Moderator Guide (Evaluation) Communications Tools Children 2-5/6-10 Years

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USDA/FNS Message Testing

Focus Group Moderator’s Guide (Low-income Mothers of Children 2-5/6-10 years of age)

Communications Tools – Evaluative Round (February 2011)

I. WELCOME AND GROUND RULES (5 minutes)

Welcome everyone. My name is _______. I am an independent marketing researcher. Thank you for coming for this discussion. Before we begin, I’d like to explain a few things about the discussion.

1. First of all, I want everyone to know there are no wrong answers. (We want to know your opinions and those opinions might differ. This is fine. We want to know what each of you thinks about the topics we will be discussing.)

2. You have probably noticed the microphones in the room. They are here because we are audiotaping the discussion. Afterwards, I have to write a report. I want to give you my full attention and not have to take a lot of notes. Also, because we are taping, it is important that you try to speak one at a time. I may occasionally interrupt you when two or more people are talking at once in order to be sure everyone gets a chance to talk and that responses are accurately recorded.

3. Behind me is a one-way mirror. Some of the people working on this project are observing this discussion so that they can hear your opinions directly from you. However, your identity and anything you personally say here will remain confidential. By confidential I mean your names, addresses, and phone numbers will not be given to anyone, and no one will contact you after this group is over. When I write my report, I will not refer to anyone by name.

4. Please turn off your beepers & cell phones. The group will last only 90 minutes. Should you need to go to the restroom during the discussion, please feel free to leave, but we’d appreciate it if you would go one at a time.

5. Feel free to say what is on your mind. If you have something negative to say, it is all right. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. We just want to hear your opinions.
   
   
   

II. INTRODUCTION (5 minutes)

1. Now, first let’s spend a little time getting to know one another. Let’s go around the table and introduce each of ourselves. Please tell me:

• First name, and

• What local area you live in,

• Who you live with (ages of children), pets, plants, etc. and

• A little bit about yourself—such as what you do for a living, a favorite hobby, and…

[MODERATOR: Instruct respondents that when questions in the guide refer to children, they should think of their 2-5/6-10 year-old child/ren, even if they have another child in a different age range. REMIND THEM OF THIS THROUGHOUT THE SESSION]

III. GLIMPSE OF SCHEDULE (10 minutes)

1. We are going to begin our discussion by learning a bit more about you.

1. Take a moment and walk me through what a typical day is like for you. [BRIEF]

[MODERATOR: Get a sense of the time crunch respondents feel during their days. Also get a sense for use of/access to technology such as texting and computers.]

2. Thanks you for that information. Given the schedules you just described for me, tell me what a typical dinner, or evening meal, is like at your house.

   1. Think about last night. What did you have for dinner? What did you drink with dinner?

   2. What did your 2-5/6-10 year old child have for dinner? What did he/she drink with dinner?

   3. Was last night a typical night when it comes to what you and your children drank and eat?

IV. WARM UP/HELPING CHILDREN STAY HEALTHY (10 minutes)

1. Now let’s talk a little about how we help our 2-5/6-10 year-old children eat healthfully.

1. What types of foods are important for your children’s healthy growth and development? [IF NOT MENTIONED, PROBE FOR MILK/MILK PRODUCTS, WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES]

   1. Which of these would you say is MOST important? What makes you say that?

   2. Which of these foods do your children eat most readily?

   3. And which do they dislike, if any?

2. How often would you say you seek information to help you and your family eat healthfully?

   1. When you want information, to whom or where do you usually turn? [PROBE FOR SPECIFICS – ONLINE, DOCTOR, ETC.]

3. Where do you hear or see information about eating healthfully? [PROBE FOR SPECIFICS – DOCTOR’S OFFICE, HEALTH AGENCY, COMMUNITY PROGRAM, WIC OFFICE, SCHOOL, ETC.]

   1. Is it information you usually pay attention to? What makes you say that?

   2. How often would you say you make changes to the way you and your family eat based on this information?

[NOTE TO MODERATOR: ROTATE ORDER OF TESTING TOOLS.]

V. Communication Tool #1 (15 minutes)

We just discussed a little bit about eating healthfully. Now, we are going to look at some ideas for tools that can help you and your family make healthy food choices.

Before we start, I want to let you know that I did not make the tools you are going to see today, so don’t worry if there’s something you don’t like about them. I want to hear what you like, dislike and your ideas for how to improve them. These tools are still in draft form, so you might not see all the pieces as it will be when it ultimately comes together. I will try to describe how the tool works, so you have a good sense of it in order to tell me what you think.

