FNS Attachment C Focus Group Guide

OMB CONTROL NO.: 0503-0024

EXPIRATION DATE: 04/30/2023

Attachment C-1: USDA Quiz Focus Group Guide

6 participants; Up to 2 hours each

Primary research objective:

• Share draft versions of the quiz and its corresponding messaging to determine if participants interpret information as intended and/or show signs of confusion

Additional research objectives:

• Update findings about nutrition attitudes and behaviors

• Understand how respondents consume nutrition information online

• Learn how consumers might access and use USDA’s new website quiz

• Support message development and promoting the quiz

• Assess familiarity with MyPlate.gov and food group recommendations

Introductions (10 minutes)

1. Moderator introduction

   1. Independent moderator

2. Guidelines for discussion

   1. Here to learn from you (all opinions count, no right or wrong answers)

   2. Safe space (no judging, no pressure to disclose, respect all opinions)

   3. No cell phones

   4. Bathrooms

3. Participant introductions

   1. Name

   2. Who lives at home

   3. Favorite meal for a special occasion

Nutrition and healthy eating (20-25 minutes)

[Objectives: Explore consumer demand, interests, and priorities for nutritional information; identify the leading information sources and media channels.]

1. Let’s start with some very quick word association. I’ll give you a word or phrase, and you shout out the first thing that comes to mind. It could be another word, or a feeling, or a personal experience. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “HEALTHY EATING”?

   1. Is that a positive or negative? What makes you say that?

   2. How often, if at all, are you thinking about HEALTHY EATING?

2. ROTATE WARM UP QUESTION ACROSS GROUPS, ASK “HEALTHY EATING” OR “FOOD GROUPS” NOT BOTH: Here is another one. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “FOOD GROUPS”?

1. [IF RESPONDENTS ONLY NAMING GROUPS:] What comes to mind other than naming food groups?

2. PROBE: Is it a positive or a negative? What makes you say that?

3. How often, if at all, are you thinking about FOOD GROUPS?

3. WRITE DOWN: Now I’ll ask you to write thoughts on paper. Please write up to 3 healthy eating goals, or changes that you would like to make. They can be easy or hard, general or specific. These are your goals or changes.

1. Who will volunteer to share? What are some changes on your minds?

2. What are themes you hear in the room? [BACKROOM NOTE HEALTH, WELLNESS, FAMILY, ANYTHING NOT REFLECTED IN QUIZ Q1]

4. In general, how much of a priority is healthy eating for you? Honestly, no judging here.

1. How active are you in seeking ways to help you eat healthy?

2. Specifically, what are you looking for? [PROBE: tips, recipes or nutrition information]

3. What do you find motivates you in healthy eating?

4. What keeps you from healthy eating? (LISTEN FOR MOTIVATION, ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY, TASTES, OTHER BARRIERS)

5. Based on your goals, what information about healthy eating would be helpful to you?

1. Things you want to learn more about?

2. Things you have questions about, or find confusing?

3. Things you want to be able to do, new skills?

6. Where do you go for answers to these types of questions?

1. What websites do you use most often? Are you more likely to be using search engines to find topics, or going to websites for health information? (i.e., Google, TV or magazine websites, food company websites)

2. How does nutrition or healthy eating come up in social media? Which platforms do you use? What are common posts you see on social media? (i.e., Recipes, healthy eating tips, grocery shopping tips)

3. Are there apps, games, or tools that you use to help shop or eat healthy? How are they helpful? What’s not so good? (i.e., calorie tracking, Weight Watchers, grocery store coupons)

7. What are you using most often to access these websites, apps, and social media?

1. TAKE HANDCOUNT FOR EACH DEVICE USED TO ACCESS – COMPUTER, TABLET, SMARTPHONE

8. HANDCOUNT: There are all kinds of things you can do on those devices. How many of you take online quizzes? (IF NECESSARY, PROMPT: Buzzfeed, Esquire, Marie Claire)

