Open-ended question
Encyclopedia
A closed-ended question is a form of question
Question
A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information may be provided with an answer....

 which can normally be answered
Answer
Generally, an answer is a reply to a question or is a solution, a retaliation, or a response that is relevant to the said question.In law, an answer was originally a solemn assertion in opposition to some one or something, and thus generally any counter-statement or defense, a reply to a question...

 using a simple "yes" or "no", a specific simple piece of information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...

, or a selection from multiple choices
Multiple choice
Multiple choice is a form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select the best possible answer out of the choices from a list. The multiple choice format is most frequently used in educational testing, in market research, and in elections-- when a person chooses between multiple...

.

Examples include:
  • Question: Do you know your weight?

Answer: Yes.
  • Question: What is your weight?

Answer: 167 lbs.

Close-ended questions can be used for clarifiying facts, verifying information already given or controlling a conversation, among other things.

Examples of closed-ended questions:
  • Do you get along with your supervisor?
  • Is that a photograph of your children?
  • Are you leaving right at 5:00 today?
  • Are you awake?


A closed-ended question contrasts with an open-ended question, which cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", or with a specific piece of information, and which give the person answering the question scope to give the information that seems to them to be appropriate. Open-ended questions are sometimes phrased as a statement which requires a response.

Examples of open-ended questions:
  • Tell me about your relationship with your supervisor.
  • How do you see your future?
  • Tell me about the children in this photograph.
  • What is the purpose of government?
  • Why did you choose that answer?


At the same time, there are close-ended questions which are sometimes impossible to answer correctly with a yes or no without confusion, for example: "have you stopped taking heroin?" (if you never took it), see "Loaded question".
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK