2. Questioning can be divided into:
Questioning skills Question types
• skills that allow • relate to the purpose
individuals to ask of the question (ie.
‘good’ questions (ie. request, clarifying,
questions that are enquiry)
clearly structured and
relevant to an area of
interest)
3. Skills involved in asking ‘good’ questions
1. Awareness of a need for information (gaps in
personal knowledge)
2. Clarification of what information is needed
3. Constructing/phrasing relevant questions
(using appropriate vocabulary)
4. Asking a range of relevant questions(that are
relevant to the interest area (context) and to
the information sought)
4. 5. Asking the range of questions from a variety
of appropriate sources for information (which
are relevant, creditable)
6. Persistence in finding answers, and editing
(changing, altering) questions when necessary
(eg. Use of key words to begin and refine
search for information)
5. Exercise
• Look at the interest
area/general question/s
you have decided on.
• What information do you
want?
• What are key words that
you need, to find
relevant information?
6. • Break your interest
area/question into a series
of smaller, progressive
questions (simple to more
complex)
• Decide where you might look
for relevant, credible
information for each of the
questions
• Key words to begin search
(appropriate to interest area)
7. Does your question:
– have relevance to your interest area (context)?
– contain key words and interlinks between ideas
(specific to context)?
– incorporate ‘utility’ words to assist in finding
relevant information (who, what, when, where,
why, which)?
8. For next week:
What type of answers are you looking for?
– Factual (Objective, Quantitative)
– Views/experiences of other people (subjective,
Qualitative)
or a combination of both?
9. References
Mutch, C. (2009). Doing educational research: A
practitioner’s guide to getting started. Wellington: NZCER
Press.
What is a good question? Retrieved from http://question-
skills.wikispaces.com
What are skills of an effective questioner? Retrieved from
http://question-skills.wikispaces.com
