for breathing?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

Witness: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Lawyer: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?
Witness: It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere

Which is worse?

Ask a question that is
and we get answers that look correct, but which are
information .

Five Bad Questions (from the Internet)
There are five things that women should never , ever ask a guy, according to an article in an issue of
Sassy magazine.

The five questions are:
1 - "What are you thinking?"
2 - "Do you love me?"
3 - "Do I look fat?"
4 - "Do you think she is prettier than me?"
5 - "What would you do if I died?"

One of the worst mistakes is to ask a:
A “leading” question is one that leads to a certain answer….

Leading questions are a regular part of political media who are attempting to create public opinion.
http://rhetorica.net/bias.htm
Leading question in public affairs are sometimes called:
“Have you stop beating your wife?” questions.

Leading Questions:
1.
Presupposition
“ What is your opinion of the disastrous national debt ?”
Or:
“What is your opinion of the national debt?”
“ Do you believe this popular product is better than the competition?”
Or:
Do you believe this product is better than the competition?”

Leading Questions:
1. Presupposition
2.
One-sided
“
Should more government money be spent on schools ?”
Compared to what?

Leading Questions:
1. Presupposition
2. One-sided
3.
Social desirable
“ Right think ”
“Right think in… right think out!”

Leading Questions:
1. Presupposition
2. One-sided
3. Social desirable
4.
Ambiguous

Leading Questions:
1. Presupposition
2. One-sided
3. Social desirable
4. Ambiguous
5. Double bind
“Are you now willing to pay a higher price?” Yes or No.

Leading Questions:
:

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1.
Ambiguity
Be precise and use precise words:
Avoid words such as:
“like” “you” “all” “good” “bad” “where”

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2.
Leading questions

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3.
Implied assumptions

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3. Implicit assumptions
4.
Implicit alternatives a. Alternatives not expressed:

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3. Implicit assumptions
4.
Implicit alternatives a. Alternatives not expressed: b. Better: Alternative suggested by IF or THEN
“
Would you buy a fuel cell so you could be independent of a utility company?
”

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3. Implicit assumptions
4.
Implicit alternatives a. Alternatives not expressed: b. Better: Alternative suggested by IF or Then
“ Would you buy a fuel cell so you could be independent of a utility company if it cost 10% more than you current payments?
”

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3. Implicit assumptions
4. Implicit alternatives
5.
Generalizations and estimates
“When did you visit our store last?
If a question becomes too generalized it may lose its meaning… and/or people will just guess.

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
1. Ambiguity
2. Leading questions
3. Implicit assumptions
4. Implicit alternatives
5. Generalizations and estimates
6.
Double-Barreled questions
Questions connected with “ and ,” and “ or ”…
Which question is being answered?

Leading Questions:
What to avoid:
Double-Barreled questions
Questions connected with “ and ,” and “ or ”
Which question is being answered??
“
Should our store give out more prizes, and have more contests?”

Mary Michaud http://www.uwex.edu/ces/tobaccoeval/pdf/good-bad.pdf
A very practical review of questionnaire design by Pew Research. http://www.pewresearch.org/methodology/u-s-survey-research/questionnaire-design/

Are not these folks!

Question………
Agree: 1 2 3 4 5 :Disagree
Strongly Agree:……………Strongly Disagree

A Staple Scale has only ONE anchor……
Why?

Neutral allowed….
Smoking should be banned in cars?
Agree: 1 2 3 4 5 : Disagree
But… what does a “3” mean?
Neutral
No opinion
Don’t know!?

Forced Choice…….
Smoking should be banned in cars?
Agree: 1 2 3 4 : Disagree
A forced choice questions does not have the possibility of a neutral response.

Solution:
Add a “Don’t know”
Or a
“No Opinion”

Question: To save wood products and paper, UNI has installed air blowers in the new restrooms.
What percent of the time do you wash your hands before leaving the restroom?
Question: To save money, UNI has installed air blowers in the new restrooms.
What percent of the time do you wash your hands before leaving the restroom?