Anti-Financial Fraud Message Testing

Attachment A OMB Control # 3038-0107

Expiration Date: 7/29/2014

CFTC Focus Group Screener

August 2013

CONTACT: Erica Sandler at 202-973-2949 or [email protected]

RECRUITMENT CRITERIA:

• Age 50-65

• College educated

• Financial decision maker in household

• At least $60k household income

• Financially literate per investment familiarity questions

• Not risk adverse per risk aversion questions

• Married/Partnered (for MALE groups), No more than 2 Married/Partnered (for FEMALE groups)

GROUP LOGISTICS:

• Three groups, 90 minutes per group

  • Recruit 10 to seat 5/6 per group

  • Two groups among male audience, 1 group among female audience

• 1 round of confirmation no later than 24 hours before group

PLEASE SCHEDULE/RECRUIT RESPONDENTS AS FOLLOWS:

Group	Date	Time (all EST)	Recruit Goal

The following statement will be read after introductions.

Hello, I’m __________ with __________________, an independent consumer research firm.  We are not selling or promoting any product or service.  We are conducting a research study talking to people about investment options for everyday consumers. Participation is voluntary, sponsors of this research will not know the identity of respondents beyond first names, and any responses given will be attributed anonymously. My questions will only take a couple of minutes. 

1. Record Gender. (DO NOT ASK UNLESS UNABLE TO TELL.)

Female………………………	[ ]	Recruiting for 2 Male groups and 1 Female group
Male ……..………………….	[ ]

2. What is your current age? (DO NOT READ LIST.) Record: _______

Under 30	[ ]	Terminate
30-34…….…….	[ ]
35-39…….…….	[ ]
40-44…….…….	[ ]
45-49…….…….	[ ]	KEEP 2 PER GROUP AS HOLD
50-54…….…….	[ ]	Continue, recruit about half from this range
55-59…….…….	[ ]
60-64…….…….	[ ]
Over 65	[ ]	Terminate

3. [ASK IF “under 44” above] We are interested in speaking with people who are 50-65 years of age. Is there someone else in the household who falls in that age range? [IF YES:] Would it be possible for us to contact him/her so we may ask him/her these questions? [IF UNCOMFORTABLE, OFFER FACILITY’S CONTACT INFORMATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE.]

No………………….	[ ]	Terminate
Yes …….…….……	[ ]	Collect or provide contact information and then terminate

Name: ____________________________________________________

Phone Number: _____________________________________________

4. Are you or any member of your household or immediate family currently working for or previously employed by any of the following? (TERMINATE IF UNSURE.)

A market research company……………………….…………	[ ]	Terminate
An advertising agency or public relations firm……..………	[ ]
The media (TV/radio/newspapers/magazines)…….. ………	[ ]
As an educator who teaches in the field of marketing, advertising, finance, or communications……..………………….……	[ ]
An employee of a financial institution such as a bank or credit union ………………….………………….……………	[ ]
The federal or state government, including law enforcement	[ ]

5. In your household, who makes decisions on key financial matters?

I do	[ ]	Continue
Spouse or partner	[ ]	Terminate
I share responsibility with someone else	[ ]	Go to Q6
Someone else	[ ]	Terminate

6. [ASK IF “I share responsibility” above] When it comes to financial matters for things like personal investments like stocks, mutual funds, or other trading products, how likely are you to be involved in making decisions for your household?

Very likely	[ ]	Continue
Somewhat likely	[ ]	Terminate
Not too likely	[ ]	Terminate
Not at all likely	[ ]	Terminate

7. Please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statement on a 0 to 10 scale where 10 means you agree strongly, a 0 means you disagree strongly, and a 5 is in between. You can pick any number from 0 to 10. Here is the statement: “When investing, I am open to taking risks for the chance of a high return.” Record [TERMINATE 0-4]: _______

8. Please tell me if the following statement is true or false: an investment with a high return is more likely to have higher than average risks.

True………………………...	[ ]	Continue
False…………	[ ]	Terminate
Don’t know …………	[ ]	Terminate

9. Next I’m going to read you a list of different types of investment products. For each one, please tell me how familiar you are with this type of product.

	Not at all familiar	Not too familiar	Somewhat familiar	Very familiar	Extremely familiar
Stocks and shares	1	2	3	4	5
Bonds	1	2	3	4	5
Mutual funds	1	2	3	4	5
Futures/Commodities	1	2	3	4	5
An investment account, such as an brokerage account or IRA	1	2	3	4	5

CONTINUE IF…

A) AT LEAST “4” ON TWO ITEMS ABOVE

OR

B) AT LEAST “3” ON TWO ITEMS ABOVE AND AT LEAST “4” ON ONE MORE

10. Have you experienced any of the following major life events in the last year or two?

Divorce/Separation………………………...	[ ]	Get 2 per group who answer yes to at least 1 of these 5
Job Loss…………	[ ]
Entered into retirement…………	[ ]
Sending a child to college…	[ ]
Become a grandparent	[ ]

11. Are you ……….

Married………………………...	[ ]	Continue for MALE groups, no more than 2 for FEMALE groups
Domestic Partnership…………	[ ]
Single, never married …………	[ ]	Terminate for MALE groups, Continue for FEMALE groups
Separated/divorced/widowed…	[ ]	Terminate for MALE groups, Continue for FEMALE groups

12. Are you currently employed [IF YES: is that full time or part time], a student, a homemaker, retired, or unemployed and looking for work?