This tool is called [TBD]. This would be located [on a bus shelter, on a website – TBD when tool is finalized].

[DESCRIPTION OF TOOL #1 – TO BE DEVELOPED WHEN TOOL IS FINALIZED FOR TESTING¹]

1. What are you first impressions about this tool? [Get general reaction (interest, boredom, etc. before asking next set of questions)]

   1. What, if anything, do you like about the tool? What makes you say that?

   2. What, if anything, do you dislike? What makes you say that?

   3. What changes could be made to make this tool more interesting to you?

   4. Does this tool remind you of anything you’ve seen or used before? What does it remind you of? How are they similar?

   5. Does this tool sound like something you would use? What makes you say that? When do you think you would use this tool? [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL]

   6. Does this tool seem like it was made for someone like you? What makes you say that?

   7. After hearing about this tool, what do you think it is trying to tell you?

      1. [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL, BASED ON LESSONS/ELEMENTS OF THE TOOL]

NOTE TO MODERATOR: If the lesson is not mentioned, ask about it specifically. If necessary, review the concept in the tool to determine if the mothers noticed this lesson.

8. What, if anything, do you think about the way this tool looks?

   1. Do you like it? Why do you say that?

   2. What, if anything, would you do anything to change the way it looks? Why do you say that?

   3. [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL, BASED ON VARIOUS GRAPHIC AND DESIGN ELEMENTS OF THE TOOL]

VI. Communication Tool #2 (15 minutes)

Here is another idea. Remember, it is still in draft form.

This tool is called [TBD]. This would be located [on a bus shelter, on a website – TBD when tool is finalized].

[DESCRIPTION OF TOOL #2 – TO BE DEVELOPED WHEN TOOL IS FINALIZED FOR TESTING²]

1. What are you first impressions about this tool? [Get general reaction (interest, boredom, etc. before asking next set of questions)]

   1. What, if anything, do you like about the tool? What makes you say that?

   2. What, if anything, do you dislike? What makes you say that?

   3. What do you think would make this tool more interesting to you?

   4. Does this tool sound like something you would use? What makes you say that? When do you think you would use this tool? [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL]

   5. Does this tool seem like it was made for someone like you? What makes you say that?

   6. After hearing about this tool, what do you think it is trying to tell you?

      1. [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL, BASED ON LESSONS/ELEMENTS OF THE TOOL]

NOTE TO MODERATOR: If the lesson is not mentioned, ask about it specifically. If necessary, review the concept in the tool to determine if the mothers noticed this lesson.

7. What do you think about the way this tool looks?

4. Do you like it? Why do you say that?

5. What, if anything, would you do anything to change the way it looks? Why do you say that?

1. [PROBE AS APPROPRIATE TO FINALIZED TOOL, BASED ON VARIOUS GRAPHIC AND DESIGN ELEMENTS OF THE TOOL]

VII. SUMMARY(10 minutes)

1. Now let’s compare the two tools you have seen.

   1. Which of the two would you say is more attention-grabbing or interesting? What makes you say that?

      1. What do you like the most about this particular tool?

   2. Which of the two tools would you say gives you the most useful information? What makes you say that?

   3. Which of these tools would you be most likely to use?

   4. If you saw one of these tools/or saw information about one of these tools at [TBD locations: bus stand, WIC or food assistance program office, online, etc], which of the two would you be most likely to notice? What makes you say that?

VIII. FALSE CLOSE (5 minutes)

1. [BRIEF] Throughout this evening, we have talked about and looked at ideas for helping you and your 2-5/6-10 year-old children to eat healthfully. Is there anything we missed? In other words, is there something that would aid you in helping your 2-5/6-10 year-old children to do so that we haven’t discussed so far? What is it?

2. While I step out of the room for a moment to see if I need to cover any additional information, please answer the questions on Handout A.³ [DISTRIBUTE HANDOUT A.] The question on this handout reads, “What is the best way to provide you with information to help you and your family eat healthfully?”

Thank you very much for your participation! Have a great day/evening!

1 Story boards for communications tools will be developed based on feedback from the formative round of research. Finalized tools will be re-submitted to OMB prior to testing in February 2011.

2 Story boards for communications tools will be developed based on feedback from the formative round of research. Finalized tools will be re-submitted to OMB prior to testing in February 2011.

3 Handouts will be developed based on findings from the formative round of research. Finalized handouts will be re-submitted to OMB prior to testing in February 2011.