Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design

In his text for advanced undergraduate and graduate research courses across the social sciences, Willis (national Cancer Institute, NIH) documents the range of techniques used in the cognitive interview, which has become increasingly important in the development and testing of survey questions. The emphasis is on the techniques he's found most useful in 15 years of trying them out, but Willis is careful to distinguish between his opinions and conclusions that are based on empirical findings. The text gives detailed instructions about the use of verbal probing techniques and eliciting information from subjects about their thinking and their reactions to tested questions; it also touches on broader principles of questionnaire design. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR