Reducing the number of cognitive interviews by adding other cognitive methods of testing

The Questionnaire Design Resource Centre (QDRC) is the focal point of expertise at Statistics Canada for questionnaire design and evaluation. As it stands now, cognitive interviewing to test questionnaires is most often done near the end of the questionnaire development process. By participating earlier in the questionnaire development process, the QDRC could test new survey topics using more adaptive cognitive methods for each step of the questionnaire development process. This would necessitate fewer participants for each phase of testing, thus reducing the cost and the recruitment challenge.

Based on a review of the literature and Statistics Canada's existing questionnaire evaluation projects, this paper will describe how the QDRC could help clients in making appropriate improvements to their questionnaire in a timely manner.