OMB Clearance Package
Focus Group Testing of IRS Schedule M
Introduction
The Tax Forms and Publications (TF&P) Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Wage and Investment division, creates tax forms, instructions, and related publications to enable taxpayers to understand and fulfill their filing and reporting obligations under the tax laws of the United States. Many of the provisions of the tax laws are complex. The forms, instructions, and publications developed by TF&P necessarily reflect this complexity and may be lengthy, complex, and difficult for taxpayers to understand.
Background
TF&P has used focus groups, laboratory testing, and other methods in the past to determine the usability by taxpayers of various forms, instructions, and publications. These focus groups have resulted in the adoption of various specific suggestions for improvement to specific products. TF&P requires the continued use of such tools to improve the materials it produces.
Objectives of Research
The objective of these focus groups is to gather input from taxpayers about the two versions of Schedule M, Making Work Pay Credit, being developed and to determine which version taxpayers prefer. The specific business questions to be explored by this project are to determine—
Which version of Schedule M taxpayers prefer
Participants’ overall perception of Schedule M, Making Work Pay Credit, and its accompanying instructions
Common errors participants make when completing Schedule M
Parts of the instructions and form that participants find most helpful
This information will assist the division in developing clear tax products that assist non-resident alien taxpayers in voluntarily meeting their tax obligations. To achieve these objectives, the division plans to conduct a total of 8 focus groups, (2 per city) in 4 separate cities. Each focus group will consist of at least 8 participants, with 10 being the ideal number of participants. Upon arrival, participants will be re-screened to confirm their eligibility.
TF&P also expects to gain knowledge of participants’ reactions to the new schedule and instructions, discover what parts of the documents lead to error or misunderstanding, and determine which version taxpayers prefer. Upon completion of this project, W&I Research will submit a report of findings to TF&P to determine improvements that could be made and which version of Schedule M taxpayers prefer.
Methodology
Sample design
The population for this study consists of taxpayers who file Form 1040 or Form 1040A and have:
wage, and/or;
social security benefits, supplemental social security income, railroad retirement benefits, or veterans disability compensation or pension benefits, and/or;
pension or annuity for services performed as an employee of the U.S. government or any U.S. state or local government.
All participants must be fluent in reading, writing, and speaking English. The maximum number of participants per focus group will be 10. A screener guide has been prepared for professional recruiters to use to recruit participants for each of the focus groups (see Attachment 1).
The focus groups will be held in geographically dispersed cities in the country, with two groups in each city. The focus groups will be conducted in the following cities; Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, Los Angeles, CA and Sioux Falls, SD.
Data collection date
Data will be collected in April and May 2009.
Data to be collected
Data gathered will be taxpayers’ reactions to the new Schedule M and its instructions. Data will be gathered on the following:
Version Preference
Ease of use
Readability
Overall content
Usefulness
Clarity of language
Layout and organization
Type size and font
Order of presentation
Ease of locating information.
How the data will be used
The goal of a focus group is to solicit general opinions about a topic. An important aspect of focus groups is that they give rise to insights and solutions that may not be derived from other methods. Focus group interviews are qualitative research, meaning no statistical difference between groups can be determined. Specifically, they are a directed discussion with small groups of 8 to 12 people on a specific topic.
Experienced moderators from W&I Research will conduct the focus groups using a moderator guide that has been developed (see Attachment 2).
Audiotapes and scribes’ notes will be used to assist with feedback documentation during the focus groups.
Who is conducting the research?
W&I Research will conduct the research for TF&P.
Location—region/city and facilities
W&I Research will conduct 8 focus groups (two per city) in the following cities:
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Sioux Falls, SD
Facilities to conduct the focus groups will be provided by the vendor.
Stipend
The purpose of the stipend is to encourage participation, and to thank participants for sharing their time and contributions to the discussion. The amount of the stipend varies by location of the focus group and target audience(s). Participants will each receive $75 for a 2-hour session.
Recruitment efforts
Using the screener guide, a vendor in each city will recruit participants for the focus groups (see Attachment 1).
Efforts to not duplicate research
Direct interaction with taxpayers through focus groups has been a research design used by the IRS for a number of years. Schedule M is a new schedule and has not been previously tested and therefore there is no duplication of research.
