Question Ladder
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Question Ladder
Copyright © 2016 The Open University
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Contents
- Question Ladder
- 1When to use a question ladder
- 2The question ladder approach
- 2.1What do the questions mean?
- 3The question ladder: a case study
- 4Strengths and weaknesses of the question ladder
- Summary
- Self-assessment questions
- End of Module Quiz
- References and acknowledgements
Question Ladder
This module will support your understanding and use of the Question Ladder Tool from the DIY Toolkit. You should look at the Question Ladder Template before working through the module. You will find it helpful to have a print out of the Question Ladder Template with you while you work through this module.
How do you know the right questions to ask to really get at the information you need? It might sound simple, but focusing on what you’re asking, and how, is essential for improving the quality of the response. ‘Laddering’ is a technique that helps you to focus on a certain topic by asking a series of questions about different aspects related to that topic.
This module shows you how to employ this technique using the Question Ladder Template, a simple tool that enables you to ask ‘good’ questions. (By ‘good questions’, we mean a set of questions that are worth answering, and provide a framework for gathering useful answers for action.)
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Learning outcomes
After studying this module, you should be able to:
- describe when a question ladder is a useful and appropriate tool (SAQ 1)
- understand the layout of the Question Ladder Template and how it works (SAQ 2)
- select the most relevant questions to challenge the core issues of a problem or opportunity (SAQ 3)
- explain the strengths and weaknesses of a question ladder (SAQ 4).
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1When to use a question ladder
The question ladder provides a comprehensive approach to questioning an issue that you want to explore. It helps you get at the answers that you did not know you needed, as well as those that you know you need. It also gives you opportunities to ask the same question in different ways, thereby cross-checking and adding validity to the answers, and generating responses that reveal different perspectives on the answer.
Donald Rumsfeld, a former US defence secretary, once said:
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There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.
(NATO, 2002)
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Rumsfeld was ridiculed for this answer to a question about what was known about terrorist threats (BBC, 2007). However, in our context of considering the questions to ask, the question ladder might also reveal ‘unknown unknowns’, generating questions that we did not know would be useful.
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Figure 1: Donald Rumsfeld spoke of ‘unknown unknowns’
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A question ladder is a structured and systematic approach to questioning that enables you to explore an issue from a number of angles. It allows you to approach your knowledge and information needs differently. Rather than starting from ‘What do I need to know?’, and thereby setting limits to what you can discover, the question ladder opens the issue up, allowing you to gain new knowledge and information from a variety of angles.
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Key point
A question ladder is a structured and systematic approach to questioning that enables you to explore an issue rigorously.
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Activity 1
Allow around 10 minutes for this activity
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Can you think of some situations in which a question ladder might be useful to you? (One example might be preparing for a job interview.) How have you prepared your questions before, and why do you think the question ladder may tell you something different? Make some notes in answer to this question in the text box below.
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - Activity 1
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The question ladder can be a tool to help you answer big issues, perhaps even those that keep you awake at night. The question ladder can:
- help you understand your motives for wanting to solve the issue
- enable you to remove yourself from the issue, leading to more objective insights
- enable you to let go of favoured or learned responses in order to understand different behaviours
- help you see different ways of moving forward with the issue.
Asking questions systematically should improve the quality of the answers, and therefore the evidence upon which you plan action.
2The question ladder approach
The Question Ladder Template is a series of two sets of words that are set out in a grid pattern. From top to bottom, running vertically at the left of the grid, there are question words:
- Who
- What
- Where
- When
- Why
- How
These are sometimes called ‘the five Ws and H’. A useful way of remembering these is Rudyard Kipling’s poem:
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I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who
...
(Kipling, 1902)
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‘The five Ws and H’ are coupled with question words running horizontally from left to right:
- Is
- Did
- Can
- Will
- Would
- Might
A useful way of remembering these is through a mnemonic. (A ‘mnemonic’ is a way of remembering a phrase or list of things where the initial letter of each word is combined to form a phrase or sentence.) I use the following:
In
Denmark
cats
will
whine
meow.
