UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 321 Beard Hall, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
Carnegie Mellon University, Human-Computer Interaction Institute, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2021 Feb;13(2):181-188. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2020.09.005. Epub 2020 Oct 14.
Cognitive interviews (CIs) and think-aloud protocols (TAPs) are two strategies that offer unique approaches to capture participant thought processes when engaging with instruments and interventions. In this paper, we describe the origins of CIs and TAPs, the types of research questions they can be used to address, and strategies to implement these approaches.
CIs and TAPs are interview methods that make thought processes more explicit. CIs include targeted interview questions that are focused on evaluating participant comprehension during an activity, such as a survey. TAPs request the participant to think-aloud while they solve a problem or complete a task; this is to help understand the problem-solving process.
An understanding of the research aim is critical to identify whether a CI or TAP is preferred. Researchers should ensure that participants are selected based on the needs of the research and that they are appropriately prepared for the selected interview type. Individuals can analyze verbal reports from CIs and TAPs using qualitative and quantitative methods, and researchers are encouraged to disseminate their findings to inform design practices of other researchers.
CIs and TAPs are methods that help pharmacy education researchers explore thought processes; specifically, these methods are useful to study test response processes, improve survey construction, and map cognitive models of complex thought processes. CIs and TAPs are methodologies that should be in the toolbox of pharmacy education researchers to support design, evaluation, and refinement of instruments and educational interventions.
认知访谈 (CIs) 和出声思维协议 (TAPs) 是两种策略，它们提供了独特的方法来捕捉参与者在使用仪器和干预措施时的思维过程。在本文中，我们描述了 CIs 和 TAPs 的起源、它们可以用来解决的研究问题类型，以及实施这些方法的策略。
CIs 和 TAPs 是两种访谈方法，它们使思维过程更加明确。CIs 包括有针对性的访谈问题，这些问题集中在评估参与者在活动（如调查）期间的理解能力。TAPs 要求参与者在解决问题或完成任务时出声思考；这有助于理解解决问题的过程。
了解研究目的对于确定是选择 CIs 还是 TAPs 至关重要。研究人员应确保根据研究的需要选择参与者，并为所选的访谈类型做好适当的准备。个人可以使用定性和定量方法分析 CIs 和 TAPs 的口头报告，鼓励研究人员传播他们的发现，以告知其他研究人员的设计实践。
CIs 和 TAPs 是帮助药学教育研究人员探索思维过程的方法；具体来说，这些方法对于研究测试反应过程、改进调查结构以及绘制复杂思维过程的认知模型非常有用。CIs 和 TAPs 是药学教育研究人员工具箱中应该有的方法，以支持仪器和教育干预措施的设计、评估和改进。
