Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research

Overview

The Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research (CCQDER) conducts question development and question evaluation studies.

Question evaluation studies identify—

• Patterns in how people understand and think about a question when trying to answer it (patterns of interpretation)
• Ways that people incorrectly answer a question and why that happens (response error)
• Issues comparing answers given by different groups to the same question (question comparability)

CCQDER publishes a final report for each of its question evaluation studies. Each study's final report includes detailed information about its methods and findings. CCQDER posts these reports in Q-Bank, a searchable database accessible to all.

Benefits of evaluating questions

Question evaluation findings are useful before researchers begin collecting survey data. Evaluating survey questions helps researchers develop better questions. Better questions ensure that the people who respond (respondents) understand what they are being asked and that all respondents understand it in the same way. This improves the accuracy of responses and the quality of the data collected.

Evaluating survey questions that have already been fielded can provide guidance about how to interpret the survey data.

Evaluation methods

CCQDER's primary method of evaluation is cognitive interviewing. Cognitive interviewing provides detailed information about how respondents understand, think about, and answer questions. These mental processes can affect the quality and accuracy of the data collected from the respondents.

CCQDER also uses several other methods to evaluate questions, including focus groups, ethnographic interviews, and experimental web surveys.

Program activities

Question development and evaluation: CCQDER conducts cognitive interviews and other studies to understand and improve questions before surveys are conducted. CCQDER's work helps the National Center for Health Statistics and other agencies develop surveys that produce accurate, reliable data.

Methodological research: CCQDER researches and refines the methods used to evaluate questions. CCQDER works to increase understanding of the mental processes people use to consider and respond to questions (the question response process). CCQDER also studies response error to understand why and how people misunderstand questions and give incorrect answers.

Product development: CCQDER develops software to help multiple collaborators analyze cognitive interview data together. CCQDER also maintains a database of evaluated questions. Information in the database can help data users understand how respondents interpreted an evaluated question and any potential errors related to that question. CCQDER products are publicly available and easy to use.

Collaborations

CCQDER works with federal agencies to develop and conduct its evaluation studies. This work improves the quality of research and findings from agencies like—

• The National Center for Health Statistics
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Other federal agencies

More about our work

Learn how CCQDER experts develop and test questions in this webinar about our work on COVID-19 survey questions.