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Discussion Groups / English Usage / December 2007Question on questions.
What type of question is this? "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" The question is from http://finance.yahoo.com/ and is posed as a 'poll' in the lower right corner of the page. The form of the question doesn't seem to follow the rules for rhetorical or pre-suppositional types of questions. The implications of the question itself has a smattering of both types. Imagine how ignorant you would sound of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question. wilstjb312@yahoo.com had it ... > What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > itself has a smattering of both types. Imagine how ignorant you would sound > of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question. I have imagined how ignorant I would sound if I answered "no" and I conclude that I would not sound in the slightest ignorant. You may disagree, but it is a straightforward question and can perfectly well be answered with a straightforward answer. It could, however, be an essay question, requiring a 500-word response.  SignatureDavid wilstjb312 wrote: > What type of question is this? > "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" This is a type of highly typical question, very much in keeping with standards and expectations. > The form of the question doesn't seem to follow the rules for rhetorical or > pre-suppositional types of questions. The implications of the question > itself has a smattering of both types. Imagine how ignorant you would sound > of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question. There are no rules of English language usage. "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" "Yes." How do I "sound" to you? Do I "sound" ignorant? SignaturePurl Gurl -- So many are stumped by what slips right off the top of my mind like a man's bad fitting hairpiece. > What type of question is this? > > "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" leading Adrian >> What type of question is this? >> >> "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" > > leading I beg to differ. A leading question is one which is worded to indicate what answer the asker prefers. "How bad will the recession be?" is leading, since there's no way to answer it without accepting the assumption that the asker has made: that there *will* be a recession. In polling, such a question can lead to results like "65% of respondants feel that the US is heading for a serious recession; only 35% think that it will be minor." >>> What type of question is this? >>> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > like "65% of respondants feel that the US is heading for a serious > recession; only 35% think that it will be minor." I beg to agree (with Adrian). The question that Barbara offered is more than leading: it is a complex question, which does indeed contain an assumption that must be accepted in order to answer it with a yes or no. The question wilstjb asked about is leading, at least to the extent that it limits the answer to a choice of recession or no recession. A non-leading question would be something like "How do you think the economy will do in the coming year?" >>>> What type of question is this? >>>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > I beg to agree (with Adrian). The question that Barbara offered... I was with Adrian until I read Barbara's comment. In everyday English "leading question" has been so much misused that it means whatever the speaker was it to me. However, it is, I think, a technical term in law, so probably we need a lawyer's opinion: are you there, Bob? athel >>>>> What type of question is this? >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >"leading question" has been so much misused that it means whatever the >speaker was it to me. What an interesting substitution. > However, it is, I think, a technical term in law, >so probably we need a lawyer's opinion: are you there, Bob? SignatureJohn >> [ ... ] >>> I beg to agree (with Adrian). The question that Barbara offered... >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > What an interesting substitution. Oh dear! It would be difficult for me to claim that I write thinking about the meaning and not about the sound. I've often done this sort of thing with a single isolated word, but I don't remember doing it twice in four words before. a. > CDB said: >>>> wilstjb312 wrote: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > speaker was it to me. However, it is, I think, a technical term in > law, so probably we need a lawyer's opinion: are you there, Bob? I think that you're right. I asked my husband what he considered a leading questiion and he said "one that requires or invites a follow-up question to clarify or complete the first answer." So we appear to be dealing with a "moot"-type divide between common usage and forensic/legal usage. Wordnet has this: "leading question n : a question phrased in such a way as to suggest the desired answer; a lawyer may ask leading questions on cross-examination" The Contra Costa County Bar Association webpage on Cross-examination defines it thus: "Leading questions are often defined as questions that suggest the answer. This is too loose a definition. True leading questions do not merely suggest the answer - they declare the answer. Grammatically, if the question mark were taken away, it would be a short declarative sentence. Leading questions on cross-examination must be short declarative sentences. While the court reporter will type them all with a question mark at the end, the cross-examiner’s voice need not even inflect with the question mark." Wikipedia, however, has this: "...a leading question is a question that suggests the answer or contains the information the examiner is looking for. For example, this question is leading: * You were at Duffy's bar on the night of July 15, weren't you? It suggests that the witness was at Duffy's bar on the night in question. The same question in a non-leading form would be: * Where were you on the night of July 15? This form of question does not suggest to the witness the answer the examiner hopes to elicit. Leading questions will generally be answerable with a yes or no (though not all yes-no questions are leading), while non-leading questions are open-ended." But in talking about the form of questions used in surveys (specifically health and ability surveys,) a study published in the Journal of Aging and Health in 2003 said this: "Objectives: National surveys of older Americans routinely have included functional limitation items using either a leading approach ("how much difficulty do you have...") or a neutral approach ("do you have any difficulty..."). ... Results: The authors found that leading questions provided higher estimates of functional limitations than neutral