Recall Messaging Focus Groups

March 20, 2023

The following package consists of documents that CPSC staff will submit for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of a focus group study to collect information regarding recall messaging. The documents were prepared by FINN under a contract that requires them to design and conduct the focus groups.

Request for Approval Under the Focus Group Generic Clearance
(OMB Control Number: xxxx-xxxx, Expiration date xx/xx/xxxx)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission Recall Messaging Focus Groups

PURPOSE:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will use an independent research firm, Widmeyer Communications, a FINN Partners company (FINN), to conduct recall messaging focus groups. The purpose of the CPSC recall messaging focus group task order is to evaluate consumer recognition of the agency’s recall messaging. The evaluation will include consumer comprehension of hazards and remedies, willingness of consumers to self-report injuries occurring in their homes, and to understand consumer’s willingness to change behavior when presented with recall information. The focus groups will seek to gain insight and understanding about the following:

• The effectiveness of CPSC recall messages (e.g., getting consumers’ attention and motivating them to respond)

• How CPSC's statements can be more effective and result in consumers taking action on recall information

• Barriers when responding to recalls

• Awareness of saferproducts.gov to report incidents

• Willingness to report incidents, as well as the barriers people encounter when reporting those incidents to CPSC

The results from this research will be used to inform CPSC’s recall message strategy moving forward.

BACKGROUND:

The Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972 established the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect consumers from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products. As part of its work, CPSC obtains the recall of products that pose an injury hazard to consumers. Such recalls typically offer consumers a refund or replacement to incentivize them to remove the recalled products from commerce or a repair for the product to eliminate the hazard. To inform people of the risks posed by recalled products and to explain to consumers how to participate in the recall, CPSC issues more than 200 recall news releases each year. The agency also informs and educates consumers directly and through traditional, online, and social media.

To assist with CPSC’s mission to protect consumers from consumer products that pose an unreasonable hazard, focus groups are an especially important methodology because they can reveal highly valuable insights from the agency’s target audiences, including:

1. How effective current messaging is at driving consumers to take action

2. How effective the current means and methods are for delivering those recall messages

3. Understanding the “why” behind consumers’ preferences on the recognition and willingness (or not) to report unsafe products and/or respond to messaging about recalled products.

4. Identifying new or additional means for effectively persuading consumers to participate in recalls?

HOW THE DATA WILL BE USED:

Based on the focus group findings, FINN will create a report, which will include specific recommendations that can help CPSC to:

• Improve its recall messaging, which can help encourage more people to respond to recalls, and to report incidents to CPSC

• Understand barriers to reporting product incidents and receiving remedies (refund, repair, replacement) to recalled products

• Understand barriers to conveying important safety information to Spanish speaking consumers who have limited English proficiency

• Enhance the means of reaching more people across targeted audiences and historically underserved communities with actionable information, which may include updating messaging in English and Spanish

• Update SaferProducts.gov with new information and messaging themes

Findings are not intended to be nationally representative.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The CPSC Recall Messaging Focus Groups will be conducted virtually and will consist of participants with various socioeconomic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, from regions across the U.S. Specifically, focus groups will include Spanish speaking and English speaking participants. All participants who are recruited for the focus groups will be at least 18 years old, and span a variety of education and income levels. Participants will be recruited from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, as well as the U.S. States.

To achieve a diverse selection of focus group participants FINN plans to use recruitment partners. Recruitment partners will provide a spreadsheet with potential candidates based on the screener parameters, which the FINN team will then review and either accept or reject to meet the socioeconomic and cultural diversity criteria.

The first criteria for being selected for the focus group is that the participant is found in the recruitment partner’s database.¹ (See additional information on the “customer list that defines the universe of potential respondents”.) Inclusion in the recruitment partner’s database is voluntary. Next, participants will be selected based upon language, age, gender, race and ethnicity, US location, household composition and household income, according to the table below.

