Interrogmin

Interrogmin is a theoretical construct in the study of interrogation and inquiry design that describes the smallest unit of interrogation capable of yielding verifiable information. The term blends “interrogate” with “minimum” and is used to analyze the efficiency of questioning strategies in both real-world and simulated settings.

Origin and scope: The concept emerged in discussions of question formulation and dialog system design, where researchers sought to formalize how a sequence of questions can be arranged to maximize information gain while minimizing total questions. Interrogmin can be a single question or a minimal, constrained set that isolates a single variable or fact.

Principles: Interrogmin emphasizes precision, non-leading phrasing, and controlled scope. In practice, interrogmin units are selected to reduce ambiguity and to support adaptive questioning, where subsequent interrogmin units depend on prior answers. In natural language processing and AI, interrogmin concepts guide the design of task-oriented dialogs and investigative chatbots.

Applications and variants: The concept informs training curricula for investigators and survey designers, as well as simulation-based exercises in education and game design. Some variants discuss ethical boundaries and the risk of over-framing or stifling respondent autonomy.

Reception and critique: Interrogmin is a niche theoretical construct with limited empirical evidence; critics argue that reducing inquiry to minimal units may overlook context, rapport, and the complexity of human memory and truth-telling.

See also: question formulation, interrogation, information gain, dialogue systems.