Lab 6: Review Project 1, Pre-Interview for Project 2



Take a look at StoryCorps "Great Questions": http://storycorps.org/great-questions/

Types of Questions

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS (GOOD!)
*elicit more detailed responses [Can you describe what you did at your birthday party?].
*help awaken the memory of the person being interviewed so that they may tell their story in a more descriptive manner.
*open-ended questions usually start: Why? How? Can you describe?

 CLOSED QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*elicit yes or no responses, or one word answers [Do you like spinach?  . . . Yes].
*ask the subject of the interview to remember something specific, but don’t usually help us to get descriptive answers.
*they usually start with: Who? When? Where?

FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS (GOOD!)
*help you to get more information about a previous answer [Why do you like spinach?].
*help to clarify or explain an answer that isn’t clear.
*often start: Why? How? Could you explain?

LEADING QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*contain the opinion or assumption of the interviewer within the question.
*may sway the answer of the interviewee, because they think you want to hear a certain answer.
*an example of a leading question is: “So, all of your friends moved here from New York?”
*it’s better to ask WHO moved, and WHY, WHEN and HOW they moved, in order to get richer,
 more detailed information.

DOUBLE BARRELED QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*contain two questions in one.
*may confuse the interviewee, or allow them to respond to only half of your question.
*an example of a double barreled question is: “How long have you been eating spinach, and how do you like to cook it?”
*it’s better to ask two separate questions: First ask, “How long have you been eating spinach?” After that question is answered, you can ask, “How do you like to cook spinach?”

EITHER/OR QUESTIONS (BAD!)
*allow the interviewee only two options for answering a question.
*eliminate the possibility of a third answer.
*an example of an Either-Or question is: “Which is your favorite kind of fruit, oranges or apples?”
*it’s better to ask, “What is your favorite kind of fruit?” because the answer might be mangos, and not oranges or apples.

REMEMBER: DON’T INTERRUPT
*if you need to ask a clarifying question, wait until the person is done answering
*you don’t want to disrupt their flow

Other audio resources:

Transom.org – Great technical & creative resources for producers of audio/radio
Interviewers on Interviewing – A YouTube Playlist curated by Transom
PRX – Great library of public radio projects
SoundCloud – A YouTube-esque platform for audio



Next week in lab: Record project 2. Come to lab with your question list and headphones.