Improving the Face Validity of Self-Report Scales through Cognitive Interviews Based on Tourangeau Question and Answer Framework: A Practical Work on the Nursing Talent Identification Scale

Objective: The Nursing Talent Identification self-report Scale is a recently developed to assess the fit of nursing applicants’ characteristics for the profession. In such scales, respondents may perceive items in a variety of ways.The present study aimed to determine how respondents understand and answer to items through cognitive interviews to assess the user-friendliness of the scale and increase its face validity. Results: Through conducting 20 interviews with the participants, problems related to item comprehension, information retrieval, judgment and reporting appropriate answers were identified. Based on the results, out of 95 items, 20 items were modified. The ‘instructions’ section of the scale was also revised by making the necessary explanations and providing an example.