Survey Instrument Pretest: Clarity, Redundancy & Face Validity

Welcome to this survey pretest. We are asking you to evaluate the clarity, redundancy, and face validity of the draft items you recently reviewed. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. There are no right or wrong answers—we are interested in your honest impressions as a reviewer. Your responses will be kept confidential and reported only in aggregate to improve the draft instrument. This review should take approximately 8–10 minutes.

Have you reviewed the draft item list provided by the researchers?

• Yes
• No

Have you previously participated in survey design or pilot testing?

• No
• Yes, once
• Yes, multiple times
• Prefer not to say

Overall, how clear were the draft items to you (i.e., easy to understand on first reading)?

How appropriate are the draft items for measuring the intended construct(s)?

Did any items seem redundant with each other?

• No redundancy noticed
• Yes, about 1 pair
• Yes, about 2–3 pairs
• Yes, 4 or more pairs

If you noticed redundancy, please list the item numbers or exact wordings of the overlapping pairs and briefly explain why they seem redundant.

If applicable, list any words or phrases in the draft items that were unclear, technical, or ambiguous.

How did the overall length of the item set feel?

• Much too short
• Slightly too short
• About right
• Slightly too long
• Much too long

Approximately how long did your most recent review take?

• Less than 5 minutes
• 5–10 minutes
• 11–20 minutes
• 21–30 minutes
• 31–45 minutes
• More than 45 minutes

Now let's focus on specific draft items you found problematic. Please identify any items that had issues—such as unclear wording, double-barreled phrasing, leading or biased language, excessive length, ambiguous timeframes, undefined terms, or cultural insensitivity. For each, describe the issue and how you would rewrite the item.

How would you rate the quality of the response options (e.g., scale labels, answer choices) in the draft items?

How would you rate the quality of the instructions accompanying the draft items?

How readable was the formatting and layout of the draft item list?

What is your age group?

• 18–24
• 25–34
• 35–44
• 45–54
• 55–64
• 65 or older
• Prefer not to say

What is your gender?

• Man
• Woman
• Non-binary
• Prefer not to say

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

• Less than high school
• High school or equivalent
• Some college, no degree
• Associate degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• Doctoral degree
• Professional degree (e.g., JD, MD)
• Prefer not to say

What is your current employment status?

• Student
• Employed full-time
• Employed part-time
• Self-employed
• Unemployed, seeking work
• Unemployed, not seeking work
• Retired
• Prefer not to say

Which region do you currently live in?

• Africa
• Asia
• Europe
• North America
• South America
• Oceania
• Prefer not to say

What is your primary language?

• English
• Spanish
• Mandarin Chinese
• Hindi
• Arabic
• Portuguese
• French
• German
• Japanese
• Korean
• Other
• Prefer not to say

Based on your responses in this review, do you have any additional suggestions to improve the clarity, reduce redundancy, or enhance the face validity of the draft items?

Thank you for completing this pretest review. Your feedback will directly inform improvements to the survey instrument before it is fielded.