   1. IF YES: Which online quizzes have you taken? From where?

      1. What makes a great online quiz?

      2. PROBE: Fun, knowledge, self-assessment

   2. IF NO: Any reason you don’t take quizzes online? Any downside to taking them?

   3. What device are you usually using (phone, desktop, or tablet)?

   4. Do you ever take the same quiz more than once? Why/why not?

9. Have you taken any online health or nutrition focused quizzes? [IF YES:] Do you remember what it was about?

   1. What was the takeaway?

   2. UTILITY: Did you learn anything useful, or do anything different as a result? Did you keep doing that thing?

   3. RELEVANCE: Did you learn anything about yourself, or that gave you new perspective? How so?

Thank you for good discussion to start off the group.

Test quiz questionnaire and mock-up designs (70-75 minutes)

[Objectives: Testing the Start Simple quiz for clarity, appeal and education value; brainstorming the ideal experience for a quiz user, including results pages and how to use recommendations.]

Quiz PDF as Hard Copy Handout (attached: Handout 1 StartSimpleQuizFinal)

1^st Read for Clarity, Appeal, Education Value

1. WRITTEN QUIZ, PARTICIPANTS MARK-UP AS THEY TAKE THE QUIZ INDIVIDUALLY: Next we’re going to do an “activity” together. This activity could be developed into an online quiz. It is not finished but has been created for us to discuss today. Please read through the questions and answer honestly. When you’re done place your pen on the table, so that I know you’re finished.

1. MODERATOR NOTE START TIME, AND LAST FINISH TIME

2. EDGE TO PROVIDE A TALLY OF THE QUIZ RESPONSES, BASED ON HANDOUT

2. HANDOUT QUIZ RATINGS: Before we talk about it, let’s get some ratings on paper. Please share your opinions about the quiz here.

1. CLARITY: Easy to understand (1-5 scale, 5 is the high)

2. APPEAL: Enjoyed taking it (1-5 scale)

3. EDUCATION VALUE: Taught me something (1-5 scale)

4. EDUCATION VALUE: Relates to my healthy eating goals (1-5 scale)

3. DISCUSS CLARITY AS A GROUP:

1. How was taking the quiz for you, easy or hard?

2. What was your first impression? Positives/negatives

3. What’s the big idea? What’s the point of taking this quiz?

4. Who do you think it’s for? Specific audiences or age groups? How so?

5. How would you describe the wording and language used? Who does it “sound” like? A professor or a neighbor?

6. What do you think about the length? When you think about other online quizzes does this feel longer, shorter, or about the same?

7. Did you notice anything about the flow, and the order of the questions? Did anything catch you off guard or need more transition?

4. DISCUSS APPEAL AS A GROUP:

1. ROUND ROBIN - What was your rating for “enjoyed taking it”? What makes you say that?

2. QUIZ MARK UP – Scanning back over the quiz, please “star” 1-3 things that you liked or found most helpful. This could be wording you liked, a good piece of information, anything you enjoyed about the quiz.

   1. What did you star or find most helpful – which page is that (% complete)? What makes that of interest to you? [BACKROOM NOTE ANY ALIGNMENT WITH UMBRELLA MESSAGING]

3. QUIZ MARK UP – Scanning again, please put a “question mark” on 1-3 things that were confusing or that took more thought/time to answer?

   1. What was that? Please point that out, and the specific page (% complete).

   2. Were there questions that you didn’t know how to answer? Show me an example.

4. Was anything a major negative or turnoff? If so, what?

   1. Were there any questions you thought were unnecessary?

   2. Was there anything that you didn’t want to answer?

5. What happens next? How likely are you to act on the information, or how might you start making a change?

URL displayed on laptop screen: 2^nd Read is guided tour of the prototype and results page (attached: Webpage 1 MyPlate.Gov_QuizResultsPage)

5. Now we are going to talk about specific parts of the quiz:

   1. What’s your opinion of the multiple-choice format? Did you like the questions and answers as they were presented, or would you prefer a different format? In what way?