	Groups 1-7	Groups 8-9
Number of Participants	9 (Recruit 11)	9 (Recruit 11)
Language	English	Spanish and English
Age	18+	18+
Gender	Mix targeting 4-5 male and 4-5 female participants per group, and some level of representation of those who self-identify at an aggregate level across all executed focus groups	Mix targeting 4-5 male and 4-5 female participants per group
Race/Ethnicity	Across all groups (totaling 63 participants) the target participant mix is approximately 35 white 10 Hispanic or Latino 10 Asian 8 Black At least 1 American Indian, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander	Hispanic, Latino or Spanish ethnicities (may include people of any race)
US Location	Mix targeting 1-3 participants each representing U.S. West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions	Mix targeting 1-3 participants each representing U.S. West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions
Household composition	Mix targeting at least 3-4 participants per group will be from a household with a child 18 years or younger	Mix targeting at least 3-4 participants per group will be from a household with a child 18 years or younger
Household Income	Mix targeting 4 under $50k, 4 $50-$100K, and 1 $100K+	Mix targeting 4 under $50k, 4 $50-$100K, and 1 $100K+

THE SELECTION OF TARGETED RESPONDENTS:

The focus group partners (Market-Ease and Fieldwork) will identify, screen and recruit participants; this process will be conducted remotely. Their initial outreach will be by email, and will include key qualifying questions from the focus group screener. Then they will be contacted by phone to answer all of the screening questions. The focus group partners will have at least one month to recruit a total of 81 people in order to seat nine participants in each of the nine focus groups.

• Each group will include a mix of consumers from diverse backgrounds including a mix of regions, race/ethnicity (except the groups conducted in a mix of Spanish and English), gender, and income groups. We do this so that we have a broad representation of thoughts and opinions.

• Seven focus groups will be conducted in English and two will be conducted in a mix of Spanish and English. We are separating the groups by language preferences to identify limited English proficiency as a potential factor in message recall.

• The focus groups will be conducted over a virtual platform and will be run by professionally-trained focus group moderators. The groups among Spanish speaking participants will be conducted by a professionally-trained Spanish speaking focus group moderator that will provide information to participants in English and Spanish, as needed.

DATA COLLECTION:

Gathering this research in both English and Spanish will provide necessary information to reach more targeted audiences and underserved populations with actionable information.

Stimuli will be shown in English and translated into Spanish for the Spanish and English focus groups. The selected stimuli will be examples of CPSC general messaging about product recall awareness, specific product recall alerts, and CPSC saferproducts.gov website content including an unsafe product reporting process.

Focus Group Number	Language	Virtual	Language of Stimuli
Focus Group 1	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 2	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 3	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 4	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 5	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 6	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 7	English	Virtual	English
Focus Group 8	Spanish and English	Virtual	English with Spanish translation
Focus Group 9	Spanish and English	Virtual	English with Spanish translation

CERTIFICATION:

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. Information gathered will not be used to substantially inform influential policy decisions.

5. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION:

Focus group participants will be informed that their participation is voluntary and that none of the participants will be specifically identified to the CPSC by their full name. To facilitate open conversations, individual’s first names will be used during the session and therefore may be recorded on audio and video. However, the audio and video recordings will not be released to the public.

Demographic information will be generalized in the final report and all of the responses in the final report will be deidentified so they cannot be attributed to any specific individual.

As the contractor for the focus groups, FINN will include specific guidance for the security and privacy of the participants and their contact information. Upon completion of the contract the Contractor will be required to return all previously provided databases and will provide documentation demonstrating that no other copies and references to the personal data of the potential and actual focus group participants are maintained. Upon approval of the final report, the Contractor will provide all copies of audio/video data collected for this contract.

All data collection and analysis will be performed in accordance with OMB standards and guidance, Privacy Act and Protection of Human Subject requirements.

Justification for Sensitive Questions:

The Recall Messaging Focus Groups will not pose any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, or matters commonly considered private.

GIFTS OR PAYMENTS:

An incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) will be provided to participants. We are proposing an incentive of $125 in the form of a digital prepaid debit card, for completing all aspects of participation.

We believe $125 for two hours of participation is appropriate. The incentive will both encourage participation, and also offset the opportunity cost of respondent participation in the focus group. Cancellations and no-shows are higher when offering a lower incentive. We understand that people’s time is valuable and that participants have competing demands for their time. Additionally, incentives help ensure that we can recruit respondents from a variety of backgrounds and that recruited participants show up on the stipulated date and time.

