Leading Questions

Definition

Leading questions are inquiries designed to guide a respondent toward a particular answer or viewpoint, often suggesting a specific response within the question itself. These types of questions can influence the direction of an interview, shaping the responses received and potentially biasing the information gathered.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Leading questions can compromise the integrity of an interview by pushing respondents toward certain answers instead of allowing for unbiased responses.
2. These questions often contain assumptions that may not reflect the respondent's true beliefs or experiences.
3. Journalists should be cautious when using leading questions to ensure they are gathering accurate and reliable information.
4. In legal settings, leading questions are generally discouraged during direct examination but may be used during cross-examination.
5. The phrasing of a leading question can significantly affect the quality and type of information that is obtained from an interviewee.

Review Questions

• How do leading questions impact the quality of information obtained during an interview?
  • Leading questions can significantly impact the quality of information by steering respondents toward particular answers, which may not reflect their true thoughts or feelings. This can result in biased data and limit the range of insights gained from an interview. In journalism, avoiding leading questions is crucial for ensuring that stories are built on accurate and representative viewpoints.
• Discuss the ethical implications of using leading questions in journalism and how they can affect public perception.
  • Using leading questions in journalism raises ethical concerns as it can manipulate the truth and misrepresent facts. When journalists frame questions to elicit specific responses, it can distort public perception by presenting biased narratives rather than objective reporting. Maintaining journalistic integrity requires avoiding these types of questions to provide audiences with balanced and factual accounts.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of leading versus open-ended questions in gathering comprehensive information during interviews.
  • Leading questions may provide quick insights but often at the cost of depth and accuracy, limiting the scope of information gathered. In contrast, open-ended questions encourage respondents to share their thoughts freely, resulting in richer and more nuanced data. By balancing both question types while avoiding bias, interviewers can create an environment conducive to obtaining thorough and authentic insights.

Related terms

Open-Ended Questions:

Questions that allow respondents to answer in their own words, providing more detailed and expansive responses rather than a simple 'yes' or 'no.'

Closed-Ended Questions:

Questions that limit responses to specific options, typically requiring a simple answer like 'yes' or 'no,' making them useful for quantitative data.

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories, which can be exacerbated by leading questions.