[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48077-48078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22650]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-09-0222]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy 
of data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports 
Clearance Officer on 404-639-5960 or send comments to CDC/ATSDR 
Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS D-74, 
Atlanta, GA 30333 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) 2010-2012, (OMB No. 
0920-0222 exp. 2/28/2010)--Revision--National Center for Health 
Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 
242k), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, shall undertake and support (by 
grant or contract) research, demonstrations, and evaluations respecting 
new or improved methods for obtaining current data to support 
statistical and epidemiological activities for the purpose of improving 
the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of health services in the 
United States.
    The Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) conducts 
questionnaire 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. NCHS is requesting 3 years of 
OMB Clearance for the project.
    The QDRL conducts cognitive interviews, focus groups, mini field-
pretests, and experimental research in laboratory and field settings, 
both for applied questionnaire evaluation and more basic research on 
response errors in surveys.
    The most common questionnaire evaluation method is the cognitive 
interview. In a cognitive interview, a questionnaire design specialist 
interviews a volunteer participant. The interviewer administers the 
draft survey questions as written, but also probes the participant in 
depth about interpretations of questions, recall processes used to 
answer them, and adequacy of response categories to express answers, 
while noting points of confusion and errors in responding. Interviews 
are generally conducted in small rounds of 10-15 interviews; ideally, 
the questionnaire is re-worked between rounds and revisions are tested 
iteratively until interviews yield relatively few new insights.
    When possible, cognitive interviews are conducted in the survey's 
intended mode of administration. For example, when testing telephone 
survey questionnaires, participants often respond to the questions via 
a telephone in a laboratory room. Under this condition, the participant 
answers without face-to-face interaction. QDRL staff watch for response 
difficulties from an observation room, and then conduct a face-to-face 
debriefing with in-depth probes. Cognitive interviewing provides useful 
data on questionnaire performance at minimal cost and respondent 
burden.
    Similar methodology has been adopted by other Federal agencies, as 
well as by academic and commercial survey organizations. There are no 
costs to respondents other than their time.

[[Page 48078]]



                                           Estimated Annualized Burden
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                                                 Number of        Number of     Average  burden
                 Respondents                    respondents     responses per    per  response     Total burden
                                                  per year        respondent       (in hours)       (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test Volunteers.............................             500                1             1.25              625
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    Dated: September 14, 2009.
Maryam I. Daneshvar,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. E9-22650 Filed 9-18-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P