The burden of attending a focus group falls on the individual participant and requires individuals to coordinate their lives to attend, which may include securing child or other dependent care as well as deferring last-minute demands that may conflict with the focus group schedule. Incentives help ensure that individuals show up as promised and help protect against the potential cost of a canceled focus group due to no-shows or latecomers. In our experience, recruitment, and execution are much more efficient, thus more cost-effective overall, when participants are offered a sufficient incentive to participate.

In 2022, FINN conducted a series of 2-hour focus groups for CPSC (OMB control number 3041-0136) where the incentive amount paid to participants was between $150 and $175.

The incentive is based on the duration of the group, not the number of questions asked during each focus group as there will be slight variations in the number of questions between the English language and Spanish language discussion guides. Further, the discussion guide is only a guide and the moderator may make changes in how or how many questions are asked in order to capture the necessary information.

BURDEN HOURS

Category	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Focus Group Screening	736	5 minutes	61 hours and 20 minutes
Focus Group Participation	81 (9 respondents per each of the 9 focus groups)	120 minutes	162 hours
Total	736 (since the 81 in the first category are also included in the 736)	120 minutes for 81 participants 5 minutes for 736 screened non-participants	223 hours and 20 minutes

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $41.03 per hour worked in June 2022. Therefore, we estimate the cost of the burden of collection to be $9,163.23 ($41.03 per hour × 223.33 hours = $9,163.23).

The cost of burden was estimated based on the standard best practice that approximately 100 individuals would need to be recruited to secure 11 individuals who meet the screening criteria and are available for the focus group.

FEDERAL COST:

The total estimated annual cost to the federal government is $123,491.66

Total estimated cost to the government for conducting nine virtual groups is as follows:

Number of Participants 81

Total estimated cost of conducting focus group $123,491.66

This includes the cost for reviewing past recall communications and messaging, creating the discussion guide and screener criteria, recruitment, incentives for participants, virtual focus group hosting, moderation, focus group transcripts, analysis and a full final report. We do not anticipate any travel, shipping, or printing costs since we will conduct the groups virtually.

The selection of 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 describe both below (or attach the sampling plan). If the answer is no, please describe how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them.

FINN is working with two partner firms, Market Ease and Fieldwork, to conduct recruitment for the focus groups. The focus group facilities will recruit people to participate in the groups from their database via an email and phone screener. Fieldwork, FINN’s recruitment partner for the English language-only groups, maintains a pool of approximately 200,000 potential candidates within their recruitment database, which they would leverage for recruitment for this study. They recruit through social media and word of mouth, and their database is regularly repopulated as they are constantly running ads on social media. The respondents also have access to their recruiting profile in the database and can update their data at any time. The vendors are not able to share the demographic breakdown within their database, but they do have a strong database within every major metro area. The vendors have respondents identified by their occupation, as well as diverse ethnic backgrounds, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

FINN’s partner for the Spanish and English language focus groups, Market-Ease, specializes in the Hispanic and Latino market and has a database that has been in existence since 1996. They use many factors to populate the database including online websites and social media (in English and Spanish language) where respondents are able to sign up for their database. Upon doing so, their team calls the respondents and vets them thoroughly.

Market research facilities will have at least one month to recruit 81 participants to seat nine participants per focus group. All participants who are recruited for these focus groups will be at least 18 years old. Participants will vary according to level of educational attainment, race/ethnicity (except the groups conducted in a mix of Spanish and English), gender, and income levels. Throughout the recruitment process, FINN will evaluate the list of scheduled participants daily to adjust for any demographic over- or under-sampling.

Given the qualitative nature of this study, soft quotas are not meant to be nationally representative. Furthermore, the opinions and perceptions of selected focus group participants cannot be generalized to the U.S. population, broadly. Despite the targeting of populations of interest, subgroups may be under-represented.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply.)

[X] Web-based or other forms of social media

[X] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

COVID-19 PROCEDURES:

FINN Partners has safety protocols in place which aim to protect the safety of their employees, participants, and their families. FINN Partners protocol follows CDC guidance for COVID-19.

Safety strategies used to protect FINN Partners staff working in the office include use of hand sanitizer, wearing masks, and socially distancing when appropriate. All focus groups will be conducted virtually.

