Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaires

by Presser, Stanley; Rothgeb, Jennifer M.; Couper, Mick P.; Lessler, Judith T.; Martin, Elizabeth; Martin, Jean; Singer, Eleanor

• ISBN13: 9780471458418
• ISBN10: 0471458414
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-23
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience

Summary

Written and painstakingly edited by leading experts, this volume offers a state-of-the-art overview of and solid foundation in up-to-date survey questionnaire issues, concerns, and responses. Like several other books in the Wiley Series in Survey Methodology, this work has been prepared in conjunction with an international conference on the topic (in November 2002) by the Survey Research Methods Section of the American Statistical Association, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the International Association of Survey Statisticians, the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, and the Council of Marketing and Opinion Research.The book covers cognitive interviewing, interaction analysis, response latency, respondent debriefings, vignette analysis, split-sample comparisons, statistical modeling, mode of administration, and special populations. It also considers these topics in light of emerging techniques and technologies. The book's authors include more than two-dozen eminent professionals in a variety of fields related to survey methodology and questionnaire development, including names such as Gordon Willis of the National Cancer Insitute; Paul Beatty of the National Center for Health Statistics; Paul Biemerof the Research Triangle Institute; Don Dillman of the University of Washington; and Natacha Borgers, Edith de Leuuw, and Astrid Smits of Statistics Netherlands. Copious tables, figures, and references, as well as an extensive glossary, supplement the high quality discussion throughout the text.

Author Biography

STANLEY PRESSER is a Professor in the Sociology Department and in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland.

JENNIFER M. ROTHGEB is a Social Science Statistician at the Center for Survey Methods Research in the Statistical Research Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.

MICK P. COUPER is an Associate Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland.

JUDITH T. LESSLER is Vice President, Partnership for Genomics and Molecular Epidemiology, Research Triangle Institute.

ELIZABETH MARTIN is Senior Survey Methodologist at the U.S. Census Bureau.

JEAN MARTIN is Director of the Social Analysis and Reporting Division of the Office for National Statistics, U.K.

ELEANOR SINGER is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questions	p. 1
Cognitive Interviews
Cognitive Interviewing Revisited: A Useful Technique, in Theory?	p. 23
The Dynamics of Cognitive Interviewing	p. 45
Data Quality in Cognitive Interviews: The Case of Verbal Reports	p. 67
Do Different Cognitive Interview Techniques Produce Different Results?	p. 89
Supplements to Conventional Pretests
Evaluating Survey Questions by Analyzing Patterns of Behavior Codes and Question-Answer Sequences: A Diagnostic Approach	p. 109
Response Latency and (Para)Linguistic Expressions as Indicators of Response Error	p. 131
Vignettes and Respondent Debriefing for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation	p. 149
Experiments
The Case for More Split-Sample Experiments in Developing Survey Instruments	p. 173
Using Field Experiments to Improve Instrument Design: The SIPP Methods Panel Project	p. 189
Experimental Design Considerations for Testing and Evaluating Questionnaires	p. 209
Statistical Modeling
Modeling Measurement Error to Identify Flawed Questions	p. 225
Item Response Theory Modeling for Questionnaire Evaluation	p. 247
Development and Improvement of Questionnaires Using Predictions of Reliability and Validity	p. 275
Mode of Administration
Testing Paper Self-Administered Questionnaires: Cognitive Interview and Field Test Comparisons	p. 299
Methods for Testing and Evaluating Computer-Assisted Questionnaires	p. 319
Usability Testing to Evaluate Computer-Assisted Instruments	p. 337
Development and Testing of Web Questionnaires	p. 361
Special Populations
Evolution and Adaptation of Questionnaire Development, Evaluation, and Testing Methods for Establishment Surveys	p. 385
Pretesting Questionnaires for Children and Adolescents	p. 409
Developing and Evaluating Cross-National Survey Instruments	p. 431
Survey Questionnaire Translation and Assessment	p. 453
Multimethod Applications
A Multiple-Method Approach to Improving the Clarity of Closely Related Concepts: Distinguishing Legal and Physical Custody of Children	p. 475
Multiple Methods for Developing and Evaluating a Stated-Choice Questionnaire to Value Wetlands	p. 503
Does Pretesting Make a Difference? An Experimental Test	p. 525
References	p. 547
Index	p. 603
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