      1. [PROBE:] Did you notice the ‘Continue’ button featured on each page? Would you prefer it to automatically advance the next page, or do you not have a preference?

   2. How much attention were you paying to the grey-shaded boxes at the top? [“DID YOU KNOW” INFO] How much does that add to the quiz experience?

      1. What do you think about the length of the text? Would you want it on every question? Why/why not?

      2. Do you tend to think it’s helpful, or not so much? What makes you say that?

   3. Keep in mind this is a draft and we are not graphic designers. How much attention were you paying to the icons and images along the way? How much do they add to the quiz experience?

      1. Would you like to see more, less, or different imagery?

   4. What do you think of the scale throughout the quiz (3-point scale; labels; explanations underneath). How much attention were you paying to the scale, those buttons and explanations as you went through?

      1. Was anything difficult to answer with that scale?

      2. Were some of these items harder to answer than others? Which were more challenging? How so?

   5. When taking it on your own, do you think you would save your progress and come back to it, as opposed to doing it in one sitting? What makes you say that?

6. Before we move on, and looking at the quiz online, would you say….. Yes “Thumbs up” / No “Thumbs down”

1. The quiz is user-friendly?

2. The quiz is enjoyable in look-and-feel?

3. There is anything in the quiz that you want to change?

   1. What else might the questions cover/Is there anything missing?

      1. PROBE IF NECESSARY: Food trends?

7. ASK UNAIDED FIRST, THEN SHOW RESULTS PAGE MOCK-UP (attached: Webpage 1 MyPlate.Gov_QuizResultsPage): Let’s talk about the “Results” page. You’ve taken the quiz online, answered all the questions and read the DYK, what should come up next on the screen?

1. [IF NECESSARY:] What would you expect to see on a Results page after answering the questions? (i.e., greeting, customization, types of information)

2. Here is an example of the information that might appear after you take the quiz. This example is more colorful than what you just saw; remember it is a draft. What is your first impression of this page?

   1. How obvious is it that this is a “results” page?

   2. What are you thinking and feeling as we scroll down the results page?

      1. [PROBE IF NEEDED: greeting, “recommendations,” food group tips, app option, food group tipsheets, healthy habits tipsheets, additional resources, based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans]

   3. What do you like/what would be most interested in seeing? Why?

   4. How might this information be helpful to you?

   5. What would make it better?

   6. What on this page are you least interested in seeing?

3. What do you expect in the way that your quiz answers (your input) might appear on the results page (as personalized information)?

   1. How should your answers and the results page relate?

   2. At a minimum, what should appear for you personally within the results?

4. Based on this draft of the results page – are you feeling like the quiz was worth your time taking it, or not so much? What makes you say that?

5. How likely are you to download the App, or use other resources on this page? What makes you say “yes”? What are reasons “no”?

6. How likely are you to take the quiz more than once? How come?

   1. If yes, what would you hope to get out of it? What would be different?

8. Let me go back to some specific text. What do you think of this line: “All five food groups as a whole are important for your health, now and in the future”?

   1. In your own words, what are they trying to say?

   2. In what ways is that reflected in the quiz you just took? What, if anything, seems a disconnect between the quiz and that statement?

      1. If not connecting, what could be added to get the idea across?

   3. PROBE AS TIME ALLOWS, HOW MUCH SPEAKING TO YOU: “ALL FIVE FOOD GROUPS;” “NOW AND THE FUTURE;” “YOUR HEALTH;” “OVER TIME”

   4. How much do you agree or disagree with the statement: “the combination of what you eat and drink today and over time matters; and making choices from all five food groups gives you the biggest nutrition boost”? What makes you agree or disagree?

