[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35646-35648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16090]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-18-0222]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted the information 
collection request titled Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design 
and Evaluation Research (CCQDER), to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. CDC previously published a 
``Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations'' notice on March 1, 2018 to obtain comments from the 
public and affected agencies. CDC did not receive comments related to 
the previous notice. This notice serves to allow an additional 30 days 
for public and affected agency comments.
    CDC will accept all comments for this proposed information 
collection project. The Office of Management and Budget is particularly 
interested in comments that:
    (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]. Direct written comments 
and/or suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice to the 
Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Provide 
written comments within 30 days of notice publication.

Proposed Project

Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research 
(CCQDER) (OMB Control Number 0920-0222, Expiration 07/31/2018)--
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 Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation 
Research (CCQDER) is the focal point within NCHS for questionnaire and 
survey development, pre-testing, and evaluation activities for CDC 
surveys (such as the NCHS National Health

[[Page 35647]]

Interview Survey, OMB No. 0920-0214) and other federally sponsored 
surveys. NCHS is requesting 3 years of OMB Clearance for this generic 
submission.
    The CCQDER 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 measurement errors and 
survey response.
    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 CCQDER and 
contractors, as needed. 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 totaling 
40-100 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 measurement error 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 CCQDER and contractors, as needed. 
They are group discussions whose primary purpose is to elicit the basic 
sociocultural understandings and terminology that form the basis of 
questionnaire design. Each group 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 item missing and non-
response rates, and response latency), these pilot tests can be used to 
run experimental designs in order to capture how different questions 
function in a field setting.
    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. The total estimated annual 
burden hours are 7,783.

                                        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 hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Individuals or households.............  Eligibility Screening...           4,000               1            5/60
Individuals or households.............  Questionnaire                      7,300               1           55/60
                                         Development Studies.
Individuals or households.............  Respondent Data                    7,300               1            5/60
                                         Collection Sheet.
Individuals or households.............  Focus groups............             100               1           90/60
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[[Page 35648]]

Jeffery M. Zirger,
Acting 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. 2018-16090 Filed 7-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-18-P