1. Physical Activity Questionnaire Comprehension: Lessons from Cognitive Interviews.
- Author
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ALTSCHULER, ANDREA, PICCHI, TERESA, NELSON, MELISSA, ROGERS, JOHN D., HART, JAN, and STERNFELD, BARBARA
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PHYSICAL fitness , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH , *PHYSICAL education , *HEALTH , *COGNITIVE structures , *RESPONDENTS , *COGNITIVE interviewing , *SURVEYS - Abstract
The article presents a study on physical activity questionnaire comprehension. The study aims to identify whether respondents share researchers' comprehension of concepts and questions commonly used in the assessment of usual physical activity (PA) behavior. Cognitive interviews with 19 men and 21 women, ages 45-65, about their responses to the PA questionnaires used in Life After Cancer Epidemiology and California Men's Health studies were conducted. Cognitive interviews show that a sizable number of respondents comprehended "intensity" in terms of emotional or psychological intensity rather than physical effort. Cognitive interviews show significant gaps between respondents' interpretation and researchers' assumptions.
- Published
- 2009
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