6 Types of Curiosity Questions + Free Resource
Use these six types of curiosity questions to help expand understanding about the experiences, concerns, and values of stakeholders for a particular issue
Dear collaborative discussion friends,
This week we are sharing six types of curiosity questions that can be used to help understand the perspectives of various stakeholders about a particular issue, as well as their values, experiences, and concerns. We are also including a free resource that can be used as a reminder to craft or ask good questions during a group discussion, in a classroom, or in a workshop. By using these six types of questions to guide participants, it encourages them to be intentional about the kinds of questions they ask in order to explore different perspectives from a place of curiosity.
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Free resource to help craft good questions to learn more about an issue and various stakeholders
These six types of curiosity questions can be found in Activity 4.6 Asking Questions to Promote Curiosity. This activity is designed to help participants think about what they assume about different stakeholders’ views on an issue and then ask questions with an open mind to explore if their assumptions are true or not. These questions will help add depth to any discussion about a particular topic.
The six types of curiosity questions are:
Grand Tour Questions: Helps you understand how an activity or event usually transpires from start to finish or how a social setting is organized and get insight into routines, rituals, procedures, actors, cycles of activity, how people are socialized in, etc.
Example: “You mentioned that you get most of your medical care from the local clinic. Tell me about what this looks like from when you decide to go, to what happens when you are at the clinic, to what happens when you leave the clinic.”
Memorable Tour Questions: Helps you get insight into a turning point or “first”.
Example: “Do you remember the first time you had to make a choice not to seek medical attention although you felt you needed it?”
Timeline Questions: Helps you get insight into how things have changed over time.
Example: “You have been a doctor for 20 years now. How have you seen health insurance impact your role as a doctor?”
Example Questions: The types of examples people offer often reveal their concerns and values.
Example: “As a nonprofit childcare provider, tell me about an example when you had to help someone address their child’s medical needs. What was that process like?”
Experience Questions: The types of experiences people offer often reveal their concerns and values.
Example: “In your experience as a healthcare access advocate, what was an experience where you felt like you were able to make a compelling argument to a legislator?”
Articulate the ideal and identify tradeoffs: By asking someone how they think something “should work” in an ideal world and what we might have to give up to get that, we get a sense of what tradeoffs people may be willing to live with.
Example: “If the healthcare system were to change tomorrow to be the kind of system you think is needed, what would it look like and what would you be willing to do or to give up to make that happen?”
Printable PDF of 6 types of curiosity questions
Download and print out copies of this PDF with these six types of curiosity questions to share with students in a class or participants in a workshop or discussion.
Shareable image of 6 types of curiosity questions
Share this image online with students, a discussion group, or workshop participants.
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Looking forward to collaborating,
Ritu Thomas & the Collaborative Discussion Team