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Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

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ASKING QUESTIONS THAT MEASURE KNOWLEDGE 197<br />

used with adults to measure knowledge in the social sciences and<br />

writing. <strong>The</strong> standard procedure has been to pay adult participants<br />

to attempt the exercises. Standard classroom testing procedures are<br />

used, and adults are tested in their homes.<br />

<strong>The</strong> types of questions used have varied. Although multiple<br />

choice questions have mainly been used (see <strong>Questions</strong> 2 through<br />

11), open questions have also been asked. (See Question 1, which<br />

asks for reasons why a decision was made.) An especially interesting<br />

example is Question 14, which asks respondents to write a letter<br />

giving specific reasons to support their opinion in favor or<br />

against lengthening the school year. This question is used to provide<br />

an assessment of practical writing skills.<br />

<strong>The</strong> science questions involve not only knowledge, but also the<br />

use of knowledge in problem solving. In Question 12, respondents<br />

are given a ruler, a graduated cylinder, scales, water in a jar, string,<br />

and a small nonporous rock and are asked to find the volume of the<br />

rock. Other physical apparatus are used to determine knowledge. In<br />

Question 13, respondents are handed two foam rubber blocks and<br />

are told the blocks represent a layer of rock on the earth’s crust.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y are then asked to use one or both of the blocks to demonstrate<br />

a fault in the earth’s crust.<br />

<strong>The</strong>se examples are included to remind the reader that, in addition<br />

to standard verbal questions and responses, other methods are<br />

available for determining level of knowledge. Both respondents and<br />

interviewers usually enjoy the variety of asking and answering questions<br />

in different ways. Another illustration of the use of graphic<br />

procedures are geography questions where respondents are handed<br />

outline maps of Europe, South America, or the United States and<br />

asked to identify the countries or states.<br />

Measuring Ability<br />

<strong>The</strong> final example, shown in Figure 6.11, is taken from a study at<br />

NORC to determine the qualities that make some people better

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