# Proposed Data Collection Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations
**AGENCY:**
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
**ACTION:**
Notice with comment period.
**SUMMARY:**
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce public burden and maximize the utility of government information, invites the general public and other federal agencies the opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This notice invites comment on a proposed information collection project titled the Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research (CCQDER). This Generic Clearance request encompasses general questionnaire development, pre-testing, and measurement-error reduction activities to be carried out in 2026-2029.
**DATES:**
CDC must receive written comments on or before May 8, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2026-0331 by either of the following methods:
• *Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.* Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• *Mail:* Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329.
*Instructions:* All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number. CDC will post, without change, all relevant comments to *www.regulations.gov.*
*Please note:* Submit all comments through the Federal eRulemaking portal ( *www.regulations.gov* ) or by U.S. mail to the address listed above.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, contact Jeffrey M. Zirger, Information Collection Review Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30329; Telephone: 404-639-7570; Email: *[email protected].*
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the *Federal Register* concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to the OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.
The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, *e.g.,* permitting electronic submissions of responses; and
5. Assess information collection costs.
**Proposed Project**
The Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research (CCQDER) (OMB Control No. 0920-0222)—Reinstatement—National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
**Background and Brief Description**
The Collaborating Center for Questionnaire Design and Evaluation Research (CCQDER) Generic Clearance is designed to evaluate questions for optimal design as well as to provide documentation supporting the validity of NCHS and other agencies' information collections.
CCQDER obtains information about the interpretive processes used by respondents to formulate answers to survey questions. Findings are used to: (1) ensure question comparability across respondent groups; (2) correct any identified problematic questions, for example, those which are vague or ambiguous, cannot be answered readily or accurately by the respondent, or otherwise contribute to the non-sampling errors of the survey; and (3) provide data usage documentation regarding the phenomena considered by respondents, that is, the specific construct measured by individual questions. Individual data collections submitted under the CCQDER Generic Clearance include a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including cognitive interviewing, focus groups, usability testing, ethnography, and survey field tests/pilot interviews (in-person/telephone/web).
Section 306 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 242k), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, shall undertake and support (by grant or contract) research, demonstrations, and evaluations respecting new or improved methods for obtaining current data to support statistical and epidemiological activities for the purpose of improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of health services in the United States. CCQDER is the focal point within NCHS for questionnaire and survey development, pre-testing, and evaluation activities for CDC surveys such as; the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), the Research and Development Survey (RANDS) (including RANDS COVID), and other federally sponsored surveys. The CCQDER is requesting three years of OMB approval for this Generic Clearance submission to allow NCHS and its programs to conduct cognitive interviews, focus groups, in-depth or ethnographic interviews, usability tests, field tests/pilot interviews, and experimental research in laboratory and field settings, both for applied questionnaire development and evaluation as well as more basic research on measurement errors and survey response.
The CCQDER at NCHS is the only government entity that currently conducts testing and development of NCHS or other CDC questionnaires. An average of 55,900 respondents participate in CCQDER activities in a given year and the average annual respondent burden is estimated to be 14,100 burden hours. Annualized estimates of respondent burden for each of the questionnaire development studies over the course of the approval period are provided below.
| Types of respondents | Form name | Number of | Number of | Average hours per response (hours) | Total burden hours |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Individuals or households | Eligibility Screeners | 6,000 | 1 | 5/60 | 500 |
| Individuals or households | Developmental Questionnaires | 1,000 | 1 | 55/60 | 917 |
| Individuals or households | Respondent Data Collection Sheet | 1,000 | 1 | 5/60 | 83 |
| Individuals or households | Focus Group Respondents | 100 | 1 | 90/60 | 150 |
| Individuals or households | RANDS (Methodological Survey) | 49,800 | 1 | 15/60 | 12,450 |
| Total | | | | | 14,100 |
Jeffrey M. Zirger,
Lead, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Public Health Ethics and Regulations, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.