Employed full time………………………...	[ ]	Continue
Employed part time…………	[ ]	Continue
A student …………	[ ]	Terminate
A homemaker…	[ ]	Continue
Retired…	[ ]	Continue
Unemployed…	[ ]	Limit to 1 per group
Looking for work…	[ ]	Limit to 1 per group

13. Which of the following best describes your total annual household income, which includes wages or salary, pensions, interest or dividends, and other sources? (READ LIST.)

Less than $60,000………………………	[ ]	Terminate
$60,000 - $69,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$70,000 - $79,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$80,000 - $89,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$90,000 - $99,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$100,000 - $149,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$150,000 - $199,999………………………	[ ]	Continue
$200,000 or more……………………	[ ]	Continue
Don’t know/Refused……………………		Terminate

14. What is the highest level of education you have completed? (DO NOT READ LIST.)

Less than 8th grade. ……………………	[ ]	Terminate
Some high school………………………	[ ]
High school graduate……………………	[ ]
Some college, vocational or technical school………………………………...	[ ]
College graduate……………………	[ ]	Continue
Post graduate education (e.g., Master’s degree, MBA, law degree, PhD) ………	[ ]	Continue

15. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin?

No………………….…………………	[ ]	Record and continue to Q16
Yes* …….…….………………………	[ ]

*Note some recruits of Hispanic or Latino origin may identify with a race as well, so continue to Q16 regardless of response.

16. What is your race? (READ LIST. ACCEPT MULTIPLE ANSWERS.)

White……………………………………	[ ]	Continue
Black or African American …….………	[ ]
American Indian or Alaska Native………...	[ ]
Asian ….…….………………………	[ ]
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander….…….………………………	[ ]
(Do not read) Other…………………	[ ]	Terminate only if response is inarticulate
(Do not read) None/Only identifies as Hispanic/Latino…………………………	[ ]	Record

17. Have you ever attended a focus group discussion or an in-depth interview? By that we mean an informal discussion, conducted by a professional moderator, in which you were asked your opinions regarding a product, a service, or advertising?

No………………….	[ ]	Skip to Q21
Yes …….…….……	[ ]	Recruit no more than half*, Continue to Q18
Don’t know/Refused...	[ ]	Terminate

18. How many of these groups/interviews have you ever attended? (DO NOT READ LIST.)

1-3………………….	[ ]	Continue
4 or more.…….……	[ ]	Terminate*
Don’t know/Refused...	[ ]	Terminate

*Ask how many they’ve participated in and over how long. If not unreasonable, record details and place as a “hold” if qualifies for the rest of the screener.

19. What was/were the topics discussed?

RECORD: _________________________________________________________

20. How long ago was the last one of these you attended?

Less than 6 months ago………………….	[ ]	Terminate*
6 months ago or longer………………….	[ ]	Continue
Don’t know/Refused………………….	[ ]	Terminate

*Ask when the last one was. Record details and place as a “hold” if qualifies for the rest of the screener.

21. How comfortable would you be reading an information pamphlet that is written in English and telling someone what you think about it?

Very comfortable.…….…. …………	[ ]	Continue
Somewhat comfortable………………	[ ]	Continue
Somewhat uncomfortable……………	[ ]	Terminate
Very uncomfortable…………………	[ ]	Terminate

Recruiter: After recording respondent’s answer, determine whether or not you feel this respondent would be useful in the group. Did he or she:

Give full and complete answer?

Speak clearly, and without long pauses?

Answer enthusiastically?

Speaks understandable English/is comfortable with the English language

It is most important that respondent be articulate!! If not, terminate.

Thank you for answering all of my questions. As I mentioned earlier, we are conducting a research study to learn about how to talk about government services and would like to invite you to take part. We are conducting an informal discussion group currently scheduled for [DATE] at [TIME]. The discussion will approximately 90 minutes. The study will be both enjoyable and beneficial. As a token of our appreciation, you will receive [$XX] in cash at the end of the group session. No one will attempt to sell you anything and no one will call on you as a result of your participation. Only first names will be used during the discussion group, and when the report is written, no participant names will be used, so we can maintain your confidentiality. This is an important research effort and we hope that you will be part of it. We are confident that you will find the exchange of information interesting. We can only invite a few people to take part. Can we schedule your participation?

Yes…………… ( ) SCHEDULE No…………….. ( ) TERMINATE

[If yes, read ….. ] Also, if you need glasses for reading, please be sure to bring them with you to the interview.

I will call you to remind you of this appointment. However, if for some reason you are unable to attend, please call me at [TELEPHONE NUMBER] so that I can find a replacement for you. Thank You.

Respondent’s name: ___________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

Telephone # (Home): __________________ (Work) _________________

Recruited by: _________________________________________________