questions, but both approaches yielded scales with similar validity and reliability. However, for both approaches, scales incorporating degree of difficulty had better validity and reliability than those based on counts of tasks. ... Discussion: The authors conclude that, because they minimize survey time without compromising validity and reliability, items that explicitly capture degree of difficulty by asking "How much difficulty do you have..." may be the optimal approach for survey designers." This one considers any question that assumes a piece of knowledge not specifically stated (that there is at least some difficulty in performing the action) to be "leading". >What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >itself has a smattering of both types. Imagine how ignorant you would sound >of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question. Yeah. The answer for the rhetorical possibility is "Are you trying to be a smart a.s?" For the presupposition, answer "Do you have a mouse in your pocket?" Apart from that, unless addressed to someone with economic expertise, it's an idle question such as would appear in a worthless survey. SignatureJohn "news.verizon.net" <wilstjb312@yahoo.com> wrote: > What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > ignorant you would sound of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to > this question. It's a pretty standard poll question, asking for a simple answer or a simplified version of an involved answer. Poll questions aren't supposed to be pre-suppositional, they are supposed to be as close to neutrally phrased as possible. Nor are they rhetorical, in that an answer is expected. It's asking for the respondents opinion or belief on the question, and as such, has no right or wrong answer. >What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >itself has a smattering of both types. Imagine how ignorant you would sound >of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question. You would not sound at all ignorant. You would be expressing an opinion, pure and simple. If the questioner wanted to ask for more, he should have asked for more. SignatureWCdnE > What type of question is this? > ... > The form of the question doesn't seem to follow the rules for rhetorical or > pre-suppositional types of questions. Well, *this* question seems to be pre-suppositional. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto It's all Henry's fault. msb@vex.net -- Geoff Collyer I haven't seen a good answer yet. The economy is always in a recovery or a recession. The economy always always headed opposit of where it is at the time. Yes or no replies to the question would only be valid if the economy was in a recession and the answer was 'no'. Or the other way around. But then, the question would be pointless. Quite frankly, so far, I think I've discovered a new type of question. > What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > ignorant you would sound > of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to this question And the same person later wrote the following: > I haven't seen a good answer yet. The economy is always in > a recovery [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > other way around. But then, the question would be > pointless. "Yes" or "No" answers are exactly what was wanted by the organization conducting the poll. With the results (number of Yes answers vs number of No answers*), a statement can be made as to the opinions of the people participating in the poll. Also, in some polls (though apparently not this one), the poll takers may elicit other information (age, sex, location, etc.) from the people answering the poll and thus give more substance to the results. > Quite frankly, so far, I think I've discovered a new type > of question. 'Fraid not. It's a straight question, calling for a straight "Yes or No" answer. Conditions and details are not stated, are not requested, and are not wanted. And note that this is not the same type question as the "Have you stopped beating your wife?" variety. It merely seeks opinions. *The "Yes" answers were leading when I checked a short time ago. SignatureMaria Resident of southeast Michigan, near Detroit; native of east Tennessee. >I haven't seen a good answer yet. Then you have not been reading the answers you did get. They were all good, assuming you mean, by "good" that they are correct. > The economy is always in a recovery or a recession. > The economy always always headed opposit of where it is at the >time. Yes or no replies to the question would only be valid if the economy >was in a recession and the answer was 'no'. Or the other way around. But >then, the question would be pointless. The actual state of the economy has absolutely no bearing on the question or any answer supplied by someone taking the poll. "Do you believe we are headed for a recession?" asks what the poll-taker believes, not whether or not "we are headed for a recession". If the poll author wished to know if we are indeed headed for a recession, the question could have been "Are we headed for a recession?" If the question was "Do you believe recessions are caused by the fermentation of cabbage in crock pots?", either a "yes" or a "no" is correct, depending on the particular belief of the poll-taker, and ONLY on the belief of the poll-taker. Nothing more. Nothing less. >Quite frankly, so far, I think I've discovered a new type of question. Not at all, but you are surely entitled to any mistaken belief you care to have. SignatureWCdnE > I haven't seen a good answer yet. The economy is always in a recovery or a > recession. The economy always always headed opposit of where it is at the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Quite frankly, so far, I think I've discovered a new type of question. Quite frankly, I think you flatter yourself. athel > What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > ignorant you would sound of you answered a simple 'yes' or 'no' to > this question. Au contraire. It is a perfectly typical poll question. It will probably be answered by a lot of ignorant people, but that's a separate matter. Ideally the pollsters should follow up with something like "Do you have any rational reason for your belief?"; but that question has been ruled to be offensive to religious fundamentalists, so in practice they don't ask. Where do you think economists get the data for their economic forecasts? SignaturePeter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org For an e-mail address, see my web page. > What type of question is this? > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > http://finance.yahoo.com/ and is posed as a 'poll' > in the lower right corner of the page. Vague, pointless and designed to get lots of 'yes' answers. SignatureRegards John for mail: my initials plus a u e at tpg dot com dot au |
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