Closed-ended question

rdf:langString Closed-ended question

rdf:langString 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. A closed-ended question contrasts with an open-ended question, which cannot easily be answered with specific information. Examples of close-ended questions which may elicit a "yes" or "no" response include: * Were you born in 2010? * Is Lyon the capital of France? * Did you steal the money? Similarly, variants of the above close-ended questions which possess specific responses are: * On what day were you born? ("Saturday.") * What is the capital of France? ("Paris.") * Where did you steal the money? ("From the bank.") At the same time, there are closed-ended questions which are sometimes impossible to answer correctly with a yes or no without confusion, for example: "Have you stopped taking heroin?" (if you never took it) or "Who told you to take heroin?"; see "loaded question". A study by the University of Cincinnati found 20 to 40 percent of Americans will provide an opinion when they do not have one because of social pressure, using context clues to select an answer they believe will please the questioner. A classic example of this phenomenon was the 1947 study of the fictional Metallic Metals Act.