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Figure 2:Mnemonics can be a useful way of remembering things
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It is slightly ridiculous of course, but just about makes sense. I remember it because of those two characteristics; if it made perfect sense or was total nonsense I doubt I would remember it.
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Activity 2
Allow around 10 minutes for this activity
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Looking at the Question Ladder Template, consider the reasons you have decided to study this module. Select three random cells of the template and ask yourself the questions in the context of your motivation for studying the module. Make some notes in answer to these questions in the text box below.
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - Activity 2
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2.1What do the questions mean?
When you start working through the Question Ladder Template, you will notice that some cells in the grid are easier to complete than others. Some will feel irrelevant or clunky, but you should still have a go at filling them in as they will help ensure that you explore the issue from all angles.
Once you have completed all the cells of the Question Ladder Template, you can select the blend of questions that will enable you to get the information and knowledge you need. You should aim to build a chain of questions that gently leads you, or your interviewee, into greater detail and complexity. This will provide a convincing and robust body of evidence for a course of action. You might not need to ask and answer all the questions that you prepared.
You might notice that you have picked certain types of question more than others. For example, you may find that the most useful question types for you are ‘Who’ or ‘Might’ questions, or perhaps they are ‘How’ or ‘Could’ questions.
The frequency of the question types you select can tell you about your concerns around the issue you are investigating. So, for example, ‘Who’ questions suggest you are concerned about responsibility. Look at Table 1 below to see what the different types of question indicate.
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Table 1What do the question types indicate?
Question type / Concerns / Question type / ConcernsWho? / Responsibility / Is? / Currently
What? / Focus / Did? / Past
Where? / Location / Can? / Ability
When? / Timing / Will? / Motivation
Why? / Rationale / Would? / Possibility
How? / Logistics / Might? / Potential
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3The question ladder: a case study
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Figure 4:Margaret’s story
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In the case study below, Margaret is a young entrepreneur in Uganda who is thinking about a change to her social enterprise. The Question Ladder Template is applied to the case study to demonstrate its application.
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Case Study 1: Margaret’s social enterprise
Margaret manages a small social enterprise making costume jewellery from locally produced beads. The enterprise is two years old, and is doing well. At the moment, Margaret employs ten women who work from their own homes assembling the jewellery. While this has worked well, there are limits on how much time the women can give to making the jewellery because of their household commitments. This is holding back expansion of the social enterprise.
Margaret is wondering whether now is the time to seek premises for production and to offer the women part-time or full-time employment outside of the home. She has found a small factory that would accommodate 25 workers. Margaret decides to complete a Question Ladder Template to ensure she is considering everything she needs to. She wants to be as prepared as she can be; this is a big step for her, the workers and the social enterprise.
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Activity 3
Allow around 50 minutes for this activity
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- Margaret has started to complete the question ladder as it applies to her interest in moving the jewellery social enterprise into factory premises. Fill in the empty cells in the half-completed Question Ladder Template below. (Hint: draw on the key aspects of the case study, namely Margaret’s wish for factory premises, retaining existing workers and attracting new workers).
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Is / Did / Can / Will / Would / MightWho / Who is using the factory at the moment? / Provide your answer... / Who can use the factory? / Who will compete to use the factory? / Who would be prepared to work in the factory from my existing workers? / Provide your answer...
What / Provide your answer... / What did the factory previously produce? / Provide your answer... / What will be the critical factors in securing the factory? / What would I have to do to encourage my existing workers to move to the factory? / What might my existing workers feel about the factory?
Where / Where is this factory? / Where did people who worked at the factory come from? / Where can the workers come from? / Provide your answer... / Where would I look for new workers to expand my workforce? / Provide your answer...
When / When is this factory used? / When did the previous occupants know they needed to vacate the factory? / Provide your answer... / When will a decision on the factory’s new occupants be taken? / When would I need to start looking for new workers? / Provide your answer...
