Gordon B. Willis – författare

Cognitive interviewing, based on the self-report methods of Ericsson and Simon, is a key form of qualitative research that has developed over the past thirty years. The primary objective of cognitive interviewing, also known as cognitive testing, is to understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying the survey-response process. An equally important aim is contributing to the development of best practices for writing survey questions that are well understood and that produce low levels of response error. In particular, an important applied objective is the evaluation of a particular set of questions, items, or other materials under development by questionnaire designers, to determine means for rewording, reordering, or reconceptualizing. Hence, as well as providing an empirical, psychologically oriented framework for the general study of questionnaire design, cognitive interviewing has been adopted as a ''production'' mechanism for the improvement of a wide variety of survey questions, whether factual, behavioral, or attitudinal in nature. As with other methods that rely on qualitative data, cognitive interviewing has increasingly been criticized for being lax in the critical area of the development of systematic methods for data reduction, analysis, and reporting of results. Practitioners tend to conduct cognitive interviewing in varying ways, and the data coding and compilation activities undertaken are often nonstandardized and poorly described. There is a considerable need for further development--and documentation--relating not only to a description of this variation but also to providing a set of recommendations for minimal standards, if not best practices. The proposed volume endeavors to address this clear omission.

Cognitive interviewing, based on the self-report methods of Ericsson and Simon, is a key form of qualitative research that has developed over the past thirty years. The primary objective of cognitive interviewing, also known as cognitive testing, is to understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying the survey-response process. An equally important aim is contributing to the development of best practices for writing survey questions that are well understood and that produce low levels of response error. In particular, an important applied objective is the evaluation of a particular set of questions, items, or other materials under development by questionnaire designers, to determine means for rewording, reordering, or reconceptualizing. Hence, as well as providing an empirical, psychologically oriented framework for the general study of questionnaire design, cognitive interviewing has been adopted as a ''production'' mechanism for the improvement of a wide variety of survey questions, whether factual, behavioral, or attitudinal in nature. As with other methods that rely on qualitative data, cognitive interviewing has increasingly been criticized for being lax in the critical area of the development of systematic methods for data reduction, analysis, and reporting of results. Practitioners tend to conduct cognitive interviewing in varying ways, and the data coding and compilation activities undertaken are often nonstandardized and poorly described. There is a considerable need for further development--and documentation--relating not only to a description of this variation but also to providing a set of recommendations for minimal standards, if not best practices. The proposed volume endeavors to address this clear omission.

Insightful observations on common question evaluation methods and best practices for data collection in survey research Featuring contributions from leading researchers and academicians in the field of survey research, Question Evaluation Methods: Contributing to the Science of Data Quality sheds light on question response error and introduces an interdisciplinary, cross-method approach that is essential for advancing knowledge about data quality and ensuring the credibility of conclusions drawn from surveys and censuses. Offering a variety of expert analyses of question evaluation methods, the book provides recommendations and best practices for researchers working with data in the health and social sciences.Based on a workshop held at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), this book presents and compares various question evaluation methods that are used in modern-day data collection and analysis. Each section includes an introduction to a method by a leading authority in the field, followed by responses from other experts that outline related strengths, weaknesses, and underlying assumptions. Topics covered include: Behavior codingCognitive interviewingItem response theoryLatent class analysisSplit-sample experimentsMultitrait-multimethod experimentsField-based data methodsA concluding discussion identifies common themes across the presented material and their relevance to the future of survey methods, data analysis, and the production of Federal statistics. Together, the methods presented in this book offer researchers various scientific approaches to evaluating survey quality to ensure that the responses to these questions result in reliable, high-quality data.Question Evaluation Methods is a valuable supplement for courses on questionnaire design, survey methods, and evaluation methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. it also serves as a reference for government statisticians, survey methodologists, and researchers and practitioners who carry out survey research in the areas of the social and health sciences.

"As both an academic instructor in questionnaire design and a research design methodologist for the federal government, I feel this book is very timely, useful for students and practitioners, and unique in its use of real world practical examples that most everyone can relate."—Terry Richardson, General Accounting Office

"The combination of theory and practical application will make this a useful book for students as well as professionals who want to learn how to incorporate cognitive interviewing into the questionnaire design process."—Rachel Caspar, RTI International

The design and evaluation of questionnaires—and of other written and oral materials—is a challenging endeavor, fraught with potential pitfalls. Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design describes a means of systematically developing survey questions through investigations that intensively probe the thought processes of individuals who are presented with those inquiries. The work provides general guidance about questionnaire design, development, and pre-testing sequence, with an emphasis on the cognitive interview. In particular, the book gives detailed instructions about the use of verbal probing techniques, and how one can elicit additional information from subjects about their thinking and about the manner in which they react to tested questions. These tools help researchers discover how well their questions are working, where they are failing, and determine what they can do to rectify the wide variety of problems that may surface while working with questionnaires.

Cognitive Interviewing is ideally suited as a course text for advanced undergraduate and graduate research courses across the social sciences. Professional researchers and faculty in the social sciences, as well as practice fields such as medicine, business, and education, will also find this an invaluable reference for survey research. There is no other book on the market that covers cognitive interviewing as applied to questionnaire design.

