IC Template - KBYO Field Trial

Request for Approval under the “GENERIC CLEARANCE FOR QUALITATIVE
CONSUMER EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND EXPERIENCE INFORMATION
COLLECTIONS”

(OMB Control Number: 3170-0022)
1. TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Unmoderated Usability Testing of the
Mortgage Closing Product

2. PURPOSE: Corroborate the usability findings from the moderated usability testing that was
conducted in March 2014, and assess the effects of an e-Platform on consumer confidence and
knowledge.

3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:
Three hundred participants will be recruited via opt-in panel (See attachment A for recruitment
emails) to complete an unmoderated usability test. Respondents will have closed a mortgage or
refinanced within the previous six months or will have plans to purchase a home within the next
six months. They will interact with one of four websites and be asked about their knowledge and
attitudes regarding the mortgage closing process.
4. TYPE OF COLLECTION (ADMINISTRATION OF THE INSTRUMENT):
a.

How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[ X ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media
[ ] In-person
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[ ] Other, Explain ______________________

[ ] Telephone
[ ] Mail
[ ] Focus Group

b. Will interviewers or facilitators be used?
[ ] Yes [ X ] No [ ] Not Applicable
5. FOCUS GROUP OR SURVEY:
If you plan to conduct a focus group or survey, please provide answers to the following
questions:
a. 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?
[ ] Yes [ X ] No [ ] Not Applicable
b. If the answer is yes, please provide a description below. 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?
1

Respondents will be recruited via opt-in online panel. We propose using the IPSOS Blended
sampling approach. The core idea of the Blended Sampling approach is to bring Internet users
who are not panel members into our online surveys, which helps to keep the sample well
balanced from a demographic and attitudinal perspective. This approach, similar to river
sampling, effectively opens up the whole of the online population as a potential respondent to
our surveys. We do this by targeting the highest-traffic websites in the United States and
providing a recruitment and incentive structure that is tailored to that particular website. This
allows us to continually recruit a non-panel online sample to our surveys, and it also mitigates
for influencing factors, such as panel effects.
6. INFORMATION COLLECTION PROCEDURES
Potential participants will receive an email invitation to participate in the current usability test.
These participants will represent both IPSOS i-say panelists who have been recruited prior to the
study to participate in broad variety of IPSOS market research studies (panelists are recruiting
via social networks, email lists, banners, website and text ads, co-registration, and search
engine marketing. More detail is provided in Attachment B) and “non-panel” members who are
recruited at the time of the study through high traffic websites. Prior to the invitation or
completion of any survey, IPSOS panelists are provided the IPSOS privacy policy. A link to this
policy (http://i-say.com/Privacy/PRIVACYPOLICY/tabid/167/Default.aspx) is also made
available in all survey invites. Once they click on a link, they will be shown instructions to
complete the specific CFPB questionnaire. If they agree, they will be asked a series of screening
questions. For those participants meeting the predefined criteria, they will be routed to different
versions of the questionnaire that differ in their inclusion of CFPB mortgage closing content and
tasks. Within the questionnaire, participants will be asked to engage in a number of usability
tasks and react to the CFPB products.
Participants will also be asked a battery of questions including, but not limited to demographics,
relevant consumer behavior, and familiarity with CFPB. The CFPB will not collect direct
identifying personally identifiable information (PII) from the web panelists.
7. PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:
a. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [] No
b. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject
to the Privacy Act of 1974? [] Yes [X ] No [ ] Not Applicable
c. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? Not applicable.

8. INCENTIVES:
a. Is an incentive provided to participants? [ X] Yes [ ] No
b. If Yes, provide the amount or value of the incentive? $1__________.
c. If Yes, provide a statement justifying the use and amount of the incentive.
Respondents to this survey under this proposed clearance will receive a small
stipend from IPSOS, which is the standard for all IPSOS surveys. This practice
has proven necessary and effective in recruiting subjects to participate in this
2

small-scale research, and is also employed by the other Federal agencies, such as
the Internal Revenue Service.

9. ASSURANCES OF CONFIDENTIALITY:
a. Will a pledge of confidentiality be made to respondents? []Yes [X] No
b. If Yes, please cite the statue, regulation, or contractual terms supporting the pledge.
No pledge of confidentiality will be provided. However, the survey instrument will inform
potential respondents of their expectations with respect to privacy by the following
statement:
The information you provide through your responses will assist the survey sponsor, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) develop services to better provide financial
information to consumers.
The CFPB will not obtain or access any directly identifying information about study participants
from the i-say Panel. The agency will only obtain and access de-identified results and aggregated
analyses of those results.
Your participation in this survey is also subject to the i-say privacy policy, available at http://isay.com/Privacy/PRIVACYPOLICY/tabid/167/Default.aspx

10. JUSTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE QUESTIONS (if applicable):
N/A
11. BURDEN HOURS:
Category of Respondent

Number of
Respondents

General adult population that closed a mortgage
or refinanced within the previous six months
Totals

300

Participation
Time
(hours)
.33

Burden
Hours

300 /////////////////////

12. FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $49,862.

3

100
100

13. CERTIFICATION:
By submitting this document, the Bureau certifies the following to be true:
 The collection is voluntary.
 The collection is low-burden for respondents.
 The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal
agencies.
 Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential
policy decisions.
 The results will not be used to measure regulatory compliance or for program evaluation.

4