      1. How much do you think about the combination of what you eat and drink or time?

      2. How important is that reminder to you, if at all?

9. It says “Start simple with these tips” – what do you think “start simple” means?

   1. How do you feel about that as an idea?

   2. How do you feel about it as a headline on the results page?

   3. Does it “go with” the other information on this page?

   4. PROBE AS TIME ALLOWS, IMPORTANCE OF: “SIMPLE,” “START NOW,” “EVERY LITTLE HEALTHY CHOICE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE”

10. What comes to mind when you read the phrase: “The simple changes you make today can have benefits now and help establish healthy habits for the future”?

    1. Do you agree or have a different take?

    2. What thoughts or emotions are prompted as you read the text?

    3. PROBE AS TIME ALLOWS, STRONGER MOTIVATOR: NEAR-TERM BENEFITS AND CHANGE VS. FUTURE BENEFITS AND HEALTH

Promoting the quiz (10 minutes)

[Objectives: Gather ideas for encouraging consumers to take and act on the quiz, including tying into the MyPlate app, and opportunities for continued use.]

1. As you know, this research is being conducted for USDA and the Food and Nutrition Service. I’m going to list a few things. Tell me if you have heard of any of them.

1. WIC or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children 

2. SNAP or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program

3. “MyPlate” – the MyPlate.gov website, the Start Simple with MyPlate app, the MyPlate tips or any related resource

2. How do you feel about a quiz, like the one we reviewed, being on the MyPlate.gov website?

1. Is that a good idea or bad idea? What makes you say that?

2. Does knowing it’s from USDA make you any more or less interested in the information?

3. Does it seem like the kind of thing you’d expect from USDA?

3. [ONLY ASK IF TIME; HAVE THE MY PLATE APP AVAILABLE ON LAPTOP OR PHONE TO USE AS VISUAL] One idea is to have the quiz syncing with the “Start Simple with MyPlate” app. Would you like that?

1. What makes that a good idea?

2. How does it help you reach your healthy eating goals?

3. Is that a big deal, or not so much?

4. MyPlate has an app called “Start Simple with MyPlate” that provides a way for users to set and track goals for eating foods in each food groups. If you were to learn that this quiz would be able to sync with the app, WRITE DOWN: On a 1-5 scale, 5 is the highest: How likely are to download the Start Simple with MyPlate app and sync your results?

4. [ONLY ASK IF TIME:] Quick question. At the top of the results page was the option to “log in” or “create an account.” What do you think about that?

1. EXPLANATION IF NEEDED: It’s an option to register your email address as a unique User ID, create a password, and create a personal profile. Then, with an account, you’re able to save quiz results to MyPlate.gov. Everything is saved in one place and secure.

2. Has anybody done that before? What makes it a good idea?

3. Any hesitations or reasons you could not create an account with USDA?

5. Would you recommend the quiz to family/friends/work colleagues?

   1. THOSE THAT SAID YES: Why?

   2. THOSE THAT SAID NO: Why not?

   3. In your own words, what would you tell people to get them excited about taking the quiz?

Wrap-Up (5minutes)

[Objectives: Take the temperature on coronavirus experience, and any implications for the 2020 dietary guidelines. Check with team for additional questions.]

1. Before I check with colleagues to see if they have any additional questions, let’s go back to your healthy eating goals.

   1. Put a check-mark next to the goals that will be assisted by the quiz.

2. Were your goals the same in the days before coronavirus?

   1. How, if at all, has COVID-19 changed your meals, shopping or opinions about healthful eating? MODERATOR CHECKS WITH BACK ROOM, RECORDING CONTINUES

   2. EXPLANATION IF NEEDED: I ask because the team at USDA recognizes COVID-19 has impacted so many aspects of day-to-day life, and wants to be sensitive to that in what it develops and provides as public education materials.

3. ASK ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BACK ROOM

Thank you for your time and opinions!

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0503-0024 and the expiration date is 04/30/2023. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated at 10 minutes per initial screening for non-qualifying participants, 15 minutes per initial screening for qualifying participants, 10 minutes per attendance for non-focus group participants, and 2.5 hours per attendance for focus group participants, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services, Braddock Metro Center II, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314, ATTN: PRA (0503-0024). Do not return the completed form to this address.

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