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The art of asking questions
345
Book reuieua
L. Payne.
Stadcy
Thr art of aking
gurctions.
Princeton,
N. J. : Princeton
University
Press,
1980. ISBN
0 69 1 0282 1 4. Pbk. E3.35 Rcviclving Stanley Payne’s classic text on the sub$ect of‘ question M’orciing is a virtually LIIIIIKCSS~I-y task. First published in 1951, it has long been the been used much more than it questionnaire designer’s ‘Bible’, and has probably has been cited, though I ani sure it must rate as one of’ ISI’s ‘Citation classics’. Thi, thirteenth hard-cover and first pap-back printing is a handsome volume anti tvdl rvorth \\hat is now a relatively modest price. ‘What is the need for this first book on Pavne begins by asking the question, rind, in fourteen chapters, gives ample reason, frilly illustrated clucst’ion wording?’ ’ by sample questions, good and bad, and always presented in a clear, readable, and oftm humorous manner. Chapter- 10, ‘What’s wrong with “you”:” ought to be ~~lfi~~-cc~l I-cading f’or any drafter of’a questionnaire Eden if the rest of’ the book to the hazards of’ using appawntl) is fi~tqpn~. This chapter drakes attention c.oIiirrioIil~,-uI~~lerstood, ‘everyday’ ~vords, like ‘could’, or ‘an)‘, or ‘I-cad’. The 11a\~)ur of’the book can be sho\vn by a short quotation from this section:
For a \vord that appears reasonably clear, iri the sense 0f“‘riglit this minute”, Icading IZ’hclt ktnd CJ/ rcwrk clrr~y/l doin,g r1071~? “I’m anwwing fiml questions”.’
“no\v” c-an be almost to situations like this:
too dcfinitc
Such \ut)tleties scwi to c’scapc nlrlny qwstionnair~ designers (including mywlf tinlcs. I must conf&s’j more ofrrn than thw should. With Pa~xc’s nwrk accm5iblc again arid at this price there is now no excuse, if’thcre c\w \va5.
at so
TDW
Alan Walter Pm/or7umcf~
Lexington,
Steiss and Gregory cidm~nz~lrcltlfu~:
Mass.:
Lexington
A. Danckc.
q!m~7~eti
Books,
rr~.\ponclr~ene.c.,
and
e//ect27~eneu
in
puhllc
ser7we.
1980. ISBN 0 669 03637 4. f13.50
With thus increased pI.essu1.e OII public- scwicc budgets iu both the U.S.A. and the I1.K. OV~I- r(wwt VC’;II-s.a1it1 \\sitti thus promise of’ fiirthcr cuts to conic, it is tmdl! surprising that ttlc proli5sional lii,l.al-ialishif, litcraturc has hcconic vc’rv concurIicd ;tl)out questions of’ cfficicnc-y, cffiUiv~ncss and costs. WC ha1.e heard much at)out Mt)O. PPBS and similar stratqics, usually somc~vhat after diffcultics had 1)(wi c~sfw.icIiced \\.itli these c’onccpts in business or in the LJ.S. f&lcral go\‘cr111ncmt I~u~-~;~uc~-ac-y. It is l)I.obably f’aiI- to say that librariam have dabbled lvith thcsc, idea\, rather than being c1ithusiastic I”.oI’o”e”ts--\~ith some notable (‘sc(‘f)tion\. BY \vhatew1- IMIIIC NT call it, ho~vcvcr, a continuilig concern ivith ‘f”.I.f;,i.tii;1I~ce’ is likcl!. to t)e a f’catuI-c of’ prof&sional lifti o\w‘ the next decade, a~~tl l)(‘I.lIai)s ~)cwnanmt1~. A\ the author-s of‘ this book tell us: ‘, the coming c’ra of’ fisc,al austcGtY is ilot just a matteI. of‘ Icss government-it is essentialI\ an issue of’l)(~tt(~i., 11ioi~c I-c5poIisivc ~icllliinistI.;ltion of‘public- activities’. Ai);“t f’rom rcniinding II\ 01‘that fat-t, ivhat can this book do to help the libraq ;l(lIliiiiistI.;ltoI., public, or ac~adeuiic.’ Pcrfi)] niancc ;IclriiiIlistr-~itioli is defined a3 a j)cwfm.tivc. 1vhic.h :
Book reuieua
L. Payne.
Stadcy
Thr art of aking
gurctions.
