Analysis of the Cognitive Interview in Questionnaire Design

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.