Cognitive Testing Protocol #1

Debriefing Interview Protocol:

Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS)

Form 9502 VIUS Heavy Trucks

Interviewer notes are in red.

Introduction:

• Explain purpose of meeting: to obtain feedback on VIUS content, to understand the process of answering questions, and to evaluate how questions work or don’t work.

• Some questions may seem odd and/or obvious, but we don’t want to assume we know what you are thinking.

• Explain that we are not testing the respondent – we only want to evaluate the questionnaire

• Structure of meeting: Understand your business and your role in it, then review the questionnaire and ask you questions as you complete it.

• Confirm that R has signed electronic consent form.

Research Questions to Address:

• Are respondents able to answer the questions as intended?

• Are there any items that cause the respondents problems?

  • What can be done to fix those problems?

Before the Questionnaire:

• (If vehicle used for commercial services) What types of goods or services does this business provide?

• Can you tell me about your vehicle or your company’s vehicle?

• What types of records do you typically keep on your vehicles?

  • (If part of a larger organization): Do you have access to all of the records related to vehicles in your company?

I’d like for you to go through some specific questions from the survey. I’d like you to tell me your thought process for answering these questions and how easy or difficult the question was to answer.

The table in the Registration Information section was prefilled with information about your vehicle.

• Was that information sufficient to identify which vehicle you should have answered this survey for?

  • If not, what information would you need?

D – Leasing

• If R answered yes to either question 1 or 2:

  • How did you answer this question?

  • (If respondent answered ‘yes’ to either) When did you lease the vehicle?

    • How did you proceed through the survey?

    • Who is the vehicle registered to? You or the lessee/lessor?

    • If R is lessor: Did you contact the lessee in order to answer any of the questions in this survey?

  • When answering these questions, did you include or exclude rental agreements?

E – Type of Vehicle

• Question 1:

  • In your own words, how would you describe a ‘semi-truck (tractor/trailer truck)?’

• Question 2:

  • Are these categories clear or unclear?

F – Physical Characteristics

• Thinking about questions F1 – F12, how did you get the information to answer these questions?

  • How easy or difficult was this information to obtain?

• For each question 13 - 20:

  • Are these categories clear or unclear?

• Question 21:

  • Where did you get the answer to this question?

  • (If R answered 0 or left blank): I noticed you answered zero/left this blank, can you tell me more about that?

H – Home Base

• Question 3:

  • When answering this question, were you only considering vehicles used for commercial purposes, or did you also include vehicles that are strictly for personal use?

I – Miles

• Question 6:

  • What is this question asking in your own words?

  • How did you come up with your answer to this question?

• Question 7:

  • How would you define ‘off road?’

  • (if R gave answer other that 0): how did you come up with your answer?

J – Fuel and Maintenance

• Question 5:

  • How would you describe extensive repairs in your own words?

K – Vehicle Configuration

• If R pulled trailer >50% of the time:

• For each question 16 - 17:

  • Are these categories clear or unclear?

• Question 18:

  • Did you come up with your answer?

    • Did you include both the vehicle and the trailer?

L – Weight

• Question 2:

  • How did you answer this question?

  • How would you define payload?

• Question 3 - 4:

  • How did you answer this question?

M – Kind of Business

• If R answered yes to M1 continue with protocol, if no, skip to wrap up.

• Question 2 and 3:

  • Are the categories clear or unclear?

• Question 4:

  • How did you come up with your answer for this question?

N – For Hire

• Question 1:

  • Are the categories clear or unclear?

• Question 2:

  • How did you come up with your answer for this question?

O – Product, Equipment, or Materials (if applicable)

• Question 1 - 5:

  • How did you come up with your answer for this question?

• Question 7:

  • In your own words, what is this question asking?

  • How did you answer this question?

  • Are the instructions clear or unclear?

    • How would you define loaded miles in your own words?

  • Did you find the product codes that are applicable to your business?

  • If this information available in your records?

  • How easy or difficult was this information to obtain?

Q – Product, Equipment, or Materials (if applicable)

• Question 2:

  • How did you come up with your answer for this question?

• Question 3:

  • In your own words, what is this question asking?

  • How did you answer this question?

  • Are the instructions clear or unclear?

  • If this information available in your records?

  • How easy or difficult was this information to obtain?

Wrap Up

• In general, are the questions we covered today something that you document or have available in records?

• Are your records organized by calendar year?

  • If not, how are they organized? How easy or difficult is it to answer these questions based on the calendar year instead?

• (If applicable): Would you need to reach out to others in your company for information?

  • If so, what other areas/positions would you reach out to?

• (If the respondent is the lessor): How easy or difficult are these questions to answer as a lessor?

  • Would you contact the lessee to obtain any information?

• (If the respondent is the lessee): How easy or difficult are these questions to answer as a lessee?

  • Would you contact the lessor to obtain any information?

• About how long did it take you to complete this survey, including time spent gathering information?

• We plan to include some vehicle information in the request letter so that you will be able to identify the vehicle of interest in advance. What information would be most important to you in the letter?

• Do you have any other comments of suggestions about this survey?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!