For this assignment, we were to: “Practice changing the below close-ended questions into open-ended questions so that your respondents will tell stories in a research interview setting. Create at least two other ways of asking each question below.”

• Have you ever sent a text message while driving? Revisions: Which type of text messages are you most inclined to respond to or send while driving? or How has someone you know been impacted by texting and driving?
• Would you say you travel abroad frequently? Revisions: Where have been your favorite places to travel broad, and why? or Why would you recommend traveling abroad to students contemplating it?
• Do you post a lot of pictures on Instagram? Revisions: What type of content do you like to post on Instagram? or What are some of your favorite types of photos to take, and why?
• Do you prefer to shop at big boxes or locally owned stores? Revisions: In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of shopping at large verses locally owned stores/vice versa? or What would make you choose shopping local instead of at large chains?
• Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone? Revisions: Why did you choose the type of phone you own now? or What would make you change from an iPhone to an Android (or vice versa)…is there something you would have liked to see in your specific model?
• How often do you eat sweets? Revisions: What are your favorite types of sweets, and are they something you get to enjoy often? or What has been your most enjoyable dessert experience while dining out?
• Do you tend to buy things that are on sale? Revisions: What type of items do you prefer to buy on sale? or What items are you willing to splurge on?

It is important to ask the right questions because in order to conduct a thorough, useful and insightful interview, you have to know how to get your interviewee to, well, talk. You shouldn’t ask simple yes/no questions, or questions that prompt one word or sentence responses. The key is to get your subject to draw on their experiences and allow the space for them to tell their stories. Asking the right questions is key in being able to answer the 5 W’s and H (who, what, where, when, why and how) for your piece of writing.