"We tried to, but life gets in the way": The Value of Cognitive Interviewing for Testing a Questionnaire on Antibiotic Consumption Behaviours

Alistair E Anderson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)

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Abstract

The public’s perceptions and behaviours regarding antibiotics and antibiotic stewardship are often measured using survey questionnaires. Previous qualitative testing of questionnaire instruments that include questions about antibiotics or drug-resistant infections has suggested that questions on this topic are subject to measurement error for multiple reasons. This study used 13 cognitive interviews with pet owners to identify issues with a questionnaire instrument for a survey examining pet owners’ knowledge and behaviour around antibiotic use both personally and regarding their pets. Key findings from the study are that there are notable differences in quality of recollection between personal and pet-focused antibiotic use, and that socially desirable responding is only applied to certain behaviour questions. This article argues that cognitive interviews can provide substantial benefits as part of mixed-methods social research by supplementing dimension-reduced survey questionnaires with participants’ explanations, narratives, and experiences relating to the survey questions, with further benefits for qualitative theme generation.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages25
JournalSocArXiv
DOIs
Publication statusUnpublished - 1 Nov 2019

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