Focus Group Introduction Script

Focus Group Introduction Script:

We are doing research at the University of Colorado.  Your answers will help us understand how you use four main media sources: newspapers, radio, TV, and the Internet.  Together, we call these four sources your media environment. 

We are interested such things as the amount of advertising and the diversity of opinion about news and politics in your media environment.  We would also like to know how you feel about the amount of information you can get on local news and events, and your media environment’s coverage of ethnic, gender, and minority related issues.

Many of us use our media sources for entertainment, such as listening to music on the radio, watching crime dramas on television, online gaming, or doing the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper.  However, in this survey we are interested in how you get information on news and current affairs, not entertainment.  Examples include reading the newspaper for local, national, or world news, watching a morning or evening news program, listening to talk shows, or reading online news accounts

Focus Group Questions:

• After the section of the survey “Sources of Information”: How difficult was it for you to estimate the number of hours you spend each week using the different media sources? Would anything make it easier for you to guess at the answers to these questions?

• After the section of the survey “Cost of Your Media Environment”: How certain were you about the dollar amounts you entered? Do you think you were able to differentiate any combined bills you may have for TV, the Internet, etc.?

• After they read the information under “Features of Your Media Environment”: Is it clear to you what we mean by features of your media environment?

• After Q39: We asked for a lot of information in this question! Were you able to figure out how to mark the table? Do you think you were able in your answers to distinguish the amount of advertising in the different sources, or do you think you kind of generally answered from your overall feeling about the amount of advertising you see or hear?;

• After Q40, if they checked “No”: Did we miss by much? Were you at all put off by us for telling you what we thought your overall advertising exposure was? If they checked “Yes”. Do you really think we got it about right, or were you not sure and you were you just agreeing?

• After Q42: Is it clear what we mean by diversity of opinion? Again, how difficult was it for you to distinguish the levels of diversity for the four media sources? (these questions are repeated for the features localism (Q45-47) and multiculturalism (Q48-50));

• After Q51: Is it clear what we are asking here? Instead of the levels of the attributes advertising, etc., we are now inquiring about your level of satisfaction with the features. Was that clear to you? Do you think this question is burdensome?

• After they have viewed Table 3, with time to roll their mouse pointer over a feature of a level: Do you think you have a good feel for what we mean by your media environment? Do you have a good idea of what your own media environment is like from answering all these questions?

• After Q52: Is it clear what you are choosing in this question? How difficult was it for you to decide between the two choices? Did either environment appeal to you?

• Then, if they had to be prompted to make a choice: Would you have liked to skip this question? After the question returned to the screen, did you simply mark a choice to move on, or would you really prefer the choice you were given?

• This line of questioning is repeated after Q53;

• After the end of the choice questions: Did you feel there were too many of these choices to make? Were you thinking as hard as you were in the beginning when you made these choices?; and

• After Q70: Was it clear what we were asking for in this question? You answered eight choice questions before this one. What are your thoughts on the following: you answer four choice questions, then this one, then four more choice questions? Would that have made any difference for you?