Consumer Research for Nutrition Education and Promotion Activities

OMB Control # 0584-0524

Expiration Date: xx/xxxx

ATTACHMENT C – FOCUS GROUP RECRUITMENT SCREENER FOR CHILD NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS

INTRODUCTION WHEN SPEAKING WITH A RECEPTIONIST/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Hello! My name is _________ calling from _______. May I speak with (Name of CNP)?

We are calling to see if you might be eligible and willing to participate in a project we are conducting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or USDA about government nutrition programs.

IF NECESSARY, SAY: This is an opinion survey. We have nothing to sell.

IF NOT AVAILABLE, WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO CALL BACK? ____________

WHEN SPEAKING WITH CONTACT PROVIDED BY USDA:

Hello! My name is _______ calling from _________. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave us your contact information and indicated that you may be willing to talk to us about a project we are conducting on behalf of the USDA about government nutrition programs. USDA worked with the School Nutrition Association (SNA) on creating a list of child nutrition professionals. We’d like your input, because your opinions and insights are very important to the USDA. Please know that your participation is strictly voluntary and that there are no penalties for not participating in whole or in part.

May I ask you a few questions?

IF NECESSARY, SAY: This is an opinion survey. We have nothing to sell.

Before I move into my questions, I’m required to read to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Burden Statement.

READ OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0524. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 1 hour and 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 

Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Research and Analysis, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1014, Alexandria, VA 22302 (0584-0524).  Do not return the completed form to this address.

The research records that will be collected and used for this study may include an opinion survey, written notes, and an audiotape made during your participation in the focus group discussion. However, your comments and survey responses will be shared only in the aggregate with those from other participants. Aggregated information or results from this study may be presented in meetings or in internal reports to the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service. By aggregated, I mean all your responses will be combined with other participants. Your name and any information that can be traced back to you will not be included in any reports or meetings to the USDA.

SCREENING/RECRUITING OF CONTACT PERSON/CNP:

1. Are you currently:

1	Employed full time
2	Employed part time
3	A full-time student – TERMINATE
4	A home-maker – TERMINATE
5	Retired – TERMINATE
6	Unemployed or looking for work – TERMINATE
7	REFUSED – TERMINATE

2. What is/was your occupation and/or job title?

_____________________ RECORD

MUST BE A CHILD NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL, FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR/FOOD SERVICE SUPERVISOR. VERIFY WITH PARTICIPANT LIST. TERMINATE IF NOT A CHILD NUTRITION PROFESSIONAL OR IF TITLE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERS FROM LIST.

3. How many years have you been in this position?

_______________ RECORD; MUST HAVE AT LEAST TWO YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.

RECRUIT A MIX.

4. Which of the following best describes the grades represented in the school district where you work?

1	Kindergarten through third grade – RECRUIT FOR ELEMENTARY GROUPS
2	Fourth and fifth grade (and sixth grade depending on how school defines elementary) – RECRUIT FOR ELEMENTARY GROUPS
3	Sixth, seventh and eighth grade – RECRUIT FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUP (depending on how school defines middle school)
4	Ninth through twelfth grade – RECRUIT FOR HIGH SCHOOL GROUP

5. Which of the following best describes the type of school district where you work?

1	Public
2	Private, non-parochial
3	Private, parochial
4	Charter
5	Other; please specify:

RECRUIT A MIX.

6. Compared to other school districts in your area, would you describe your school district as small, medium, or large in terms of enrollment?

1	Small
2	Medium
3	Large

7. To the best of your knowledge, which of the following best describes the size of your school district?

1	Less than 1,000 students
2	Between 1,000 and 2,499
3	Between 2,500 and 4,999
4	Between 5,000 and 9,999
5	Between 10,000 and 15,000
6	More than 15,000 students
7	Don’t know

8. Which of the following best describes the location of your school district?

IF NECESSARY: By urban, I mean within or near a major city. By suburban, I mean within the greater metropolitan area, but outside the city center. And by rural, I mean outside a major metropolitan area, which includes the city center and surrounding suburbs.

1	Urban
2	Suburban
3	Rural

9. Before today had you heard of the USDA Commodities Program?

1	Yes
2	No
3	Don’t Know

TRY TO RECRUIT AT LEAST FOUR WHO SAY YES.

10. To the best of your knowledge, does your school participate in the:

PROGRAM	YES	NO	DON’T KNOW
National School Lunch Program	1	2	3
Team Nutrition	1	2	3
Healthier U.S. School Challenge	1	2	3
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program	1	2	3

MUST SAY YES TO NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM. OTHERWISE, ASK FOR THE NAME/NUMBER OF SOMEONE ELSE WITHIN THE DISTRICT WHO MAY KNOW ABOUT USDA COMMODITIES AND/OR THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM.

11. To the best of your knowledge, does your school receive food from the USDA Commodities Program?

1	Yes – CONTINUE
2	No – TERMINATE
3	Don’t Know – TERMINATE

12. To the best of your knowledge, does your school receive food from local farmers or growers?

1	Yes
2	No
3	Don’t Know

RECRUIT AT LEAST TWO WHO SAY YES.

13. Is your food service operation managed by a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) or is it self-operated?

