Contribution of a cognitive interview to assessing the validity of indicators and data quality in quantitative research on the example of attitudes toward gays and lesbians

Abstract

Empirical research on different problems and aspects of the LGBT population is no longer so rare in Serbia. This community and its problems are often the cause of strong reactions in one part of society. Therefore, attitudes of the general population towards the LGBT community can be used for creating value orientations indicators. In this paper, we will show the importance of cognitive interviews in the assessment of such indicators. A cognitive interview allows us to methodologically investigate the validity of the questions (statements) used in the questionnaire. The indicator to which we have paid attention in this paper (?Gay men and lesbians should be free to live their life?) is a good example of what role a cognitive interview can have in sociological research. By using the cognitive interview, it is possible to explore the different meanings that respondents attach to specific statements or specific terms. As such, the method also points to ?unexpected? meanings that the researchers did not have in mind.