Test structure/design
After some general introductory questions, participants will look at the new Schedule M and its instructions. Participants will be asked questions specific to content, layout, and appearance. Following this portion of the session, participants will be presented with a scenario and asked to fill out the two versions of the Schedule M using the information contained in the scenario. Participants will be asked to compare the two versions of the Schedule M and will be asked a series of questions on which version of the Schedule was easier to complete using the scenario.
Each focus group will have 8 to 10 participants. Research has demonstrated that this number of participants helps create the best group dynamics; the groups are sufficiently large to stimulate relatively spontaneous interaction, but small enough to give everyone sufficient opportunity to speak.
The screener guide will be used to qualify and select focus group participants. Macro will gather qualitative data only, which will not be, nor presented to be, representative of the population.
To participate in the study, participants must have the following characteristics:
Taxpayer who in Tax Year 2007, filed Form 1040 or 1040A
Taxpayers must have self-prepared
Taxpayer or spouse earned wages in 2008 or received a pension or annuity in 2008 for services performed as an employee of the U.S. government or any U.S. state or local government.
At least 18 years old
Diverse in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education.
The data returned to IRS TF&P will have no identifying information relating specific records to individual taxpayers. Nonetheless, TF&P will ensure that privacy and security of the aggregated results will receive the utmost attention. Public and official access to the information will be tightly controlled. The computer files containing this tabulated information will remain password protected at all times. Data security approaching level C-2 will be accomplished using the Windows XP operating system.
Audiotapes used to record testing sessions will be destroyed when the project is completed and there is no further need for the data.
We will apply fair information and record-keeping practices to ensure protection of all taxpayers. The criterion for disclosure laid out in the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, provides for the protection of taxpayer information as well as its release to authorized recipients.
The estimated time to complete the participant screening is 5 minutes. The estimated time for each reminder call is 1 minute, with each testing session lasting 2 hours. We estimate that 10 percent of the taxpayers contacted for the study will qualify and be willing to participate. Using this percentage, a total of 800 individuals will need to be screened to recruit the needed 8 participants (8 study participants and 2 back-up participants) for each focus group. We estimate that 16 people will be sent home because we will only need 64 to stay for the focus groups. Of those being sent home, we estimate 30 minutes of travel time.
Total number of potential participants screened 800
Estimated time to complete screening 5 minutes
Reminder phone calls 80 minutes
(80 x 1 minute/call)
Estimated participant screening burden 68 hours
(800 x 5 + 80 minutes)
Number of participants 64
(64)
Time to conduct study (including 30 minutes for travel) 2.5 hours
Travel Time 8 hours
(16x.5 hours)
Estimated study burden 160 hours (64 x 2.5 + 8)
Estimated total project burden hours 228 hours
Macro will manage every aspect of recruitment. They will use professional recruitment firms in Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX; and Los Angeles, CA. Focus groups will be held in the respective facilities in each city. Using the screener guide, each firm will recruit 10 participants for each focus group with a goal of having 8 participants for each group.
Macro will ensure that:
Each participant receives directions to the focus group room.
Each participant is re-screened upon arrival at the facility to confirm eligibility.
All materials are ready for use in the focus group session, including tables and chairs, newsprint, colored markers, note pads, calculators, pencils, and audiotapes.
Complimentary refreshments appropriate to the time of day are available for the focus group participants.
Audio equipment is operating properly.
Honoraria to participants are distributed upon the completion of the session.
Last names or other identifying information are NOT available to IRS personnel.
The total estimated cost associated with this study is $55,000.
Within 60 days after the completion of the focus groups, Macro will provide the following information:
Actions taken or lessons learned
Number of requests or attempts for taxpayer participation
Number of focus group participants
Date the data collection began
Date the data collection ended
Actual burden hours
Cost
Transcripts and audiotapes.
Attachment 1 Screener Guide, Confirmation Letter, and Reminder Phone Script
Attachment 2 Moderator’s Guide
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | TELEPHONE SCREENER |
| Author | Maria Alvarado |
| Last Modified By | qhrfb |
| File Modified | 2009-03-26 |
| File Created | 2009-03-26 |