Rockville Institute Affiliates in
Instrument Design & Development

David Cantor, PhD
Jennifer Crafts, PhD
Brad Edwards
Barbara Forsyth, PhD
Cynthia Helba, PhD
Jeffrey Kerwin, PhD
Kerry Levin, PhD
David Marker, PhD
Debra J. Rog, PhD
Sid J. Schneider, PhD

David Cantor, PhD, has played a lead role in designing questionnaires across a wide variety of modes of interviewing, including telephone, ACASI, web, and in-person. His experience also covers many populations, including adults, children, and different types of organizations. He has led efforts to develop and evaluate questionnaires for major Federal surveys, including the Census Short Form, the American Community Survey, the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Current Population Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and the Consumer Expenditure Survey. Dr. Cantor is also an associate research professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, where he teaches courses in questionnaire design and data collection methods.
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Jennifer Crafts, PhD, has experience in applying a variety of usability evaluation methods to evaluate web-based applications, web sites, and web surveys for both corporate projects and client organizations. She has designed, developed, and administered personal and establishment surveys. Dr. Crafts has conducted critical incident workshops, focus groups, usability tests, and cognitive interviews with a variety of audiences, including cancer survivors, health care practitioners, veterans, health care professionals, members of the military, and educators.
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Brad Edwards has extensive experience in survey design and management and has designed and directed studies of health care expenditures, long-term care, labor force behavior, substance abuse, and early childhood development. His research interests include longitudinal survey design, usability of data collection software, the use of incentives in surveys, and methods for including language minorities and other relatively rare groups in surveys. Mr. Edwards has conducted methodological studies of ACASI, CATI, and CAPI design and the impact of translated instruments and interpreters on survey data quality.
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Barbara Forsyth, PhD, is a cognitive and quantitative psychologist with research experience in the academic and private sectors. Accomplished with both quantitative and qualitative research methods, she has special expertise in research design and methodology. Dr. Forsyth is an internationally recognized authority in questionnaire design, testing, and evaluation for self-administered mail surveys, telephone surveys, and web-based and other electronic survey methods. Her additional experience includes designing research protocols, training staff to implement protocols, designing analysis plans, and directing analysis and reporting activities.
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Cynthia Helba, PhD, has experience in survey design, administration, and analysis. Her survey and data collection projects have examined the availability and appropriateness of existing survey and program data collection efforts to assess the health and well-being of Native American populations, surveys of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' employees, and assessing the evaluability of the Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration project. Dr. Helba also provides survey methodology and psychometric analysis technical assistance to the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leader's Council and provides technical assistance to Black Hills State University.
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Jeffrey Kerwin, PhD, has experience in survey research, specializing in the cognitive aspects of survey methodology, including questionnaire design and pretesting through cognitive interviews and respondent debriefings. He has conducted dozens of cognitive interview studies to improve questionnaires for surveys of persons and organizations. He has also conducted cognitive interview and focus group studies to improve the graphic layout and usability of forms, including web pages. He is also active in comparing methods to minimize item nonresponse in web surveys.
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Kerry Levin, PhD, has expertise in conducting large business and household surveys related to customer service and evaluation for agencies such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Dr. Levin specializes in survey design, administration, and analysis. She has also been involved in several methodological feasibility studies for the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to identify cost-effective procedures for collecting data from individuals within businesses. Dr. Levin is also involved in cross-cultural qualitative research for the National Cancer Institute that involves applying cognitive testing, retrospective debriefings, and behavior coding in evaluating survey items in languages such as Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Spanish, and Korean.
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David Marker, PhD, is a senior statistician with expertise in project management, quality control and improvement, survey research, sampling, survey evaluation, data analysis, imputation, modeling, and small area statistics. Dr. Marker has worked on studies in the fields of health, the environment, education, housing, energy, social services, insurance, and transportation, as well as in the commercial sector. He has also appeared as an expert witness before Federal, state, and local governments. Dr. Marker has worked on studies in the area of quality control and improvement for the U.S. Department of Education, the Energy Information Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is an internationally recognized consultant in total quality management, having been invited to conduct training sessions for the Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish governments on improving the quality of their data collection activities. He has also conducted audits of statistical offices in South Africa, Denmark, and The Netherlands. Dr. Marker is also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Statistical Association and Chair of its Scientific and Public Affairs Advisory Committee.
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Debra J. Rog, PhD, has extensive experience in program evaluation research and applied social research, and is known for her expertise in homelessness. She has managed a number of multisite research and evaluation projects in the areas of poverty, homelessness, housing for vulnerable populations, mental health, and applied research methodology. Dr. Rog recently has led a series of evaluability assessments of childhood obesity prevention projects for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She has provided project management and subject-matter expertise for research funded by clients such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center for Mental Health Services, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Mental Health Association, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. Dr. Rog has published and presented widely on mental health treatment issues, program evaluation, and applied research methodological topics and is a recognized expert in evaluation methodology, homelessness, and mental health. She is an editor on numerous books, series, and journals. Dr. Rog is also the President of the American Evaluation Association.
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Sid J. Schneider, PhD, has focused his extensive research work on the design and impact of computer-assisted surveys and web-based systems that provide health-related information and promote health behavior change. He has led research projects concerning user-centered web design and the accessibility of online information to the blind.
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