Which statement best defines a double-barreled question?

Which statement best defines a double-barreled question?

• A. It uses emotive language.
• B. It contains two questions in one.
• C. It asks for a yes/no answer.
• D. It avoids bias.

Answer: (B)

A double-barreled question combines two or more ideas into a single item, so a respondent must give one answer that covers more than one issue. This makes it unclear which part the answer refers to and lowers reliability, because you can’t tell whether the respondent agrees with one part, the other part, or both. For example, “Do you think the new policy is beneficial and affordable?” asks about two separate things at once, which can confuse the response and muddy the data. That’s why this option—containing two questions in one—is the best definition. Emotive language describes framing that aims to influence feelings, not the structure of the question. A yes/no request is just a response format, not the issue of combining questions. Avoiding bias would be about careful wording to prevent skew, whereas double-barreling inherently mixes two issues and can introduce bias by masking which part the respondent supports.

A double-barreled question combines two or more ideas into a single item, so a respondent must give one answer that covers more than one issue. This makes it unclear which part the answer refers to and lowers reliability, because you can’t tell whether the respondent agrees with one part, the other part, or both. For example, “Do you think the new policy is beneficial and affordable?” asks about two separate things at once, which can confuse the response and muddy the data. That’s why this option—containing two questions in one—is the best definition.

Emotive language describes framing that aims to influence feelings, not the structure of the question. A yes/no request is just a response format, not the issue of combining questions. Avoiding bias would be about careful wording to prevent skew, whereas double-barreling inherently mixes two issues and can introduce bias by masking which part the respondent supports.