Information Collection Cover Sheet

Request for Approval under the “Fast Track Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine
Customer Feedback”
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:
CPSC Message Frame Testing Focus Groups
UPDATE:
Due to the Corona Virus, the focus groups for this project will be conducted on-line as opposed to
in-person. The number of respondents will be reduced from 64 to 54 and the burden hours will
decrease from 96 to 81 hours. Content of the focus group discussions will not change due to this
adjustment, as content that was going to be covered during worksheet activities has now been
incorporated into the discussion guide.
PURPOSE:
These focus groups will be conducted for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The primary purpose of these focus groups is to test warning label message frames to determine
which messaging approach resonates best with the target audience, which nuances resonate with
consumers most, and which message frames are most likely to influence the consumers; behavior,
before any refinements are made to existing warning label copy. Specific topic areas of interest
include which message frame has the most potential to influence safe product usage; what potential
unintended consequences might arise in the frames being tested; how clear, resonant, persuasive,
believable, and motivating each message frame is; which frames would change caregivers’
perceptions of safety messaging; and which frames would make caregivers more likely to adhere
to safety messaging or change their behavior. Findings from these focus groups will be used to
inform recommendations for warning label refinement and enhancement, which will eventually be
tested in an online survey.

BACKGROUND:
According to the 2017 Nursery Products Annual Report, 1 CPSC staff has received reported of a
total of 284 deaths—an annual average of 95 deaths—associated with nursery products for the 3year period from 2012 to 2014. Of these 284, sleep products account for about three-quarters of
the deaths (209 fatalities). Specifically:
• About 38 percent (109 total, or an annual average of 36) were associated with
cribs/mattresses.
• Bassinets/cradles accounted for 19 percent (53 total, or an annual average of 18) of the
reported deaths.
• Playpens/play yards were associated with 17 percent (a total of 47 or an annual average of
16) of the reported deaths.
An additional 12 percent of fatalities involved hand-held carriers and bouncer seats, often when
the infant fell asleep in the product.
1

https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Nursery-Products-Annual-Report-2017_0.pdf

1

From in-depth investigations into infant fatalities, CPSC staff is aware that infants (less than 12
months of age) sleep in many places, not all of them appropriate. In addition, new products are
frequently introduced into the market that, if used incorrectly, may put infants at risk of injury and
death.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: For the CPSC Message Frame Testing Focus Groups,
nine 90-minute on-line focus groups will be conducted with the following demographic
characteristics:
•

Two with parents of infants 2 through 5 months old.

•

Two with parents of infants 6 through 11 months old.

•

Two with grandparents of infants 2 through 5 months old.

•

Two with grandparents of infants 6 through 11 months old.

•

One with parents of infants 2 through 11 months old.

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:
To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

2

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 ($75)
Participants in the ethnographic intercept interviews will receive $20 for about 10 minutes
BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent

No. of Respondents

Participation Time

Burden

Focus Group Participants

54

90
minutes
participant

per 81
hours

90
minutes
participant

per 81 hours

Total

54

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $127,512.26.
Total estimated cost to the government for conducting the data collection is as follows:
Number of Participants
Total estimated cost of conducting interviews
Cost per completed Participant (includes $75 stipend)

54
127,512.26
2,361.34

This estimate is based on the total cost of the conducting the focus groups, divided by the specified
number of completed participants.
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
3

For the CPSC Message Frame Testing Focus Groups, the focus group facilities will recruit
parents and grandparents from their database via a phone screener to participate in the groups.
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? [ X ] Yes [ ] No
Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the
request.

4