Generic Clearance Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2127-0682)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Focus Groups for Assessments of Advertising Concepts Supporting a National Awareness Campaign to Reduce Speeding

PURPOSE:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was authorized by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 to carry out a Congressional mandate to reduce the mounting number of deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on our Nation’s highways. In support of this mission, NHTSA is developing a new communications campaign to be implemented as early as May 2017 to raise drivers’ awareness of the risks and dangers of speeding.

According to data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2016, April). Speeding: 2014 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT HS 812 265). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration):

• In 2014 there were 9,262 traffic fatalities in which speeding was a related factor.

• This number represented 28% of all traffic fatalities.

• Disproportionately high numbers of these people killed in speeding-related crashes were male drivers between the ages of 21 to 34.

• Speeding-related factors have continually been associated with 28% to 32% of all traffic fatalities per year over the past ten years.

An integral part of NHTSA’s communications efforts is development of an effective creative concept for advertising that will assist states in efforts to increase and sustain awareness of the risks and dangers of speeding. For assessment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of advertising concept alternatives, NHTSA seeks to use a qualitative research methodology in the form of focus groups. For NHTSA campaigns in the past, focus groups have provided an important means of gathering tagline feedback because they allow for a more in-depth understanding of drivers’ attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and feelings than do quantitative studies. Focus groups serve the narrowly defined need for direct and informal opinion on a specific topic.

NHTSA proposes conducting a total of four focus groups among drivers who are male, between the ages of 18 and 34, and who self-report tendencies to speed on a regular or frequent basis. The groups will be conducted in two cities whose population compositions (relative to demographic characteristics) resemble the U.S. population in general, and whose percentages of speed-related fatalities are closely aligned (that is, within five percentage points) with the national percentage. The cities matching these criteria are Indianapolis, Indiana, and Phoenix, Arizona.

Focus groups will play an important role in gathering this information because they allow for more in-depth understanding of people’s attitudes, beliefs, and motivations than do other kinds of studies. If such information is not collected, it will be more difficult and less cost-effective for NHTSA to develop and distribute potentially life-saving messages to its target audience. 

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Focus group respondents will correspond to NHTSA’s target audience for the advertising campaign: Drivers who are male, between the ages of 18 and 34, and who self-report tendencies to speed on a regular or frequent basis. A total of four groups will be conducted, two groups in each of two cities. Each group will be composed of seven to nine pre-screened individuals. Each group is projected to last 75 minutes in duration. (This total time is a combination of an “arrive early” window of 15 minutes plus 60-minute focus group session). Although no more than nine participants will be seated for each group, more than nine per group will be recruited. Given the target market profile for this effort, twelve people will be recruited for each group in anticipation of at least nine showing. Even with advance confirmations from qualified recruits, the relatively less reliability of younger-age males to show for focus groups necessitates the higher number of recruits. Should more than nine arrive on time, only nine will be seated in the group, and the others will be released (as well as paid their promised incentives). As noted previously for the four groups, two cities will be used, with two groups per city. Each proposed city meets important criteria: (1) its population composition (relative to demographic characteristics) resembles the U.S. population in general; (2) its percentage of speed-related fatalities is closely aligned (that is, within five percentage points) with the national percentage; (3) it is relatively major in size, which will provide more cost-effective recruiting due to larger numbers of prospective participants; and (4) it has marketing research industry-accredited focus group facilities available. The cities are - -

• Indianapolis, Indiana

• Phoenix, Arizona

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ____________________

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:___Susan McMeen __________________________________________

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, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ X] Yes [ ] No

Each respondent will be provided with $75 following his participation in a focus group session. This amount is in line with the industry standard, relative to focus group participation by people in the target market. These industry-standard stipends help to ensure that respondents can be recruited efficiently and ensure their arrival and participation in the groups. These standards exist to provide fair compensation for costs incurred by participants while attending groups, based on the location of and expenses in each market. As noted earlier, pre-screened and invited respondents who arrive on time but are released prior to the group will also be awarded their stipends (also in keeping with marketing research industry standards).

BURDEN HOURS

No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (hours)	Total Burden Hours
48 (recruits for screening purposes)	1	6 minutes (1/10-hours) phone interview	4.8
36 (participants)	1	75 minutes (1-1/4 hours) pre-group arrival plus discussion	45.0
12 (recruits arriving, but released prior to participation)	1	15 minutes (1/4-hours) pre-group arrival only, subsequently released	3.0
			52.8 hours

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 52.8 hours (reporting 53 hours)

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $38,170.

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?

Please see recruitment screener attached.

Each focus group facility in each city does the recruiting on NHTSA’s and NHTSA’s contractor’s behalf, per the screener NHTSA provides.  The facility’s recruiting staff works primarily from a pool within its proprietary database of people in that particular marketplace who have previously submitted demographic, lifestyle and product preference information.  When NHTSA submits a screener such as the one proposed for this project, the recruitment manager will filter the database to search for potential respondents in the designated age group (and any other relevant specs if the firm happens to have one or more of those other criteria established in the database).  The recruiters will use telephone calls to those potential respondents to administer the full screener.

 

In any given household, only one person will be screened and confirmed.

 

After going through the database, if the recruiters can't fill the specified total numbers and/or quotas, the secondary step is procuring sample from any of numerous national sample providers of names, addresses and phone numbers.  The recruiters will then make phone calls to this list until the recruiting is completed.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X ] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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