Qualitative Methods Used to Generate Questionnaire Items: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Developing robust questionnaires is crucial for empirical research.
• Qualitative methods are vital for generating relevant and valid questionnaire items.
• Previous recommendations emphasized detailed reporting of these qualitative methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the reporting quality of qualitative methods used in questionnaire item generation.
• To assess trends and identify gaps in the application and reporting of these methods between 2000 and 2014.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of 371 articles published in MEDLINE and PsycINFO from 2000-2014.
• Analysis focused on publication year, journal domain, data collection, content analysis, expert input, and item debriefing.

Main Results:

• A significant increase in publications using qualitative methods for item generation was observed.
• Individual interviews and focus groups were common data collection methods.
• Content analysis methods were often undescribed (43%), and expert involvement was low (less than 33%).
• 61% of studies involved further item submission to the target population.

Conclusions:

• There is a persistent and insufficient reporting of qualitative methods in questionnaire development.
• This lack of detailed reporting impedes the transparency and reproducibility of research.
• Adherence to reporting guidelines for qualitative item generation needs improvement.