Why / Why is this factory suitable? / Why did the previous occupants vacate the factory? / Provide your answer... / Why will I be successful in securing this factory? / Provide your answer... / Why might my existing workers not want to move to the factory?
How / Provide your answer... / How did the factory become available? For example, leasehold or for sale. / How can my social enterprise make best use of this factory? / Provide your answer... / How would I train new workers? / How might my existing workers train new workers?
End of Table
End of Question
View discussion - Untitled part
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- With all the cells of the Question Ladder Template completed, Margaret can now select the most important questions and seek the answers. From the completed template, select the most important ten questions for Margaret to seek answers to, and the order in which you think she should ask and answer them. Record your answers in the box below.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
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- In the box below, explain why you have made your selection.
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - Untitled part
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4Strengths and weaknesses of the question ladder
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Figure 5:When you have completed the question ladder, you'll need to select the most appropriate questions
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The question ladder provides a structured and systematic approach to building a series of questions, and this is its major strength. Others include versatility (it can be applied to any problem or opportunity), the simplicity of completing the template by following the across-and-down approach, and how the questioning gently becomes more complex – and contested – as you move from left to right across the grid.
However, the disadvantage is that while the question ladder helps you to generate many different questions, some of these questions will be redundant. You will generate questions that you never use, which can be frustrating. In addition to this, while you select the most appropriate questions to seek answers to, this does not necessarily mean that you will be able to gain answers to them and therefore there may be evidence gaps. While having good questions increases the chances that you will gather robust evidence, it does not guarantee it.
As a way of checking and critically reviewing the answers to the questions, it might be helpful to use the DIY Toolkit Evidence Planning Tool. This will support you in re-examining ‘why you are doing what you do,’ and whether your approach is the best it can be. The tool is a quick way to help reconnect with the goal of your work and improve the chances of realising it.
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Activity 4
Allow around 30 minutes for this activity
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Reflect on a problem or opportunity of your own, either at home or in the workplace, and complete a Question Ladder Template to help you examine it in more detail. Once you have completed the template, select the questions that you feel are the most relevant to your problem or opportunity. You can choose as many or as few as you need.
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View discussion - Activity 4
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Summary
This module has explained what a question ladder is and when it is a useful and appropriate tool to use. It has described the layout of the Question Ladder Template and how it works. The question ladder was applied to a case study so you could see the practical applications of the tool. This helped reveal the strengths and weaknesses of a question ladder and enabled you to complete the Question Ladder Template for a problem or opportunity you face. It’s important to remember that a question ladder only helps you ask the right questions and, as such, is one step in the wider process of gathering and assessing information and evidence.
Self-assessment questions
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SAQ 1
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Fill the missing gaps in the sentences below, selecting from the jumbled words.
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Interactive content is not available in this format.
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SAQ 2
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What are the two types of questions that are set out in a grid pattern in the Question Ladder Template? Record your answers in the box below.
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - SAQ 2
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SAQ 3
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In Activity 3, you were asked to select the ten best questions for Margaret’s social enterprise.
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- Below is a grid for counting the frequency of question types. I’ve completed it for my answers to Activity 3, but not filled in the totals. Add up the frequency of question types and complete the ‘Totals’ column and row.
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Is / Did / Can / Will / Would / Might / TotalWho / 1 / 1 / 1 / Provide your answer...
What / 1 / 1 / Provide your answer...
Where / 1 / Provide your answer...
When / Provide your answer...
Why / 1 / Provide your answer...
How / 1 / 1 / 1 / Provide your answer...
Total / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer... / Provide your answer...
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What were my most relevant question types to challenge Margaret in changing the social enterprise? For example, were they largely ‘where’ or ‘why’ questions, ‘is’ or ‘might’ questions? Record your answers in the box below.
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - Untitled part
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- What does the frequency of question types tell you about my concerns for Margaret’s social enterprise?
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Provide your answer...
View discussion - Untitled part
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SAQ 4
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Consider the following statements about the Question Ladder Tool and decide whether they are a strength or weakness.
The question ladder:
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