The answers given by respondents to survey questions arise out of complex cognitive processes which involve more than strategies of recall or the interpretation of specific vocabulary used in questions. Respondents also employ a wide-ranging pattern of social knowledge surrounding the specific content area on which the survey touches. This social knowledge is possessed by every respondent, and is learned not only by direct experience, but by general exposure to cultural models. It may be though of as a set of expectations, both about what actually happens and what should happen, and implicit rules about when and to whom these expectations are applicable.

Others in Series

Working Paper

Results From a Cognitive Exploration of the 1993 AHS

1994

The Census Bureau undertook a qualitative research project to investigate respondents' comprehension and interpretation of a subset of questions in the AHS.

Working Paper

Item Nonresponse and Log-Linear Analysis of the Spanish Language Forms

1994

The SFAT was used to determine the effect of mailing Spanish forms to areas with persons who speak Spanish and who do not speak English well or at all.

Working Paper

The Cognitive Evaluation of the Nativity Questions for the CPS

February 08, 1999

Before becoming a permanent addition to the CPS in January 1994, the nativity questions were pretested using cognitive evaluation techniques.

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Survey Methods Working Papers

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021

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