Asking and answering yes/no-questions in survey interviews : a conversational approach

Examines the process as given in the questionnaire and with regard to the yes/no questions that interviewers may pose in the subsequent stages of a sequence. Hypotheses are derived from the cooperation principle and the politeness principle of conversation, and then evaluated for survey interview settings. Argues that the `normal' conversation strategy may seriously affect the validity of the information obtained and that the practical demands from the conversation rules sets limits on the researcher's abstract demands on the interviewer's behaviour. (Original abstract-amended)