UDDP 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 Traffic and Motor Vehicle

Safety Programs and Activities

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 new advertising for its ongoing public service campaign designed to deter impaired driving among teenagers.

NHTSA would like to conduct a limited number of focus group sessions to help assess creative concepts. The goal of this research is to gain feedback on creative concepts prior to production. Specifically, the research will be used to understand message clarity, appeal of the concepts, relevance, and ability to motivate the target audience of teens.

Focus groups will be conducted by Good Run Research & Recreation, a qualitative vendor with experience working extensively in teen research, including sensitive topics such as drinking, smoking, and texting and driving.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents for this survey will be the target audience for the public service campaign: U.S. high school students ages 16-18 who are licensed drivers and drive at least occasionally. Respondents will include a fair representation of demographics including gender, race/ethnicity, and household income (parents). More details in “the selection of target respondents” section below. The focus group discussions will be conducted in two diverse geographic markets: Dallas, TX and Philadelphia, PA.

To create a more comfortable setting for teens and mitigate socially desirable responses, each focus group will consist of friendship pairs. Each group will consist of 3 friendship pairs (6 respondents). An extra friendship pair will be recruited for each group in case there are any late cancellations or “no-shows.” This recruitment strategy of friendship pairs will encourage accountability and honesty while allowing for individual expression within the group. Past experience with this age group indicates that respondents who attend this type of discussion with a friend will open up and share more quickly than when they are among a group of all strangers.

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: Online Survey

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 (no social security numbers will be collected) following their 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.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondents	No. of Respondents		Participation Time (hours)	Burden Time No. of Respondents x Participation Time]
Unqualified/Refusal Respondents: total number of individuals who will be contacted, but screened out or refuse participation.	272		2.5 minutes	11 hours, 20 min
Screened Respondents: total number of individuals fully screened to participate in the focus group discussion	48		1/6 hours (10 minute screening call)	8 hours
Focus Group Respondents: total number of individuals screened in and participating in the focus group discussion	36		1.75 hour (90 minute discussion + 15 min wait time)	63 hours
Recruited “No-Shows”: total number of individuals screened in but do not show or participate during research period.	12		5 minutes	1 hour
	83 hours 20 min

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 83 hours 20 minutes

On average, incidence of qualified respondents for any project with either of the market research facilities is about 25% success. Given this is a sensitive topic and a limited age target, we estimate that incidence will be slightly lower, approximately 15-20%.

The maximum total input cost, if all respondents were interviewed on the job, is estimated as follows:

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $36,000.

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?

Good Run Research & Recreation will work with focus group facilities in both markets, Dallas and Philadelphia, to screen and recruit participants using their own databases of participants who have signed up to be contacted for potential participation in focus groups. The teens that are under age 18 will be contacted through their parents. Because we are utilizing friendship pairs within the focus groups, the facility will recruit an initial “host” respondent and then contact their friend based on a referral. We will have three distinct friendship pairs per group. Our approach would be to fully screen one “host”, and ask him/her to invite a like-minded friend that is at the top of their social friend circle, and that they spend the most time with in social situations. The friends would be screened on key elements from the same approved screener, including driver license and drinking behaviors. This ensures a natural falling out of teens who are authentically friends.

The market research facilities will call potential respondents on the phone, and using the screener attached, will find participants and schedule their focus group times. During the focus groups, moderators from Good Run Research & Recreation will walk respondents through the discussion guide.

We will target participants based on these criteria:

• Teens, age 16-18, currently in high school

• Must have a full driver license (beyond learner permit)

• Must personally drive to/from social occasions at least sometimes, in their own car or a family car they are allowed to use

• Have had a drink of alcohol in the past year

• No frequent binge drinkers (as determined by the question in the screener asking for how many drinks per week the respondent has)

• Mix of gender (aim for 50/50)

Please see screener attached for full set of screening questions.

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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