What type of questions are preferred when collecting statements?

Open-ended questions are preferred when collecting statements because they allow individuals to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their own words without being constrained by predefined responses. This type of questioning encourages more detailed and nuanced responses, providing richer information that can be crucial for understanding a situation, gathering testimonials, or assessing perceptions.

By allowing respondents to elaborate on their answers, open-ended questions foster a dialogue that can reveal insights that closed-ended questions may miss. These insights can include personal experiences, emotions, and context that provide depth to the information collected. This contrasts with closed-ended questions, which restrict answers to predetermined options, and leading questions, which may influence responses. Hypothetical questions, while useful in certain contexts, do not typically elicit actual experiences or opinions as effectively as open-ended questions do. Thus, open-ended questions are essential for gathering comprehensive and authentic statements.