Attach L

Attachment L: Detailed explanation of cognitive interviewing procedure read by interviewer to participant

Note to reviewers: The following is a script that is generally followed by the interviewer. The interviewer departs from this as appropriate, given the mode of the study being conducted, i.e., face-to-face, telephone, self-administered, CAPI, CASI, etc. The script is read after the subject has read and signed the Assurance of confidentiality and informed consent (Attachment E-1 and E-2), and completed their demographic characteristics on the Participant Data Collection Sheet (Attachment K).

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the interview today. You have read the Assurance of Privacy and Informed Consent form and you have chosen to take part in this research study. Is that correct? [Interviewer waits for verbal acknowledgment]. You have given your permission for me to [audiotape/videotape] your interview today. Is that correct? [Interviewer waits for verbal acknowledgment]. We are testing questions on [topic advertised in newspaper or flyer] for [name of survey, if applicable]. Before these questions are used on a survey which may involve thousands of people, we want to see whether they make sense, whether they are difficult to answer, and learn how easy it is to remember the things we ask about.

I will ask you these questions, and I’d like you to answer each of them. If you can, I’d like you to think out loud while you’re doing that, to let me know how you’re figuring out your answer to each question. I’d also like you to tell me if any question seems confusing or if you’re having a hard time answering. After you answer, I might ask you to explain what you meant in more detail, or tell me more about how you came up with your answer.

Is it clear what I’m asking you to do? [Explain again if needed]. Do you have any (more) questions? Okay, let’s begin. We will do this for one hour, at most.