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Title Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questions
Source Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ), 68, 1, pp. 109-130
Year 2004
Access date 07.06.2004
Abstract

This article presents information on the methods for testing and evaluating survey questions. In recent decades a growing awareness of conventional pretesting's draw backs has led to two interrelated changes. First, there has been a subtle shift in the goals of testing, from an exclusive focus on identifying and fixing overt problems experienced by interviewers and respondents to a broader concern for improving data quality so that measurements meet a survey's objectives. Second, new testing methods have been developed or adapted from other uses. These methods include cognitive interviews, behavior coding, response latency, vignette analysis, formal respondent debriefings, experiments and statistical modeling. The development of these methods raises issues of how they might best be used in combination, as well as whether they in fact lead to improvements in survey measurement. In addition, the adoption of computerized modes of administration poses special challenges for pretesting, as do surveys of special populations, such as children, establishments and those requiring questionnaires in more than one language all of which have greatly increased in recent years.

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Year of publication2004
Bibliographic typeJournal article
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