Welcome to FYS Research Exercise One!
Outcomes
When you finish this research exercise, you will:
- Recognize the role of personality, culture, and age in shaping our relationship to questions
- Recognize that our society values questions as the basis of research and learning
- Understand the purpose & rules of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
- Recognize that there are different question types & be able to practice formulating open and closed questions
To complete this Research Exercise, you will take the quiz at the bottom of this page.
Questions
What is your relationship to asking questions?
The answer to that depends not only on your age, personality, and upbringing but also on your culture.
Ask yourself:
- Do you feel confident speaking up in class or in public?
- Do you experience anxiety, fear, or panic when you speak up in class or in public?
- Were you raised in a “traditional” or hierarchical family or culture, where challenging authority is discouraged?
- Were you raised in a more “democratic” environment, where all people are encouraged to question and challenge each other?
- Are you comfortable with the idea of learning as a process of revealing what you don’t know?
- Do you consider learning primarily a process of receiving information from textbooks and teachers?
- Do you believe you are entitled to challenge other people or ideas?
- Do you worry you will look “dumb” if you ask the “wrong” question?
How you answered these questions is not only a reflection of your unique personality and temperament but also of the ways in which culture(s) have shaped who you are.
In terms of personality, does it make sense to you that confident extroverts may feel comfortable asking questions in and outside of school, while more introverted or anxious students may be more hesitant? Where do you fit in this spectrum?
Although there is great diversity in the American education system, it is probably fair to say that students in the United States are encouraged, in general, to ask questions. And yet, teachers and students from more “traditional,” hierarchical, or authoritarian families or cultures may frown upon students, young people, subordinates or women asking questions as disruptive or foolish.
Here and abroad, there are many cultures that consider asking questions to be disrespectful or even insubordinate in many circumstances. In some societies it is considered rude for students to question their teachers, because it implies the teachers are not doing their jobs (Rusul This link opens in a new window).
Did you ever stop to consider that your relationship to asking questions is shaped by so many factors?
There is also the matter of age. Did you ask a lot of questions when you were a small child? Do you ask as many now?
Who asks questions?
Preschool kids ask their parents an average of 100 questions a day. By middle school, they’ve basically stopped asking questions. Around this time...student motivation and engagement plummets. In school, we’re rewarded for having the answer, not for asking a good question, which may explain why kids—who start off asking endless “why” and “what if” questions—gradually ask fewer and fewer of them as they progress through grade school. How many questions have you asked today?
From A More Beautiful Question This link opens in a new window blog by Warren Berger
Why do we think learning to ask your own questions important?
- It’s a foundational skill
- If you can ask questions, you can get more involved in decisions affecting you, your family, and your communities.
- A healthy democracy depends on our ability to ask questions.
From the Right Question Institute This link opens in a new window
Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
Developed by the Right Question Institute This link opens in a new window, the Question Formulation Technique This link opens in a new window, or QFT, is a structured method for generating and improving questions. The QFT builds the skill of asking questions This link opens in a new window, an essential — yet often overlooked — lifelong learning skill that allows people to think critically, feel greater power and self-efficacy, and become more confident and ready to participate in civic life. Let’s review the “rules” of QFT, which starts with a Question Focus (often a quotation, statement, or image).
QFT in FYS-101
In FYS101, you will learn and use the QFT to generate questions about Never Caught, and to drive research for your Final Project. The rules of QFT are designed to encourage both divergent and convergent thinking.
- Divergent thinking is: the ability to generate multiple alternative solutions to a given situation or problem, a unique capacity that contributes to creativity. Brainstorming is a form of divergent thinking.
- Convergent thinking is: the opposite of divergent thinking. Convergent thinking This link opens in a new window is a process that seeks out the right or best possible solution from many possibilities. Testing out ideas to narrow down to one choice is a form of convergent thinking.
