Describe how questions might be best used in the interview process

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Using questions may be used to good advantage in starting the conversation or delving deeper into a specific area. Since utmost accuracy in response to the interview question is desirable, such a question should be framed in positive terms. Early studies found that questions framed in negative terms had a tendency to elicit inaccurate responses more frequently than did positive questions because negatives are somewhat more suggestive and cause a lessening of caution in response and decreased reliability. Open-ended questions should be framed so that the trend of thought cannot be stopped by a "yes" or "no" answer. Likewise, questions should not lead the interviewee into a directed answer because he may try to please and, in doing so, avoid giving a true response. Although it is true that the question-and-answer technique often plays an important part in police work, especially in the interrogation of suspects, using this procedure in the interview is not entirely successful, since questions seldom elicit the whole story.