NHTSA_CCS_2019_Communication Checks Generic Clearance

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

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Online Quantitative and Qualitative Feedback on Creative Message Testing 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 plans to produce new public service announcements designed to increase the proper use of car seats, booster seats and seat belts among children and to reduce the injuries and deaths in motor vehicle crashes where these children are either in the incorrect seat, are graduating prematurely to the next seat type, or are not utilizing any safety restraints such as car seats, booster seats, or seat belts. Parents and caregivers in the campaign are encouraged to make sure their children are in the right seat for their age and size and wearing seat belts.

NHTSA would like to conduct an online survey to help assess creative concepts designed for this national public service advertising campaign. Research will focus on the scenarios within each concept to assess levels of relevance, attention, and motivation prior to production. Feedback from participants will help inform the decision of which scenario(s) to highlight within the PSAs to ensure the ads are as relevant and motivating to our audience as possible.

The results from this project will in no way be used to make significant policy or resource allocation decisions.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Research would be conducted among U.S. parents and caregivers who are 25+ with children ages 7-10 to allow us to capture the responses specific to booster seat recommendations.

NHTSA recommends a sample of 50 respondents, aiming for a mix of demographics including gender, race/ethnicity, geography, and household income. All respondents will be required to drive their child/children or the children they care for at least 3 times per week.

NHTSA plans to conduct research in the form of an online survey with InstaPanel, a research vendor that specializes in online research. An online survey allows for a deep dive into a person’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, through the use of both open-ended and close-ended questions. There are several advantages of conducting an online survey for this study versus in-person focus groups or interviews. One key advantage of online surveys is that they allow participants to be drawn from a nationwide audience. A second key advantage focuses on lower respondent time commitment and burden than traditional focus groups and interviews, mainly because online research removes the time for travel to and from a facility. Lastly, online surveys allow respondents to answer questions on their own time, thereby further reducing the burden on respondents as they can dictate when they want to participate.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

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

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

[ ] Focus Group [X] 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? [ X ] Yes [ ] No

The third party vendor collects information from the research participants in order to provide them with the incentive. No PII is reported to NHTSA. No responses will be connected to individual respondents; only aggregate data will be reported.

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

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

Gifts or Payments:

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

It is standard practice to provide a basic incentive in order to encourage participation in the research and to avoid bias of receiving responses only from individuals generally predisposed to be helpful. Participants in this research will not be offered incentives provided directly by NHTSA. The third-party vendor, InstaPanel, will fulfill incentives at the rate of $20 for each participant.

InstaPanel will screen potential recruits via their opt-in panel database based on an information screener approved by NHTSA. This screener is being submitted as backup to this Clearance Request. The screener will collect the following information about each potential participant: gender, age, parental status, age of child/children, frequency of driving with children in the vehicle, safety-related behavior with children in the vehicle, household income, educational attainment, and race/ethnicity.

In the online survey, 50 participants will be shown the creative concepts and asked to assess, rate, and compare concepts in terms of motivation, relevance, and attention. The survey will include some video responses, showing participants’ faces and audio. However, participants will be identified by first name only in the viewing platform. While InstaPanel has adequate information in their proprietary databases to link individuals appearing in videos to specific people and their contact information, this is for follow-up purposes only. Screening information and digital files will be stored securely on InstaPanel’s servers to which only their staffs have access, and InstaPanel will not share personally identifiable information with NHTSA or its contractors.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Screening for parents/caregivers, 25+ with children ages 7-10	500	2 mins	16 hrs + 40 mins
Survey completions: Parents/caregivers, 25+ with children ages 7-10	50	10 minutes	8 hrs + 20 mins
TOTAL			25 hrs

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 25 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $7,320.

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?

Convenience samples of research participants are screened and recruited to reflect the target audience. NHTSA plans to work with InstaPanel, a third-party vendor, to recruit individuals that meet the criteria for each audience. Recruitment will take place using InstaPanel’s own opt-in panel. A link to an online screening instrument will be sent in an email invitation, followed by additional instructions for joining the online survey should a respondent qualify to participate.

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)

[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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