1	Managed by a Food Service Management Company (FSMC)
2	Self-Operated
3	Don’t Know

14. Are you a Food Service Management Company employee?

1	Yes; can you please briefly describe your role or responsibilities as a Food Service Management Company employee:
2	No

15. Are you a school board employee?

1	Yes
2	No

16. Have you ever participated in any type of market research discussion group in the past six months?

1	Yes– TERMINATE
2	No – CONTINUE
3	Refused – TERMINATE

The following questions are for classification purposes only.

17. In which city and state do you live and work?

_____________ RECORD

RECRUIT A MIX BASED ON REGIONS.

TERMINATE IF ON CASH/CLOC SITE LIST. (NOTE: We will vet the CNPs list prior to recruiting, so this should be a non-issue)

18. Which of the following categories include your age?

1	18 to 24 – TERMINATE
2	25 to 29
3	30 to 39
4	40 to 49
5	50 to 59
6	60 to 64
7	65 or older

RECRUIT A MIX

19. What was the highest level of education you completed?

1	Some high school or less – TERMINATE
2	High school graduate or GED
3	Some college/Associate’s degree/technical school
4	College graduate/beyond (Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, postgraduate)
5	Refused

RECRUIT A MIX

20. Are you:

1	Hispanic or Latino
2	Not Hispanic or Latino
3	REFUSED

21. Which of the following includes your race? ALLOW MULTIPLE RESPONSES:

1	American Indian or Alaska Native
2	Asian
3	Black or African American
4	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
5	White
6	REFUSED

The reason for my questions is that we would like to invite you to participate in a Web-based focus group sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture addressing government nutrition programs. This is for market research purposes only. We are not trying to sell anything. You will receive a $____ reimbursement for your time and expenses. Because this is a Web-based focus group, I’d like to ask you a few more questions about your access to the Internet to make sure you have access and can participate.

22. Do you have access to a computer in your home or office with access to:

1	High-speed Internet such as DSL, cable, or wireless – CONTINUE
2	Dial-Up – TERMINATE
3	Don’t Know – TERMINATE IF RESPONDENT CANNOT VERIFY

23. Do you currently have a web camera that you use on your computer?

1	Yes – CONTINUE TO Q23
2	No – SAY: No problem. We will send you a web camera, free of charge, to use for the discussion and will have a technician work with you on setting up the web camera. THEN CONTINUE TO Q23

24. Are you familiar or comfortable with using a web camera?

1	Yes – CONTINUE
2	No – No problem. We will have a technician work with you on setting up the web camera.

Great. As I mentioned, we are working on a research project on behalf of the USDA and will be conducting a Web-based focus group on ______ (DATE) and will start at (TIME) ________.

The focus group will last approximately 90 minutes and will take place via the Internet, using web cameras and the telephone.

If you agree to participate, it is very important that you make every effort to participate.

25. Will you help us with this study? IF NO, SAY: Only a few people are invited to participate and your opinions are very important to us.

1	Yes
2	No – TERMINATE
3	Don’t Know/Refused – TERMINATE

26. RECORD GENDER WITHOUT ASKING

1	MALE
2	FEMALE

RECRUIT A MIX

Again, we will be reimbursing you for your help. The group will be made up of six to eight child nutrition professionals like yourself. Most of the time that you are there you’ll be talking with others in a group discussion.

I want you to know that your participation is strictly voluntary and that there are no penalties for not participating in whole or in part.

To ensure that the group runs smoothly and so that we can take care of all the technical aspects of the discussion, we ask that you log in to the site at least 10 minutes before the group starts.

To log in, you will go to the following Web site: ___________

So that I can mail you all the details about the discussion group including the Web site (IF NECESSARY, Web camera) and log-in instructions, as well as a confidentially agreement, may I have your e-mail and home mailing address?

NAME:

ADDRESS:

CITY, STATE:

ZIP CODE:

TELEPHONE NUMBER:

E-MAIL:

27. We will call you the day before the focus group to remind you. Is this the best number to reach you (DAY BEFORE SESSION)? Is there a preferred time for us to call you?

ALTERNATIVE PHONE, IF NECESSARY: ____________________________

PREFERRED TIME, IF APPLICABLE:____________________________________________

Thank you very much. We look forward to seeing you on _________ (DATE).

If you should need to cancel, please contact X at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

How did you pick me?

Working with USDA and the School Nutrition Association, we compiled a list of child nutrition professionals who work at schools that participate in one of the USDA’s programs. Using the list, we randomly placed phone calls to potential participants and invited them to participate.

What is a focus group?

A focus group is really just a small group of people talking about different issues or topics. It’s a directed discussion based on questions posed by the discussion leader. In this case, it will be around six to eight people. We’ll have a few questions for the group to discuss, but mostly you’ll talk to each other about the things you have in common.

What if I don’t want to give my address for mailing information?

It is important that everyone who is going to participate in the focus group receive the information we will be sending. We are not connected to any other organization, and your name and address will not be given to anyone else. We will not be sending your address to anyone or sharing it with any other organization. If you prefer, we could mail this to your work or to another address. If you want to confirm this project, you can call the NAME OF ORGANIZATION at PHONE NUMBER.

What are the differentiators that help characterize “suburban” versus “urban” versus “rural”?

By urban, I mean within or near a major city. By suburban, I mean within the greater metropolitan area, but outside the city center. And by rural, I mean outside a major metropolitan area, which includes the city center and surrounding suburbs.

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