ASSIGNMENT ON COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN

COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN
COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature review....................................................................................................................3
Methodology of cognitive interviewing process........................................................................4
Qualitative instrument for evaluation.........................................................................................5
Preparation of the instrument.....................................................................................................6
Documenting the pre-testing process.....................................................................................7
Critical Analysis.....................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

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COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGN
Introduction
Cognitive interview is a protocol for interviewing and probing individuals in order to
make them reveal precise details of an event even if they are unwilling to answer or having
difficulties in remembering (Willis, 2005). The primary motive of cognitive interview is
making the individual focus on the particular event and makes them aware of the transpired.
The cognitive interview helps to reduce misinterpretation along with the uncertainty in the
answers by following an established methodology while questioning the individual in an
interview.
The cognitive interview’s reliability lies in the enhancement of the memory retrieval
process without generating confabulations or inaccurate accounts. Due to the reported success
of incorporating cognitive interviewing in questionnaires and assessment, amplified usage of
it is seen during police investigations, training programs and surveys. As assessment of
educational practices is increasing with time, it is essential to make sure that the instruments
used for the evaluation must be able to accurately compute and evaluate the educational
practices along with the experiences (Collins, 2003). In particular, it is vital that the
questionnaires must quantify what they are intended to in addition to the fact that the
respondents must be able to deduce the items accurately.
The National Survey of Student Engagement or the NSSE refers to the survey
analysis instrument regularly used by the colleges and the universities to evaluate the effort
and the time taken by the students in order to dedicate to the educational activities (Fosnacht
& Gonyea, 2018). The study provides evaluation of such an instrument for data collection in
order to measure the effectiveness cognitive interviewing process.

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COGNITIVE INTERVIEWING PROCESS IN INSTRUMENT DESIGNLiterature review
Since time immemorial, the researchers have faced problems regarding the wordings
of the questions in a survey. However, in the recent few decades, protocols to assess
effectiveness of questions in a survey along with researching on the evaluation of the
instrumentation has been taken up in a systematic manner with assistance of the theoretical
frameworks along with the cognitive and social psychological methods (Collins, 2003;
Pressser et al., 2004). Cognitive interview process has been established as an imperative
protocol to ensure accuracy of the survey instruments along with identifying and analyzing
the sources of errors in the responses in the survey questionnaires (Willis, 2005).
The cognitive interview based questionnaire is supposed to identify in addition with
analyzing the sources of the error in the response present in the survey instrument’s
questionnaires by highlighting and focusing at the cognitive process of the respondents that is
used in order to respond to the questions in the questionnaire. Particularly, the rationale of the
cognitive method is to understand if the subject understands the question, consistently
through the subjects along with the manner that is intended by the experts (Collins, 2003).
Study of both apparent along with the hidden messages in the response of the subjects are
studied (Willis, 2009; 2005).
Cognitive interview focuses on the questionnaire of the survey and not on the person
responding to the question to promote the soundness of the questionnaires in the survey.
Theoretically, the four actions involved in answering a question in the survey involves
enacting while answering the question; capability in comprehending the question accurately,
retrieving relevant information to the question, making a judgment followed by accurately
responding and answering the question (Daugherty et al., 2001; Collins, 2003; Jobe, 2003;
Willis, 2005).