COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING:  A HANDS-ON APPROACH
A two-day short course sponsored by the Joint Program in Survey Methodology 
 

APRIL 22-23, 2010
Presented at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center

GORDON WILLIS
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Cognitive interviewing has become a very popular method for pretesting and evaluating survey questionnaires. The current approach favored by Federal laboratories and private research institutions mainly emphasizes the use of intensive verbal probes that are administered by specially trained interviewers to volunteer respondents, often in a laboratory environment, to delve into the cognitive and socio-cultural processes associated with answering survey questions.  Based on this information, the evaluator makes judgments about where questions may produce difficulties in a number of subtle ways, due to cognitive demands they impose, cultural mismatches, or other shortcomings.  The short-course will focus on the specifics of how to conduct verbal probing, and how to process and communicate the results obtained.  Although an introduction to theory and background perspective is included, the course will focus on the application and practice of cognitive interviewing techniques, as these are targeted toward both interviewer-administered (face-to-face or telephone) and self-administered (paper and computer) surveys.  Participants will practice the conduct of cognitive interviews across modes, and will evaluate their results by judging where questions have failed, and what one might do to revise them.  The course aims to provide a working familiarity with cognitive techniques, so that students will be able to begin conducting cognitive interviews on their own.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The course is geared to individuals in government, universities, business, and nonprofit organizations interested in understanding and practicing cognitive interviewing techniques.  Introductory course work the rudiments of questionnaire design, or experience in administering questionnaires, is recommended. 

THE INSTRUCTOR
Gordon Willis has practiced and conducted research in a wide range of cognitive interviewing techniques for twenty years, at Northwestern University, The National Center for Health Statistics, Research Triangle Institute, and currently at the National Cancer Institute, NIH.  He has written “Cognitive Interviewing, A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design”, that will be used as the course text.  He has also taught short courses on cognitive and other questionnaire evaluation techniques at conferences of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and the American Statistical Association. He has co-taught a course in questionnaire design at the University of Maryland/University of North Carolina, and has been adjunct faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.  His research interests focus on the evaluation of pretesting techniques, and on their extension to cross-lingual, cross-cultural, and multi-national domains.

COURSE MATERIALS
Registrants will be provided with a copy of the book “Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design” and course notes.

MEALS
JPSM group continental breakfasts, lunches and refreshments are included in the course fee.

DAILY CHECK-IN
Course registrants should check-in with JPSM Onsite each day of the course.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
8:00 - 9:00 Registrant Check-in and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:45

 Part 1: Introduction to Cognitive Interviewing
9:45 – 10:30 Exercise A: First Cognitive Interview
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 – 11:45 Part 2: Anticipating Problems in Survey Questions
11:45 – 12:00 Part 3: Fashioning Probes, in Depth

12:00 - 1:00

 Lunch

1:00 – 1:45

 Exercise B: Indentifying Problems and Creating Probes

1:45 – 2:45

 Part 3, continued
2:45 - 3:00 Break

3:00 – 4:00

 Exercise C: Second Cognitive Interview
4:00 – 4:30 Discussion / Questions / Catch-up
4:30 Adjourn
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010
8:00 - 9:00 Registrant Check-in and Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:45 Part 4: Adapting to Survey Administration Mode
9:45 – 10:30 Exercise D: Third cognitive interview (Self-administered)
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 – 11:30 Part 5: Analyzing / Interpreting the Results
11:30 - 12:00 Exercise 5: Interpreting the results of cognitive interviews
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 1:15 Review Exercise E
1:15 - 1:45 Part 6: Special Applications
1:45 – 2:15 Part 7: Logistics of the Cognitive Interview Process
2:15 – 2:45 Part 8: Affiliated Pretesting Techniques
2:45 – 3:00 Break
3:00 – 3:30 Part 9: Evaluation of Cognitive Interviewing
3:30 – 4:15 Exercise F: Final cognitive interview
4:15 – 4:30 Discussion / Wrap-up
4:30 Adjourn

FEES
The course fee is $655 for JPSM sponsor affiliates, $655 for full-time university students, and $865 for other participants. JPSM Sponsor Affiliate List: http://projects.isr.umich.edu/jpsm/info.cfm#sponsors.

