FTC Clearance Request re Survey of Seniors to Evaluate Consumer Ed Materials

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3084-0159)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Fraud Against Older Consumers: Online
Evaluation of Educational Materials
PURPOSE: This survey will relate to consumer education materials, and will inform the design
of a consumer education program to reach older consumers with messages about fraud. The
Division of Consumer and Business Education seeks to reach older consumers who visit or
reside in facilities that serve seniors. This research with people age 62 and older will help us
determine whether the educational approach, developed after earlier focus groups and in-depth
interviews, serves the needs of this general target population. Without this research, we are less
confident that the content and delivery mechanisms would serve this audience well; with the
research, we are confident that the education program will be used in the target audience.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents will be aged 62 or older, and drawn from
pre-recruited national online panels. Our sample of 1,000 seniors will reflect varying ethnicities,
educational backgrounds, household income/asset levels, etc. Respondents will be able to
choose to complete an English or a Spanish version of the survey.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)
[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form
[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software)
[ ] Focus Group

[ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[x] Other: Materials Evaluation

CERTIFICATION:
I certify the following to be true:
1. The collection is voluntary.
2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.
3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal
agencies.
4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.
5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential
policy decisions.
6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have
experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.
Name: Jennifer M. Leach
To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:
Personally Identifiable Information:
1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [x] No
2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the
Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No
3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No [x] N/A
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Gifts or Payments:
Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to
participants? [ ] Yes [x] No

BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent

No. of
Participation
Respondents Time
1,000
20 minutes
1,000

Private sector (In-depth Interviews)
Totals

Burden
333 hrs
333 hrs

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $50,000.
If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please
provide answers to the following questions:
The selection of your targeted respondents
1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential
respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe?
[x] Yes [ ] No
If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If
the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of
respondents and how you will select them?
The researchers will recruit participants using pre-recruited national online panels. Respondents
will be selected to represent demographic variables including: age, ethnicity, educational
background, and household income/asset levels. All respondents will be allowed to respond to
the survey in either English or Spanish.
Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[x] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] Telephone
[ ] In-person
[ ] Mail
[ ] Other, Explain
2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [x] No
Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the
request.

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