How to write good questions

Part 1: Question Design

1. Read Bernard ch. 9 (questionnaires) and review your notes about how to write good questions.

2. Write at least 10 questions on a topic of interest to you, ideally one related to your individual project for the course. There should be two parts: (1) Five questions appropriate for an in-person semi-structured interview. (2) Five questions suitable for a self-administered questionnaire. Include at least one closed and at least one open-ended question.

3. Upload your questions to the google group by Saturday 8am. Try to keep them simple and appropriate for participants of different ages and circumstances. Pay attention to question order. Avoid leading questions and double-barrelled questions. Where possible, avoid "agree-disagree" formats, for the reasons stated in class.

   State the research question at the top, and hypotheses if you have them. Exploratory questions are fine too.

   Part 2: Question Critique

   In this next part, you will critique your classmates questions. Read your classmates' questions, and if you see any that can be improved, do so, and explain why it is an improvement. Don't comment on every question, just some you think can be improved. The critiques should be entered individually at the end of each student's google doc (deadline Oct 24) as well as in a single document that you will submit to turnitin.

   After our next class, you will revise your questions if necessary, and submit to turnitin.