Questions have long been used as preceptors to assess information, form interpretations, and stimulate critical thinking. Well-crafted questions lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote the comprehensive exploration of the subject matter. Where on the other hand, poorly constructed questions can stifle the information by creating confusion and limiting creative thinking. The question should seek to contribute to an existing debate. It should induce knowledge that future researchers or practitioners can build on. A good research question requires original data, synthesis of multiple sources, interpretation, and/or argument to provide an answer.
Through this article, we try to summarize the art of smart questions, providing strategies for formulating the same and exploring practical considerations to boost engagement and foster critical thinking.
- Asking one right question instead of many
It has been adjudged from a lot of studies that too many questions can tire the respondent clearly affecting the response rate and quality of data. While it’s tempting to include as many questions as possible to gather as much data as possible is blatantly a bad call. The focus needs to rest on exclusive and important questions to maintain the objectives of the survey. For instance, refer to the below questions asked to a flyer as an exit interview:
- Did you deboard a flight?
- Were you served a meal on the flight?
- How was the quality of the meal served to you on the flight?
The objective of asking the above questions was to determine the quality of the meal that was offered on the flight. Question C clearly asks about the quality of the meal which indicates that the respondent did board and exit a flight. Had he not been on a flight, he wouldn’t be aware of the context of the meal. At the same time, if the respondent responds to question C, with his answer good or bad, it implies that he obviously was served a meal on the flight as he could only then judge the quality, making question B irrelevant.
While all the overlapping questions denoted somewhat the same intent, all these could have been framed into one good and effective question. Don’t just ask because you can. Putting together your ideal “list of answers” before you write your survey will help you make sure to only include the questions that need to be asked. Compare the questions you’ve written to that list of answers. Overlapping of questions can cast a negative light on the study and lead to respondent fatigue. It’s always better to have one right question instead of ten inappropriate ones.
- Getting closer to smart answers, one that makes the respondent think
Understanding customers is the key to improving and growing your business—but you won’t be able to understand your customers unless you learn more about them. One way to do this is by asking the right survey questions at the right point in their journey. Questions are key to stimulating thinking. The question shouldn’t just demand an answer but should have the potential to compel the respondent to think. The idea is to engage the respondent in the study in a way where he reflects on the underlying issues that the question pertains to. This gives the respondents the opportunity to evaluate their thoughts and perspectives aligned with their experience to unfold insights about the topic.
For Instance, let’s consider the 2 questions below:
- What is the one thing you would want us to change about the product?
- What modifications according to you can elevate the product experience?
When comparing both the questions, the former will generate one-word responses from the respondent whereas the latter may push the respondent to think about all the alterations-worth of feedback they can suggest. The respondent is compelled to think beyond the lines.
- Tests the knowledge of respondents and not just focus on the answer
The ability to ask well-structured questions that demand answers beyond the yes/no is important as it can help researchers to draw out well-thought-out and considered opinions and perspectives from individuals and groups. Such well-designed questions open more for you than just gathering simple answers. They provide the participants with the opportunity to delve deep into their knowledge and voice what is really on their minds. The limited scope of good/bad or yes/no kinds of questions can feel more like trivia and would evade the opportunity to put knowledge to use. High-order questions invigorate critical thinking and necessarily don’t have one correct answer but opens door to creativity. The respondents are exposed to uncertainty which aids them to share honest feedback.
For instance, there can be two questions:
- Are their fake products available in the market?
- How is the availability of fake FMCG products in the market posing a threat to people’s health standards?
While for question A, the immediate answer from the respondent can be yes/no depending on their experience, question B requires the respondent to possess a specific type of knowledge to answer this question. The respondent is granted the opportunity to put his knowledge on the matter to use. The respondents can absorb and understand the implication of the use of fake products and the extent of damage they can cause.
Takeaways
It’s wiser to start with a ‘what’ question but the key is to not end there. ‘What’ questions are the starting point. Once you have established the ‘what’, connections can be made by a series of ‘why’ questions. These are the questions that give the respondents the scope to connect with whatever knowledge they have – to something personal in their lives to share true insights. This gives them the platform to take this information under their influence and experience to share straight and practical opinions.
After setting the ‘what’ and ‘why’ in the context, the actual fun begins with ‘how’. This is where the respondents must back their responses, stamping out the fraudulent and mocked-up feedback. This is the phase of corroborating the responses with shreds of evidence against the logical attacks. Just asking more ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions, is not going to create critical and conscious respondents but it requires effort from all other instruments of the survey too.
Not only will Xcel Online Surveys questions help you put into practice everything you have just read here in this blog – but you will also be able to create complete surveys with a minimal amount of time and hassle. Our surveys are designed to promote interaction and engagement so are the perfect way to gather all that thought-provoking feedback.
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