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Questionnaire Pretesting Methods: Do Different Techniques and Different Organizations Produce Similar Results?

Written by:
RSM2005-02

Introduction

During the past 15 years, in an effort to improve survey data quality, researchers and survey practitioners have significantly increased their use of an evolving set of questionnaire pretesting methods, including review by experts, cognitive interviewing, behavior coding, and the use of respondent debriefing. Several researchers have addressed issues related to questionnaire evaluation, and have attempted to determine the potential strengths and weaknesses of each (Campanelli, 1997; DeMaio, Mathiowetz, Rothgeb, Beach, and Durant, 1993; Oksenberg Cannell, and Kalton, 1991; Presser and Blair, 1994; Willis, 2001). Further, several empirical investigations have evaluated the effectiveness of core features of these techniques, especially the use of verbal probing within cognitive interviewing (Davis and DeMaio 1992; Foddy, 1996) and several evaluative studies have attemped to assess the effectiveness of cognitive interviews in ameliorating questionnaire problems (Fowler and Consenza, 2000; Lessler, Tourangeau, and Salter, 1989; Presser and Blair; Willis and Schechter, 1996; Willis, Schechter, and Whitaker, 1999); these are reviewed in detail by Willis (2001).

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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