REGISTRATION
Online registration is required. JPSM Short Courses: www.jpsm.org/shortcourses . Confirmation of acceptance will be sent after the registration form has been processed. Registration is not firm until you receive an acceptance email. The email will include directions to the course. The automatic web registration number is not an acceptance letter. registration deadline is April 8, 2010.

PAYMENT
Payment by credit card is required.  Payment may be done online during registration. Post registration payment may be done online at www.jpsm.org/shortcourses using the registration number or by calling (800) 937-9320. Payment is required by April 8, 2010. 

CANCELLATION
Please notify JPSM as soon as possible if you need to cancel your registration. Cancellation requests should be done online at www.jpsm.org/shortcourses. You will be fully reimbursed if you cancel by April 8, 2010. Cancellation April 9-14, 2010 will require a $100 administrative fee, the remainder will be reimbursed. Cancellation on or after April 15, 2010 is subject to the full fee amount.

FELLOWSHIP
The Joint Program in Survey Methodology strives to increase the number of survey professionals from groups traditionally under-represented in the field. As part of this effort, a limited number of competitive fellowships are available to African-Americans, Latinos, Hispanic Americans, and Native American Indians for the short course. The registrant must be a US citizen or permanent resident. 

Fellowship applicants should submit:

  1. Online Registration 
  2. A 500-word essay describing their reasons for wanting to attend this short course and how their participation will enhance their chosen career path. The essay should indicate the applicant’s background (i.e. African-American, Latino, Hispanic American, or Native American Indian) and why financial support is needed.
  3. A letter of recommendation written by a person knowledgeable about the applicant’s aptitude and interest in survey methodology.

The online registration form, essay, and letter of recommendation are due by March 25, 2010 JPSM will evaluate the applications and inform the successful applicants by April 1, 2010. The fellowship covers the registration fee, materials to be distributed during the course and the JPSM group continental breakfasts, lunches and breaks. The essay and letter of recommendation may be faxed to (734) 764-8263 or emailed to JPSMShort@isr.umich.edu.

JPSM CITATION PROGRAM
The citation programs are built around the JPSM short courses. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Survey Methodology is designed to provide the working professional and interested students with state-of-the-art knowledge about current principles and practices for conducting complex surveys combined with practical skills of day-to-day utility. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Economic Measurement is designed for professional staff requiring a grounding in the principles and practices of economic measurement. Completion of the citation programs involves taking a semester-length JPSM credit-bearing course and eight JPSM short courses, of which four are specified core courses. For information on the Certificate and Citation Programs visit the website at http://www.jpsm.org or call (301) 314-7911.

WASHINGTON MARRIOTT AT METRO CENTER
775 12th Street NW, Washington, District Of Columbia 20005 USA
Phone:  (202) 737-2200 Fax: (202) 347-5886

The hotel is situated adjacent to the DC Metro rail system, with easy access to Reagan National Airport (4.0 mi N),  Washington Dulles Airport (25.0 mi E) and BWI Baltimore Washington Airport (40.0 mi S) as well as the Amtrak station.

OVERNIGHT ROOMS
Individuals are responsible for making their own overnight room reservations and for payment.

PARKING
Registrants are responsible for parking costs.

Onsite Parking: $30 a day
Parking Garages: Rates range from $13 to $20 a day

METRO CENTER STATION: Red, Blue, Orange Lines (G & 12th Street)
BUS STATION: Union Station (2.0 mi E)
TRAIN STATION: Union Station  (1.6 mi E)

INQUIRIES
Questions for this course should be directed to the JPSM Short Course, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Room 4050, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2321, Phone: (800) 937-9320, Fax: (734) 764-8263, Email: jpsmshort@isr.umich.edu.

SHORT COURSES: www.jpsm.org/shortcourses
SPONSOR AFFILIATE LIST: projects.isr.umich.edu/jpsm/info.cfm#sponsors

JPSM HOME PAGE: www.jpsm.org

 

TAX IDENTIFICATION (University of Michigan): 38-6006309

DUNS (University of Michigan): 073133571 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Primary Funding for JPSM is from the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy