Module 3: Question Development

This module explains why policy surveillance uses questions for coding, and how to develop the questions for a policy surveillance or legal mapping project. 

Purpose and objective of developing coding questions 

Question writing is the root of policy surveillance and legal mapping methods. All legal mapping methods use a question-and-answer format to observe the characteristics of the law. The questions also support observation of the law, rather than interpretation. 

The question development process 

This module also walks through all the steps in the question development process for policy surveillance.

The steps are: 

  1. Set standard variables

  2. Identify variables in the law

  3. Develop your responses from identified variables

  4. Convert variables into questions

  5. Capture unexpected responses through coding 

Additional Resources 

Below, you will find slides that teach question development and additional resources that will assist you in drafting questions, and that provide examples of coding questions.  

Module 4 >>

The Learning Library was developed using funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, with modules supported in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ChangeLab Solutions under Cooperative Agreement Number NU38OY000141. The views expressed in written materials or publications and by the speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.