Elizabeth Nichols and Jennifer Hunter Childs “Respondent Debriefings Conducted by Experts: A Technique for Questionnaire Evaluation”. Field Methods (formerly Cultural Anthropology Methods) vol. 21. no. 2. May 2009

This article focuses on the evaluation of the quality of survey data by using expert respondent debriefings. The aim of the study was to gain insight into how to better script survey questions. The subject used in this case study was the US Census Bureau and their accuracy when conducting the US Census, by comparing the “true” residence status of respondents with the residence status received obtained on the questionnaire alone. In this case study, experts on the subject observed 169 interviews and conducted qualitative respondent debriefings on select cases in a field test of a census coverage survey in an attempt to learn about response strategies, data sources, and definitions. The researcher then assesses whether the answers met the intent of the question. Once the case study was completed, the results showed that for the 473 people for whom survey data was available, the questionnaire only failed five times in a way that would have drastically affected coverage estimates. So this technique helped pinpoint specific problems that were present in the questionnaire as well as reassuring and confirming that the questionnaire was adequate in its ability to obtain wanted results. I believe this relates to my topic because I too planned on creating a survey/questionnaire regarding the design and layout of music festivals and the information presented in this article can help me create adequate questions that will produce the results I am looking for.