[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34644-34645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14786]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[30-Day-15-0222]
Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted
the following information collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for the proposed
information collection is published to obtain comments from the public
and affected agencies.
Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are
encouraged. Your comments should address any of the following: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; (d) Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who are to respond, including
through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses; and
(e) Assess information collection costs.
To request additional information on the proposed project or to
obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Written comments and/or
suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice should be
directed to the Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.
Proposed Project
Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL)--(OMB No. 0920-
0222, expires 6/30/2015)--Revision--National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Background and Brief Description
The Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) is the focal
point within NCHS for questionnaire development, pre-testing, and
evaluation activities for CDC surveys (such as the NCHS National Health
Interview Survey, OMB No. 0920-0214) and other federally sponsored
surveys; however, question development and evaluation activities are
conducted throughout NCHS. NCHS is requesting 3 years of OMB Clearance
for this generic submission. This revision is a request for additional
burden hours due to anticipated increase in the number and size of
projects being undertaken in the next three years.
The QDRL and other NCHS programs conduct cognitive interviews,
focus groups, in-depth or ethnographic interviews, usability tests,
field tests/pilot interviews, and experimental research in laboratory
and field settings, both for applied questionnaire development and
evaluation as well as more basic research on response errors in
surveys.
Various techniques to evaluate interviewer administered, self-
administered, telephone, Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing
(CAPI), Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (CASI), Audio Computer-
Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI), and web-based questionnaires are
used.
The most common questionnaire evaluation method is the cognitive
interview. These evaluations are conducted by the QDRL. The interview
structure consists of respondents first answering a draft survey
question and then providing textual information to reveal the processes
involved in answering the test question. Specifically, cognitive
interview respondents are asked to describe how and why they answered
the question as they did. Through the interviewing process, various
types of question-response problems that would not normally be
identified in a traditional survey interview, such as interpretive
errors and recall accuracy, are uncovered. By conducting a comparative
analysis of cognitive interviews, it is also possible to determine
whether particular interpretive patterns occur within particular sub-
groups of the population. Interviews are generally conducted in small
rounds of 20-30 interviews; ideally, the questionnaire is re-worked
between rounds, and revisions are tested iteratively until interviews
yield relatively few new insights.
Cognitive interviewing is inexpensive and provides useful data on
questionnaire performance while minimizing respondent burden. Cognitive
interviewing offers a detailed depiction of meanings and processes used
by respondents to answer questions--processes that ultimately produce
the survey data. As such, the method offers an insight that can
transform understanding of question validity and response error.
Documented findings from these studies represent tangible evidence of
how the question performs. Such documentation also serves CDC data
users, allowing them to be critical users in their approach and
application of the data.
In addition to cognitive interviewing, a number of other
qualitative and quantitative methods are used to investigate and
research survey response errors and the survey response process. These
methods include conducting focus groups, usability tests, in-depth or
ethnographic interviews, and the administration and analysis of
questions in both representative and non-representative field tests.
Focus groups are conducted by the NCHS QDRL. They are group interviews
whose primary purpose is to elicit the basic sociocultural
understandings and terminology that form the basis of questionnaire
design. Each group
[[Page 34645]]
typically consists of one moderator and 4 to 10 participants, depending
on the research question. In-depth or ethnographic interviews are one-
on-one interviews designed to elicit the understandings or terminology
that are necessary for question design, as well as to gather detailed
information that can contribute to the analysis of both qualitative and
quantitative data. Usability tests are typically one-on-one interviews
that are used to determine how a given survey or information collection
tool functions in the field, and how the mode and layout of the
instrument itself may contribute to survey response error and the
survey response process.
In addition to these qualitative methods, NCHS also uses various
tools to obtain quantitative data, which can be analyzed alone or
analyzed alongside qualitative data to give a much fuller accounting of
the survey response process. For instance, phone, internet, mail, and
in-person follow-up interviews of previous NCHS survey respondents may
be used to test the validity of survey questions and questionnaires and
to obtain more detailed information that cannot be gathered on the
original survey. Additionally, field or pilot tests may be conducted on
both representative and non-representative samples, including those
obtained from commercial survey and web panel vendors. Beyond looking
at traditional measures of survey errors (such as missing rates, item
non-response, and don't know rates), these pilot tests can be used to
run experimental designs in order to capture how different questions
function in a field setting.
There are no costs to respondents other than their time. The total
estimated annual burden hours are 4,383.
Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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Number of Average burden
Type of respondents Form name Number of responses per per response
respondents respondent (in hrs.)
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Individuals or households............ Eligibility Screeners... 4,000 1 5/60
Individuals or households............ Developmental 3,900 1 1
Questionnaires.
Individuals or households............ Focus group documents... 100 1 1.5
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Leroy A. Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2015-14786 Filed 6-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P