The Use of Cognitive Interviewing to Explore the Effectiveness of Advance Supplemental Materials among Five Language Groups

Prior research has shown that the use of a prenotification letter is effective in improving mail survey response rate. However, little is known about whether an advance supplemental brochure will have a similar effect. The research documented in this article serves two purposes: First, this exploratory study uses qualitative data from cognitive interviews conducted with five language groups to understand why a multilingual brochure inserted with an English advance letter might or might not enhance survey participation among non-English-speaking respondents. Second, this research highlights the issues in analyzing secondary data collected using cross-cultural cognitive interview methods in which the interviews have been conducted, translated, interpreted, and summarized by language experts into English summaries.