Double-barreled question

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A double-barreled question (sometimes, double-direct question [1] ) is an informal fallacy. It is committed when someone asks a question that touches upon more than one issue, yet allows only for one answer. [2] [3] [4] This may result in inaccuracies in the attitudes being measured for the question, as the respondent can answer only one of the two questions, and cannot indicate which one is being answered. [5]

Contents

Many double-barreled questions can be detected by the existence of the grammatical conjunction "and" in them. [2] [3] This is not a foolproof test, as the word "and" can exist in properly constructed questions.

A question asking about three items is known as "trible (triple, treble)-barreled". [4] In legal proceedings, a double-barreled question is called a compound question. [6]

Examples

An example of a double-barreled question would be the following: "do you think that students should have more classes about history and culture?" This question asks about two different issues: "do you think that students should have more classes about history" and "do you think that students should have more classes about culture?" Combining both questions into one makes it unclear what exactly is being measured, and as each question may elicit a different response if asked separately there is an increased likelihood of confusing the respondents. [2] In other words, while some respondents would answer "yes" to both and some "no" to both, some would like to answer both "yes and no". [4]

Other examples of double-barreled questions:

Buttering-up is a type of a double-barreled question.[ citation needed ] It happens when one of the questions is a question that the questioned person will want to answer "yes" to, and another that the questioner hopes will be answered with the same "yes". For example, "Would you be a nice guy and lend me five bucks?"

Some questions may not be double-barreled but confusingly similar enough to a double-barreled question to result in similar issues. For example, the question "Should the organization reduce paperwork required of employees by hiring more administrators?" can be interpreted as composed of two questions: "Should the organization reduce paperwork required of employees?" and "Should the organization hire more administrators?"[ citation needed ]

Double-barreled questions have been asked by professionals, resulting in notable skewed media reports and research pieces. For example, Harris Poll used double-barreled questions in the 1980s, investigating the US public opinion on Libya–United States relations, and American attitudes toward Mikhail Gorbachev. [7]

U.S. trial usage

In a legal trial, a compound question may raise an objection, [8] as the witness may be unable to provide a clear answer to the inquiry.

One guide to trial practice offers the following example of a compound question: [9]

Cross-examiner: As you approached the intersection, did you look down, change the radio station, and then look up and for the first time notice the oncoming car?
Opponent: Objection, compound question.

An example in practice has been cited in the case of Weise v. Rainville (1959) 173 CA2d 496, 506, where the objection to such a question was sustained because such a question "raises the danger that the witness does not intend to reply to both questions" when answering "yes" to the compound question. [10] It may also be unclear to the court, jurors, or appellate bodies, what the witness intended in answering the question; and such a question may combine a request for relevant information with a request for information that is irrelevant or inadmissible. [10] If the question is one for which the answer will not be harmful to the opposing attorney's case, then the attorney need not object at all; alternatively, the opposing attorney may object, and specify when objecting that he would not object to a rephrasing of the question into separate, non-compound parts. [10]

Compound questions are most frequently asked during cross-examination. [11]

On his album Mitch All Together , Mitch Hedberg jokes about a supposed double-barreled question on his health insurance form: "Have you ever used sugar or PCP?"

See also

Related Research Articles

In common law systems that rely on testimony by witnesses, a leading question is a question that suggests a particular answer and contains information the examiner is looking to have confirmed. The use of leading questions in court to elicit testimony is restricted in order to reduce the ability of the examiner to direct or influence the evidence presented. Depending on the circumstances, leading questions can be objectionable or proper.

A loaded question is a form of complex question that contains a controversial assumption.

In classical rhetoric and logic, begging the question or assuming the conclusion is an informal fallacy that occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion. A question-begging inference is valid, in the sense that the conclusion is as true as the premise, but it is not a valid argument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interview</span> Structured series of questions and answers

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A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammatical forms typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are interrogative in form but may not be considered bona fide questions, as they are not expected to be answered.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Questionnaire</span> Series of questions for gathering information

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The Metallic Metals Act was a fictional piece of legislation included in a 1947 American opinion survey conducted by Sam Gill and published in the March 14, 1947, issue of Tide magazine. When given four possible replies, 70% of respondents claimed to have an opinion on the act. It has become a classic example of the risks of meaningless responses to closed-ended questions and prompted the study of the pseudo-opinion phenomenon.

A closed-ended question refers to any question for which a researcher provides research participants with options from which to choose a response. Closed-ended questions are sometimes phrased as a statement which requires a response.

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In linguistics, a yes–no question, also known as a binary question, a polar question, or a general question, is a question whose expected answer is one of two choices, one that provides an affirmative answer to the question versus one that provides a negative answer to the question. Typically, in English, the choices are either "yes" or "no". Yes–no questions present an exclusive disjunction, namely a pair of alternatives of which only one is a felicitous answer. In English, such questions can be formed in both positive and negative forms

A suggestive question is one that implies that a certain answer should be given in response, or falsely presents a presupposition in the question as accepted fact. Such a question distorts the memory thereby tricking the person into answering in a specific way that might or might not be true or consistent with their actual feelings, and can be deliberate or unintentional. For example, the phrasing "Don't you think this was wrong?" is more suggestive than "Do you think this was wrong?" despite the difference of only one word. The former may subtly pressure the respondent into responding "yes", whereas the latter is far more direct. Repeated questions can make people think their first answer is wrong and lead them to change their answer, or it can cause people to continuously answer until the interrogator gets the exact response that they desire. The diction used by the interviewer can also be an influencing factor to the response given by the interrogated individual.

Opinion polling on Scottish independence is continually being carried out by various organisations to gauge public attitudes to independence. The dates for these opinion polls range from the 2014 Scottish independence referendum to the present day. Polling conducted before the 2014 Scottish independence referendum can be found here.

References

  1. ↑ Terry J. Fadem, The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, FT Press, 2008, ISBN   0-13-714424-5, Google Print, p. 188.
  2. 1 2 3 Response bias Archived 2010-02-13 at the Wayback Machine . SuperSurvey, Ipathia Inc.
  3. 1 2 3 Earl R. Babbie, Lucia Benaquisto, Fundamentals of Social Research, Cengage Learning, 2009, Google Print, p. 251.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Alan Bryman, Emma Bell, Business research methods, Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN   0-19-928498-9, Google Print, p. 267-268.
  5. 1 2 3 Ranjit Kumar, Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE, 2005, ISBN   1-4129-1194-X, Google Print, p. 136-137.
  6. ↑ Hill, Gerald N. (2002). The people's law dictionary : taking the mystery out of legal language. New York, NY: MJF Books. ISBN   9781567315530.
  7. ↑ Earl R. Babbie, The Practice of Social Research', Cengage Learning, 2009, ISBN   0-495-59841-0, Google Print, p. 258.
  8. ↑ Charles Gibbons, A Student's Guide to Trial Objections (2015), p. 37.
  9. ↑ Roger Park, David P. Leonard, Steven H. Goldberg, Evidence Law: A Student's Guide to the Law of Evidence as Applied in American Trials (2011), pp. 80–81.
  10. 1 2 3 Tamarah Haet, Nancy Yuenger, California Trial Objections 2015 (2015), §8, "Question Is Compound", pp. 113–114.
  11. ↑ Mauet, Thomas A. (2009). Trials : strategy, skills, and the new powers of persuasion (2nd ed.). Austin: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. p. 553. ISBN   9780735577213.
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