Choosing a Pretest Method
There are several ways to pretest your material. Some are quite easy to administer and others more difficult. Choose a method that fits your budget and resources. If you think you don't possibly have the time, budget, or resources to do any pre-testing, think again. At the very least, you could have all your coalition members take a draft of the material and ask two or three people to respond to it. Remember, this is the very least you could do, but it is still very valuable.Nonparticipatory
Readability Tests
| Purpose- | To assess reading comprehension skills required to understand print materials |
| Application- | Print Materials |
| Number of Respondents- | None |
| Resources Required- | Readability Formula 15 minutes |
| Pros- | Inexpensive Quick |
| Cons- | "Rule of Thumb" only/not predictive Does not account for health terminology No target audience reaction |
Individual: Self-Administered Questionnaires
| Purpose- | To obtain individual reactions to draft materials |
| Application- | Print or audiovisual materials |
| Number of Respondents- | Enough to see a pattern of response (minimum-20; 100-200 ideal) |
| Resources Required- | List of Respondents Draft materials Questionnaire Postage (if mailed) |
| Pros- | Inexpensive Can be anonymous for respondents Can reach homebound, rural, other difficult to reach groups Easy and usually quick for respondents Does not require staff time to interact with respondents (if mailed) |
| Cons- | Response rate may be low (if mailed) May require follow-up May take long time to receive sufficient responses Respondents self-select (potential bias) Exposure to materials isn't controlled May not be appropriate if audience has limited writing skills |
Individual Interviews (phone or in person)
| Purpose- | Probe for individual's responses, beliefs, discuss range of issues |
| Application- | Develop messages, potentially motivating strategies Discuss sensitive issues or complex draft materials |
| Number of Respondents- | Minimum of 10 per type of respondent |
| Resources Required- | List of respondents Discussion guide/Questionnaire Trained interviewer Telephone or quiet room Tape recorder |
| Pros- | In-depth responses may differ from first response Can test sensitive or emotional materials Can test more complex/longer materials Can learn more about "hard-to-reach" audiences Can be used with individuals who have limited reading and writing skills |
| Cons- | Time consuming to conduct/analyze Expensive and may yield no firmer conclusions or consensus |
Central Location Intercept Interviews
A central location intercept interview is an interview conducted with
respondents who are stopped at a highly trafficked location, e.g., grocery
store, mall, movie theatre, church. Choose a location that is frequented
by your target audience.
| Purpose- | To obtain more quantitative information about materials/messages |
| Application- | Broad range, including concepts, print, audiovisual materials |
| Number of Respondents- | 60-100 per type (helps to establish a pattern of response) |
| Resources Required- | Structured questionnaire Trained Interviewers Room or other place to interview Tape recorder Access to mall, school, other location |
| Pros- | Can quickly conduct large number of interviews Can provide "reliable" information for decision-making Can test many kinds of materials Quick to analyze close-ended questions |
| Cons- | Short (10 min.) interviews Incentive/Persuasion needed for more time Cannot probe Cannot deal with sensitive issues Sample is restricted to individuals at the location Respondents choose to cooperate and may not be representative |
Group: Focus Group Interviews
| Purpose- | To obtain in-depth information about beliefs, perceptions, language, interests, concerns |
| Application- | Broad; Concepts, issues, audiovisual or print materials, logos/other artwork |
| Number of Respondents- | 8-12 per group; Minimum 2 groups per type of respondent |
| Resources Required- | Discussion outline Trained moderator List of respondents Meeting Room Tape Recorder VCR |
| Pros- | Group interaction and length of discussion can stimulate more in-depth
responses Can discuss concepts prior to materials development Can gather more opinions at once Can complete groups and analyses quickly Can cover multiple topics |
| Cons- | Too few respondents for consensus or decision-making No individual responses (group influence) unless combined with other methods Can be expensive Respondents choose to attend, and may not be typical of the target population |
Theater Testing
| Purpose- | To test audiovisual materials with many respondents at once |
| Application- | Pretest audio or audiovisual materials |
| Number of Respondents- | 60-100 per type (enough to establish a pattern of response) |
| Resources Required- | List of respondents Questionnaire Large meeting room AV equipment |
| Pros- | Can test with many respondents at once Large sample may be more productive Can be inexpensive Can analyze quickly |
| Cons- | Few open-ended questions possible Can require more elaborate preparation Can be expensive if incentives required |
Finding Interviewers
Trained interviewers should be used whenever possible. For focus groups and in-depth interviews, this is essential. If your agency has no experience in focus group studies, you may consider hiring a good, experienced moderator, observing the taping the sessions and using them as training to develop in-house skills. Local advertising agencies may be of assistance in identifying a good moderator. Continuing education courses in interpersonal communication or group interaction also may be useful for staff training or identifying potential interviewers.
For conducting central location interviews, university and college departments of marketing, communications or health education might be able to provide interviewer training and student interviewers. Pretesting a poster or an advertisement is an excellent "real world" project for a faculty member to adopt as a class project. Students in these departments are being trained in research methods, and pretesting can give them a chance to develop their skills.
Source: Making Health Communications Work, NCI
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See also > Center for Health Promotion > Health Promotion and Chronic Disease