Princeton,
N. J. : Princeton
University
Press,
1980. ISBN
0 69 1 0282 1 4. Pbk. E3.35 Rcviclving Stanley Payne’s classic text on the sub$ect of‘ question M’orciing is a virtually LIIIIIKCSS~I-y task. First published in 1951, it has long been the been used much more than it questionnaire designer’s ‘Bible’, and has probably has been cited, though I ani sure it must rate as one of’ ISI’s ‘Citation classics’. Thi, thirteenth hard-cover and first pap-back printing is a handsome volume anti tvdl rvorth \\hat is now a relatively modest price. ‘What is the need for this first book on Pavne begins by asking the question, rind, in fourteen chapters, gives ample reason, frilly illustrated clucst’ion wording?’ ’ by sample questions, good and bad, and always presented in a clear, readable, and oftm humorous manner. Chapter- 10, ‘What’s wrong with “you”:” ought to be ~~lfi~~-cc~l I-cading f’or any drafter of’a questionnaire Eden if the rest of’ the book to the hazards of’ using appawntl) is fi~tqpn~. This chapter drakes attention c.oIiirrioIil~,-uI~~lerstood, ‘everyday’ ~vords, like ‘could’, or ‘an)‘, or ‘I-cad’. The 11a\~)ur of’the book can be sho\vn by a short quotation from this section:
For a \vord that appears reasonably clear, iri the sense 0f“‘riglit this minute”, Icading IZ’hclt ktnd CJ/ rcwrk clrr~y/l doin,g r1071~? “I’m anwwing fiml questions”.’
“no\v” c-an be almost to situations like this:
too dcfinitc
Such \ut)tleties scwi to c’scapc nlrlny qwstionnair~ designers (including mywlf tinlcs. I must conf&s’j more ofrrn than thw should. With Pa~xc’s nwrk accm5iblc again arid at this price there is now no excuse, if’thcre c\w \va5.
at so
TDW
Alan Walter Pm/or7umcf~
Lexington,
Steiss and Gregory cidm~nz~lrcltlfu~:
Mass.:
Lexington
A. Danckc.
q!m~7~eti
Books,
rr~.\ponclr~ene.c.,
and
e//ect27~eneu
in
puhllc
ser7we.
1980. ISBN 0 669 03637 4. f13.50
With thus increased pI.essu1.e OII public- scwicc budgets iu both the U.S.A. and the I1.K. OV~I- r(wwt VC’;II-s.a1it1 \\sitti thus promise of’ fiirthcr cuts to conic, it is tmdl! surprising that ttlc proli5sional lii,l.al-ialishif, litcraturc has hcconic vc’rv concurIicd ;tl)out questions of’ cfficicnc-y, cffiUiv~ncss and costs. WC ha1.e heard much at)out Mt)O. PPBS and similar stratqics, usually somc~vhat after diffcultics had 1)(wi c~sfw.icIiced \\.itli these c’onccpts in business or in the LJ.S. f&lcral go\‘cr111ncmt I~u~-~;~uc~-ac-y. It is l)I.obably f’aiI- to say that librariam have dabbled lvith thcsc, idea\, rather than being c1ithusiastic I”.oI’o”e”ts--\~ith some notable (‘sc(‘f)tion\. BY \vhatew1- IMIIIC NT call it, ho~vcvcr, a continuilig concern ivith ‘f”.I.f;,i.tii;1I~ce’ is likcl!. to t)e a f’catuI-c of’ prof&sional lifti o\w‘ the next decade, a~~tl l)(‘I.lIai)s ~)cwnanmt1~. A\ the author-s of‘ this book tell us: ‘, the coming c’ra of’ fisc,al austcGtY is ilot just a matteI. of‘ Icss government-it is essentialI\ an issue of’l)(~tt(~i., 11ioi~c I-c5poIisivc ~icllliinistI.;ltion of‘public- activities’. Ai);“t f’rom rcniinding II\ 01‘that fat-t, ivhat can this book do to help the libraq ;l(lIliiiiistI.;ltoI., public, or ac~adeuiic.’ Pcrfi)] niancc ;IclriiiIlistr-~itioli is defined a3 a j)cwfm.tivc. 1vhic.h :