Version A: In-Person Sessions
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Introduction:
Thank you for your time today. My name is XX and I work with the United States Census Bureau. My research team evaluates how easy or difficult Census products are to use. What works well, we keep. When potential users, such as you, have difficulty with something, we have an opportunity to fix it.
Before we start, there is a form I would like you to read and sign. It explains the purpose of today’s session and your rights as a participant. It also informs you that we would like to record the session to get an accurate record of your feedback. Only those of us connected with the project will review the recording and it will be used solely for research purposes. Your name will not be associated with the recording or any of the other data collected during the session. Any information you provide will be kept confidential.
[Hand consent form; give time for participant to read and sign; sign own name and date, start recording.]
Thank you.
I am going to give you a little background about what we will be working on today. Today you will be helping us to evaluate the design of the online 2020 Commodity Flow Survey instrument. The survey is in the early stages of development and we are interested in obtaining feedback to ensure that it has all of the information and features needed.
To do this, we will have you complete various tasks. These will be consistent with tasks you would normally complete if you were requested to complete the actual survey in the future. There are no right or wrong answers, we are mainly interested in your impressions both good and bad about your experience. I did not create the instrument so please feel free to share both positive and negative reactions.
While you are completing the tasks I would like for you to think aloud. Essentially what this means is to verbally express what you are doing and experiencing as you use the site.
I may ask you additional questions about some of the screens you see today and of your overall impressions.
[Eye-tracking instructions]
Before we get started, I need to calibrate your eyes. Follow the red dot on the screen with your eyes without moving your head. Great, thank you.
Do you have any questions before we begin? Ok let’s get started. I want you to read each task question and use the website to complete the task. Once you have completed each task just let me know by saying finished or done- then we can move on to the next task.
[Hand participant tasks- have them complete tasks one at a time] During the interview, note participants questions or signs of difficulty.
Once all tasks are complete:
Next I would like for you to rate your overall experience using the site to complete those tasks.
[Hand the participant the Satisfaction questionnaire]
Debriefing/Cognitive Questions:
Did the steps you took today to upload your data, match the steps you would normally take to upload your data?
If you were working by yourself, would you use the template provided?
Is any of the information we request not kept in your files?
Was it clear to you that the column titles in your shipment data file needed to be renamed?
Do you think your progress was being saved as you progressed?
Do you have any feedback regarding the term “Facility ID”?
Is this how it is recorded in your records? Are there other terms that may be a better fit? (Plant Number, Store number, origin address)
Is this an ID that is meaningful to you as an indicator of a specific location, in lieu of a full address?
If your uploaded data included additional columns that were not requested do you think the site would accept this additional data?
Were any of these tasks particularly difficult?
Are product descriptions unique to your company and not easily understood? Is commodity description data broken into separate columns in your records?
Do you keep records related to mode of transportation such as carrier name, or a “ship via” field?
Wrap Up:
We are almost finished. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us?
This concludes our session. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback.
Version B: Virtual Sessions
---
Introduction:
Thank you for your time today. My name is XX and I work with the United States Census Bureau. My research team evaluates how easy or difficult Census products are to use. What works well, we keep. When potential users, such as you, have difficulty with something, we have an opportunity to fix it.
Before we start, I am going to read you a statement of consent. It explains the purpose of today’s session and your rights as a participant. It also informs you that we would like to record the session to get an accurate record of your feedback. I would like to ask that you not name names, or the name of your company during the session. Only those of us connected with the project will review the recording and it will be used solely for research purposes. Your name will not be associated with the recording or any of the other data collected during the session. Any information you provide will be kept confidential. When I am finished, I would like for you to consent out loud, and then the session can begin.
[Read consent form; start recording.]
Thank you.
I am going to give you a little background about what we will be working on today. Today you will be helping us to evaluate the design of the online 2020 Commodity Flow Survey instrument. The survey is in the early stages of development and we are interested in obtaining feedback to ensure that it has all of the information and features needed.
To do this, we will have you complete various tasks. These will be consistent with tasks you would normally complete if you were requested to complete the actual survey in the future. There are no right or wrong answers, we are mainly interested in your impressions both good and bad about your experience. I did not create the instrument so please feel free to share both positive and negative reactions.
While you are completing the tasks I would like for you to think aloud. Essentially what this means is to verbally express what you are doing and experiencing as you use the site.
I may ask you additional questions about some of the screens you see today and of your overall impressions.
Do you have any questions before we begin? Ok let’s get started. I’m going to read each task question out loud and then you will use the website to complete the task. Once you have completed each task just let me know by saying finished or done- then we can move on to the next task.
[Read participant first task- have them complete tasks one at a time] During the interview, note participants questions or signs of difficulty.
Once all tasks are complete:
Next I would like for you to rate your overall experience using the site to complete those tasks.
[Hand the participant the Satisfaction questionnaire]
Debriefing/Cognitive Questions:
Did the steps you took today to upload your data, match the steps you would normally take to upload your data?
If you were working by yourself, would you use the template provided?
Is any of the information we request not kept in your files?
Was it clear to you that the column titles in your shipment data file needed to be renamed?
Do you think your progress was being saved as you progressed?
Do you have any feedback regarding the term “Facility ID”?
Is this how it is recorded in your records? Are there other terms that may be a better fit? (Plant Number, Store number, origin address)
Is this an ID that is meaningful to you as an indicator of a specific location, in lieu of a full address?
If your uploaded data included additional columns that were not requested do you think the site would accept this additional data?
Were any of these tasks particularly difficult?
Are product descriptions unique to your company and not easily understood? Is commodity description data broken into separate columns in your records?
Do you keep records related to mode of transportation such as carrier name, or a “ship via” field?
Wrap Up:
We are almost finished. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us?
This concludes our session. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Rebecca Keegan (CENSUS/ESMD FED) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-14 |