"As both an academic instructor in questionnaire design and a research design methodologist for the federal government, I feel this book is very timely, useful for students and practitioners, and unique in its use of real world practical examples that most everyone can relate."—Terry Richardson, General Accounting Office

"The combination of theory and practical application will make this a useful book for students as well as professionals who want to learn how to incorporate cognitive interviewing into the questionnaire design process."—Rachel Caspar, RTI International

The design and evaluation of questionnaires—and of other written and oral materials—is a challenging endeavor, fraught with potential pitfalls. Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design describes a means of systematically developing survey questions through investigations that intensively probe the thought processes of individuals who are presented with those inquiries. The work provides general guidance about questionnaire design, development, and pre-testing sequence, with an emphasis on the cognitive interview. In particular, the book gives detailed instructions about the use of verbal probing techniques, and how one can elicit additional information from subjects about their thinking and about the manner in which they react to tested questions. These tools help researchers discover how well their questions are working, where they are failing, and determine what they can do to rectify the wide variety of problems that may surface while working with questionnaires.

Cognitive Interviewing is ideally suited as a course text for advanced undergraduate and graduate research courses across the social sciences. Professional researchers and faculty in the social sciences, as well as practice fields such as medicine, business, and education, will also find this an invaluable reference for survey research. There is no other book on the market that covers cognitive interviewing as applied to questionnaire design.

Insightful observations on common question evaluation methods and best practices for data collection in survey research

Featuring contributions from leading researchers and academicians in the field of survey research, Question Evaluation Methods: Contributing to the Science of Data Quality sheds light on question response error and introduces an interdisciplinary, cross-method approach that is essential for advancing knowledge about data quality and ensuring the credibility of conclusions drawn from surveys and censuses. Offering a variety of expert analyses of question evaluation methods, the book provides recommendations and best practices for researchers working with data in the health and social sciences.

Based on a workshop held at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), this book presents and compares various question evaluation methods that are used in modern-day data collection and analysis. Each section includes an introduction to a method by a leading authority in the field, followed by responses from other experts that outline related strengths, weaknesses, and underlying assumptions. Topics covered include:

Behavior coding Cognitive interviewing Item response theory Latent class analysis Split-sample experiments Multitrait-multimethod experiments Field-based data methods

A concluding discussion identifies common themes across the presented material and their relevance to the future of survey methods, data analysis, and the production of Federal statistics. Together, the methods presented in this book offer researchers various scientific approaches to evaluating survey quality to ensure that the responses to these questions result in reliable, high-quality data.

Question Evaluation Methods is a valuable supplement for courses on questionnaire design, survey methods, and evaluation methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. it also serves as a reference for government statisticians, survey methodologists, and researchers and practitioners who carry out survey research in the areas of the social and health sciences.

Insightful observations on common question evaluation methods and best practices for data collection in survey research

Featuring contributions from leading researchers and academicians in the field of survey research, Question Evaluation Methods: Contributing to the Science of Data Quality sheds light on question response error and introduces an interdisciplinary, cross-method approach that is essential for advancing knowledge about data quality and ensuring the credibility of conclusions drawn from surveys and censuses. Offering a variety of expert analyses of question evaluation methods, the book provides recommendations and best practices for researchers working with data in the health and social sciences.

Based on a workshop held at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), this book presents and compares various question evaluation methods that are used in modern-day data collection and analysis. Each section includes an introduction to a method by a leading authority in the field, followed by responses from other experts that outline related strengths, weaknesses, and underlying assumptions. Topics covered include:

Behavior coding Cognitive interviewing Item response theory Latent class analysis Split-sample experiments Multitrait-multimethod experiments Field-based data methods

A concluding discussion identifies common themes across the presented material and their relevance to the future of survey methods, data analysis, and the production of Federal statistics. Together, the methods presented in this book offer researchers various scientific approaches to evaluating survey quality to ensure that the responses to these questions result in reliable, high-quality data.

Question Evaluation Methods is a valuable supplement for courses on questionnaire design, survey methods, and evaluation methods at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. it also serves as a reference for government statisticians, survey methodologists, and researchers and practitioners who carry out survey research in the areas of the social and health sciences.

A new and updated definitive resource for survey questionnaire testing and evaluationBuilding on the success of the first Questionnaire Development, Evaluation, and Testing (QDET) conference in 2002, this book brings together leading papers from the Second International Conference on Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation, and Testing (QDET2) held in 2016.  The volume assesses the current state of the art and science of QDET; examines the importance of methodological attention to the questionnaire in the present world of information collection; and ponders how the QDET field can anticipate new trends and directions as information needs and data collection methods continue to evolve.Featuring contributions from international experts in survey methodology, Advances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing includes latest insights on question characteristics, usability testing, web probing, and other pretesting approaches, as well as:    Recent developments in the design and evaluation of digital and self-administered surveysStrategies for comparing and combining questionnaire evaluation methodsApproaches for cross-cultural and cross-national questionnaire developmentNew data sources and methodological innovations during the last 15 yearsCase studies and practical applicationsAdvances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing serves as a forum to prepare researchers to meet the next generation of challenges, making it an excellent resource for researchers and practitioners in government, academia, and the private sector.

A new and updated definitive resource for survey questionnaire testing and evaluation

Building on the success of the first Questionnaire Development, Evaluation, and Testing (QDET) conference in 2002, this book brings together leading papers from the Second International Conference on Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation, and Testing (QDET2) held in 2016.  The volume assesses the current state of the art and science of QDET; examines the importance of methodological attention to the questionnaire in the present world of information collection; and ponders how the QDET field can anticipate new trends and directions as information needs and data collection methods continue to evolve.

Featuring contributions from international experts in survey methodology, Advances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing includes latest insights on question characteristics, usability testing, web probing, and other pretesting approaches, as well as:   

Recent developments in the design and evaluation of digital and self-administered surveys Strategies for comparing and combining questionnaire evaluation methods Approaches for cross-cultural and cross-national questionnaire development New data sources and methodological innovations during the last 15 years Case studies and practical applications

Advances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing serves as a forum to prepare researchers to meet the next generation of challenges, making it an excellent resource for researchers and practitioners in government, academia, and the private sector.