Article What Cognitive Interviews Tell Us about Bias in Cross-cultural Research: An Illustration Using Quality-of-life Items Isabel Benı ´tez 1 , Jose ´ Luis Padilla 2 , Fons van de Vijver 3,4,5 , and Amaya Cuevas 6 Abstract This study illustrates how the cognitive interviewing (CI) method can provide qualitative evidence of item, construct, and method bias in cross- cultural research. CI was conducted with participants from the Netherlands and Spain, who responded to quality-of-life (QoL) items included in inter- national survey research projects. Qualitative findings indicate that, at the construct level, Spanish participants were more affected by the particular wording of the item stems, which made them modify their understanding of the intended constructs while answering, whereas Dutch participants were more focused on being consistent in their responses. At the item level, 1 Universidad Loyola Andalucı ´a, Seville, Spain 2 University of Granada, Granada, Spain 3 Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands 4 North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa 5 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 6 University of the Basque Country, Vizcaya, Spain Corresponding Author: Isabel Benı ´tez, Universidad Loyola Andalucı ´a, C/ Energı ´a Solar s/n. 41014, Seville, Spain. Email: ibenitez.baena@gmail.com Field Methods 1-18 ª The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1525822X18783961 journals.sagepub.com/home/fmx