Reviewing the steps on the QFT in one slide, which step in the process drives divergent thinking? Which step drives convergent thinking? Why is this combination important?
Types of Questions
Open vs. Closed Questions
Closed Questions
Closed questions usually receive a single word or very short, factual answer. Examples:
- Are you a teenager? The answer is “yes,” if you are thirteen-nineteen years old. The answer is “no” for any other ages.
- How old are you? The answer is your age.
Closed questions are good for:
- Getting the facts: “When did George & Martha Washington move to Philadelphia?”
- Testing your or another person’s understanding: "If I get a 90% on this presentation, will I get an A in this class?"
- Concluding a discussion or making a decision: "Now that we know the facts, are we all agreed this is the right plan of action?"
- Frame setting: "Did you learn anything from this Research Exercise?"
Open Questions
Open questions prompt longer answers. An open question asks for an explanation of knowledge, opinion or feelings. "Tell me" and "describe" can also be used to create open questions. Examples:
- What happened in class today? Why did he react that way? How was the party? Tell me what happened next. Describe the circumstances in more detail.
Open questions are good for:
- Developing an open conversation: "What did you think of Hasan Kwame Jeffries' TED Talk?"
- Finding out more detail: "What else do we need to know to explain the impacts of disability on William Lee's life?"
- Finding out another person's perspectives: "Do you think George Washington considered William Lee a friend?"
Watch this short video clip to learn about open & closed questions:
Above content derived in part from MindTools - Questioning Techniques This link opens in a new window
Can a Closed Question be converted to an Open Question?
Closed-Ended Questions can be converted into Open-Ended Questions
Examples:
| Closed Question | Open Question |
|---|---|
| Which of Martha Washington’s dower slaves was responsible for brushing Martha Washington’s hair? | What services did Ona Judge do for Martha Washington? |
| Did William Lee go horseback riding with George Washington? | How did William Lee's horsemanship impact his relationship with George Washington? |
| How many enslaved people did Benjamin Franklin own? | Why did Benjamin Franklin own slaves? |
Open-Ended Questions can be converted into Closed-Ended Questions too!
Examples:
| Open Questions | Closed Questions |
|---|---|
| What circumstances allowed Ona Judge to take her father’s last name? | What was Ona Judge’s father’s last name? |
| Why was Martha Washington so reluctant to leave Mount Vernon? | Was Martha Washington reluctant to leave Mount Vernon? |
Other Question Types
Funnel Questions
This technique involves starting with general questions, and then drilling down to a more specific point in each. Usually, this will involve asking for more and more detail at each level. It's often used by detectives taking a statement from a witness, for example. Tip: When using funnel questioning, start with closed questions. As you progress through the tunnel, start using more open questions.
Probing Questions
Asking probing questions is another strategy for finding out more detail. Sometimes it's as simple as asking your respondent for an example, to help you understand a statement that they have made. At other times, you need additional information for clarification, or to investigate whether there is proof for what has been said. Probing questions are good for gaining clarification to ensure that you have the whole story and that you understand it thoroughly.
Leading Questions
Leading questions try to lead the respondent to your way of thinking. They can do this in several ways: With an assumption; by adding a personal appeal to agree at the end; phrasing the question so that the "easiest" response is "yes;" or by giving people a choice between two options. Note that leading questions tend to be closed. Tip: Use leading questions with care. If you use them in a self-serving way or one that harms the interests of the other person, then they can, quite rightly, be seen as manipulative and dishonest.
Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions aren't really questions at all, in that they don't expect an answer. They're really just statements phrased in question form. People use rhetorical questions because they are engaging for the listener – as they are drawn into agreeing – rather than feeling that they are being "told" something. Tip: Rhetorical questions are even more powerful if you use a string of them going from general to specific. Rhetorical questions are good for engaging the listener and getting people to agree with your point of view.
So what did you learn?
Oh! That's another question!
Click "Begin" below to take this quiz to see what you've learned about questioning.