Knowing the difference between effective and ineffective questions is essential for your future career as a data analyst.

ineffective questions

"These are the best sandwiches ever, aren't they?” This is called a leading question because it's leading you to answer in a certain way.

Your question was closed-ended. That means it can be answered with a yes or no.

Now, what if someone asks you, do you prefer chocolate or vanilla? Well, what are they specifically talking about? Ice cream, pudding, coffee flavoring, or something else? What if you like chocolate ice cream but vanilla in your coffee? What if you don't like either flavor? That's the problem with this question.

effective questions

That means they're specific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant and time-bound.

Specific questions

• simple, significant, and focused on a single topic or a few closely related ideas.
• This helps us collect information that's relevant to what we're investigating.

Are kids getting enough physical activities these days?

➡ What percentage of kids achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity at least five days a week?

measurable questions.

• Measurable questions can be quantified and assessed.
• Unmeasurable question: Why did a recent video go viral?
• you could ask: How many times was our video shared on social channels the first week it was posted?

action-oriented questions

• You might remember that problem solving is about seeing the current state and figuring out how to transform it into the ideal future state.

How can we get customers to recycle our product packaging?