Foundations of Survey Pre-Testing (Online)

This 2-hour course will be offered online only. Attendance is required as the course will not be recorded. 

Pretesting is often used to identify and address potential issues with questionnaires to ensure they are collecting data as intended before they are administered. This course will introduce several commonly used methods for testing and evaluating surveys, including cognitive testing, usability testing, expert review, and pilots. We will provide an overview of each method, its application, and appropriate uses. This course will also offer practical guidance for survey pretesting when time and resources might be limited.

This course will count as 2.0 CSS short course hours.

Instructor: Amanda Smith

Amanda C. Smith is a Research Survey Methodologist within the Program for Research in Survey Methodology at RTI International. Ms. Smith’s work focuses on improving data quality, reducing respondent burden, and addressing potential sources of measurement error in web surveys through the implementation of best practices in web survey design. She leads RTI’s Agile Web Surveys group, which provides methodological and technical programming expertise to support the development of quick turnaround web survey solutions. In this role she has designed and programmed countless web surveys for a diverse portfolio of government, business, and foundation clients. Ms. Smith also frequently presents and publishes work related to best practices in web survey methodology, to include developing a web survey design appraisal system presented at AAPOR in 2020, A Systematic Approach for Evaluating Web Survey Design.

Registration fees:

• • UNC Chapel Hill Students: $0, with a $25 deposit to hold your spot (deposit is refundable upon your attendance for at least 66% of the course)
  • UNC Chapel Hill Faculty/Staff/Postdoc/Resident/Visiting Scholars: $50
  • University (Non UNC Chapel Hill) Student/Employee (must have active university email): $75
  • Government/Non-Profit/Corporate: $100

Additional course information:

• Cancellation/ Refund Policy: A full refund will be given to those who cancel their registration no later than 10 days prior to the course. If you cancel within the 10 days prior to the class, no refund will be given. Please allow 30 days to receive your refund.
• Zoom link will be sent prior to course.

For questions regarding this class, please contact Jill Stevens at jill_stevens@unc.edu