Effective questionnaire design: How to use cognitive interviews to refine questionnaire items

Author(s):  
J.S. Balza ◽  
R.N. Cusatis ◽  
S.M. McDonnell ◽  
M.A. Basir ◽  
K.E. Flynn

BACKGROUND: Cognitive interviewing is a technique that can be used to improve and refine questionnaire items. We describe the basic methodology of cognitive interviewing and illustrate its utility through our experience using cognitive interviews to refine a questionnaire assessing parental understanding of concepts related to preterm birth. METHODS: Cognitive interviews were conducted using current best practices. Results were analyzed by the multidisciplinary research team and questionnaire items that were revealed to be problematic were revised. RESULTS: Revisions to the questionnaire items were made to improve clarity and to elicit responses that truly reflected the participants understanding of the concept. CONCLUSION: Cognitive interviewing is a useful methodology for improving validity of questionnaire items, we recommend researchers developing new questionnaire items design and complete cognitive interviews to improve their items and increase confidence in study conclusions.

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Meyerholz ◽  
Nathan L. Tintle ◽  
Amanda P. Beck

Histopathology remains an important source of descriptive biological data in biomedical research. Recent petitions for enhanced reproducibility in scientific studies have elevated the role of tissue scoring (semiquantitative and quantitative) in research studies. Effective tissue scoring requires appropriate statistical analysis to help validate the group comparisons and give the pathologist confidence in interpreting the data. Each statistical test is typically founded on underlying assumptions regarding the data. If the underlying assumptions of a statistical test do not match the data, then these tests can lead to increased risk of erroneous interpretations of the data. The choice of appropriate statistical test is influenced by the study’s experimental design and resultant data (eg, paired vs unpaired, normality, number of groups, etc). Here, we identify 3 common pitfalls in the analysis of tissue scores: shopping for significance, overuse of paired t-tests, and misguided analysis of multiple groups. Finally, we encourage pathologists to use the full breadth of resources available to them, such as using statistical software, reading key publications about statistical approaches, and identifying a statistician to serve as a collaborator on the multidisciplinary research team. These collective resources can be helpful in choosing the appropriate statistical test for tissue-scoring data to provide the most valid interpretation for the pathologist.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Burchill ◽  
Phyllis Lau ◽  
Priscilla Pyett ◽  
Steve Kelly ◽  
Peter Waples-Crowe ◽  
...  

This article describes the way a multidisciplinary research team set about 'Aboriginalising' their research processes in the initial phase of a project that aimed to develop a culturally appropriate model of care for urban Aboriginal people with diabetes. Although academic conventions and protocols tended to dominate, the project incorporated the innovative approach that the Aboriginal researchers brought to the process of recruiting and facilitating focus groups, which they likened to 'hunting and gathering'. In developing and strengthening partnerships between research institutions and Aboriginal communities, it is important that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers challenge the conventional academic models of research in ways that are culturally appropriate and informed by Aboriginal scholarship. This article illustrates the difficulties and challenges on both sides of the partnership. It concludes by outlining the key principles learnt during the first phase of the project.


2019 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
pp. 951-961
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Sterbenz ◽  
Jacob S. Nasser ◽  
Kevin C. Chung

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan O. Mailloux ◽  
Michael R. Grimaila ◽  
Douglas D. Hodson ◽  
Gerald B. Baumgartner

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