The Case for Cognitive Interviewing Techniques in the Post-Arab Spring Environment

Many social scientists rely on survey data, such as the World Values Survey and the Arab Barometer, to measure individual political attitudes cross-nationally. Yet, research suggests that individuals' political attitudes fluctuate and evolve, casting doubt on the validity of survey data when used alone. This is especially problematic during times of rapid change, when the political situation undergoes dramatic shifts and individual attitudes are easily influenced by current events. This essay proposes that using cognitive interviewing techniques, which involve asking respondents to answer a set of survey items along with follow-up probes about their answers, can help researchers better understand the content of political attitudes and the contexts that help shape them. To make this point, I first review the literature on the theoretical problems with measuring political attitudes during times of rapid political change. I then introduce cognitive interviewing as a mixed-method data collection technique, describe the challenges and difficulties associated with it, and offer a number of practical recommendations for researchers interested in using it in the post-Arab Spring environment. Finally, I demonstrate the effectiveness of cognitive interviewing techniques through examples drawn from my fieldwork in Tunisia between August 2013 and March 2014.