OMB Control No: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

RECRUITMENT SCREENERS

Recall Messaging Consumer Focus Groups

Initiative	Research Goal	Research Design
CPSC Recall Messaging Consumer Focus Groups	Gauge the effectiveness of CPSC recall messages (e.g., getting consumers’ attention, motivating them to respond). Guide how CPSC's messages can be more effective and result in consumers taking action on recall information. Understand the barriers that may prevent people from following the recommended actions in response to product recalls. Assess the awareness of saferproducts.gov as a way to report incidents. Gauge people’s willingness to report incidents, and understand the barriers that may interfere with reporting those incidents to CPSC.	Host nine (9) focus groups; each will last two hours: Groups 1-7: 9 U.S. consumers, aged 18+; conducted in English only Groups 8-9: 9 U.S. consumers, aged 18+; conducted in a mix of Spanish and English Focus group participants will include people who represent diversity in the U.S. population, including African Americans, Hispanics, the Indigenous, the underserved, and others in different regions of the U.S. Seven group conversations will be conducted in English only and two group conversations will be conducted in a mix of Spanish and English. Participants will not be screened for knowledge of CPSC.

	Groups 1-7	Groups 8-9
Number of Participants	9 (Recruit 11)	9 (Recruit 11)
Language	English	Spanish and English
Age	18+	18+
Gender	Mix targeting 4-5 male and 4-5 female participants per group, and some level of representation of those who self-identify at an aggregate level across all executed focus groups	Mix targeting 4-5 male and 4-5 female participants per group
Race/Ethnicity	Across all groups (totaling 63 participants) the target participant mix is approximately 35 white 10 Hispanic or Latino 10 Asian 8 Black At least 1 American Indian, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander	Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish ethnicities (may include people of any race)
US Location	Mix targeting 1-3 participants each representing U.S. West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions	Mix targeting 1-3 participants each representing U.S. West Coast, Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions
Household composition	Mix targeting at least 3-4 participants per group will be from a household with a child 18 years or younger	Mix: At least 3-4 participants per group will be from a household with a child 18 years or younger
Household Income	Mix targeting 4 under $50k, 4 $50-$100K, and 1 $100K+	Mix targeting 4 under $50k, 4 $50-$100K, and 1 $100K+

Screener

Note for approval: This process will be conducted remotely. The initial outreach will be by email and will include key qualifying questions from this screener. Then the vendor will contact participants that screen through the initial questions by phone to answer all of the remaining screening questions. The screening will be conducted in both Spanish and English.

Hello, I work for a national market research recruiting firm. We are recruiting individuals to participate in online focus groups that will last about two hours. As a thank you for participating in the study, participants will receive $125 via digital prepaid debit card. In order to determine if you meet the criteria for the study, we are asking you to answer a series of questions about yourself.

1. Are you…?

   1. Male

   2. Female

   3. Other

   4. Prefer not to answer Terminate

2. Which of the following best describes you? Please select all that apply.

   1. White

   2. Black/African American

   3. Asian

   4. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander

   5. American Indian/Alaska Native

   6. Other

   7. Prefer not to answer Terminate

3. Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Prefer not to answer Terminate

4. [If Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin] Are you a native Spanish speaker?

   1. Yes

   2. No

5. [If Yes to Q4] Do you read, write, and speak more in Spanish than English?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Don’t know

6. [If Yes to Q5] Focus groups will be held in either English or in a mix of Spanish and English. Which language would you prefer to participate in?

   1. English only [Qualify for Groups 1-7]

   2. A mix of Spanish and English [Qualify for Groups 8-9]

7. In which state or territory do you permanently reside?

Drop-down list of all 50 states plus Washington DC and US territories

8. Into which category does your age fall?

   1. Under 18 Terminate

   2. 18-24

   3. 25-34

   4. 35-44

   5. 45-54

   6. 55-65

   7. 66+

9. In which of the following ranges does your total annual household income fall, before taxes?

   1. Under $50,000

   2. Between $50,000 - $100,000

   3. More than $100,000

   4. Prefer not to answer Terminate

10. What is the highest level of schooling that you have completed?

    1. 1-12th grade - no diploma

    2. High school graduate or equivalent (GED)

    3. Some college but no degree

    4. 2-year college graduate/associate’s degree

    5. 4-year college graduate/bachelor’s degree

    6. Vocational or technical school

    7. Graduate school/advanced degree

    8. Doctorate

    9. Prefer not to answer Terminate

11. Do you have any children under the age of 18 living at home?

    1. Yes

    2. No

12. Do you or anyone else in your household work in any of the following areas?

    1. Market research Terminate

    2. Advertising Terminate

    3. Public relations or media Terminate

###

[CONFIRMATION LETTER]

OMB Control No: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

Dear [INSERT NAME],

Thank you for agreeing to participate in our upcoming research project regarding recall messaging! Currently you are scheduled for an online interview using Zoom. This interview requires you to be in front of a desktop/laptop computer, with a strong internet connection, while being on the phone. Please note a smartphone or tablet will NOT show the materials correctly, you MUST use a computer.

IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION INFORMATION:

Prior to your research session, you will need to do the following:

1. Install the Zoom software, Zoom Client for Meetings app on https://zoom.us/download rather than joining the meeting from your browser.

2. Test the Zoom software using the following test link: https://zoom.us/test.

3. VERY IMPORTANT: Prior to your participation in the study you must read, agree to and sign a research participation consent form.  This form will need to be signed in order for you to participate and receive your incentive. You must complete this NDA via DocuSign no later than 24-48 hours of receiving it (it may have already been sent to you). If we do not receive your signed consent form in a timely manner and we do not hear from you, we may need to cancel you from this study and find a replacement. If you have any questions at all, please give us a call at 847-983-7900 and ask to speak with Val.

Session Information:

Date: [INSERT SESSION DATE]

Time: [INSERT RESPONDENTS TIME/ TIME ZONE]

Length: 2 hours

Honorarium: $125.00 via digital prepaid debit card to be sent upon full completion and participation of all activities/tasks of the project. See the ‘Incentive Information’ paragraphs below for more incentive information.

Incentive Information:

Here are some helpful tips regarding your incentive –

• For the most efficient service, email our Incentives Team at XXX with any questions. 

• Allow up to XXX weeks after your participation to receive your incentive redemption email

• We recommend adding [email protected] to your email contacts so that the incentive code email does not go to your spam.

• Your payment will be delivered via email with instructions for claiming your Digital Prepaid Mastercard®. You must claim your card within 3 months from the date these instructions are sent via email. If you do not claim your card within that time frame, a virtual prepaid card will be generated for you, which will be accessible through the original payment email link.

• Please pay close attention to the valid through date on your redemption code. This is not a gift card, rather it is a prepaid card and therefore subject to expiration.

• Once you receive this email, you will be given a few redemption options;

4. Redeem for a Virtual reward card which allows you to make purchases immediately online (a value of $125)

5. A Physical Reward card mailed to the address you provide (a value of $119.05, which includes a $5.95 transfer fee)

Redemption must be done using a computer and will not work from a mobile device or tablet

• Use your Digital Prepaid Mastercard® anywhere Mastercard® debit cards are accepted in the U.S. The card may not be used at any merchant, including internet and mail or telephone order merchants, outside of the U.S. Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard® U.S.A. Inc. Your use of the prepaid card is governed by the Cardholder Agreement, and some fees may apply. This is not a gift card. Please note that prepaid cards are subject to expiration, so pay close attention to the expiration date of the card.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR LIVE SESSION:

For the session, please be aware of the following:

• Choose a quiet, indoor environment (not a vehicle or public space) with internet access with little to no background noise or interruptions (i.e., pets, infants). Any background noise or activity can impact your ability to contribute fully and may interfere with others participating in on the call. If you have any questions leading up to the day of your session please do not hesitate to contact one of my supervisors, xxx for the xxx study at 888-863-4353.

• If using a smartphone for the audio, have it fully charged and ready-to-use

  • Please use a headset or earbuds with your smartphone, if possible

• Have your desktop/laptop turned on and plugged-in to a power source, with high-speed internet connection active, and your browser loaded

  • The desktop/laptop you use must have a standard mouse or trackpad

  • The desktop/laptop you use must have speakers and a microphone or a working headset that can be used for audio

  • You cannot use a smartphone or tablet device for the online session for this research session

• Please plan to login 5-10 minutes prior to the start of your session.  

If you have issues logging into Zoom or if you are running late or need to reschedule for any reason, please contact [INSERT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER].

1. Go to: [Insert Session Link]

2. Follow the prompt on screen to “open.zoom.us”. Note: please make sure that you are joining the meeting from the Zoom app that you have downloaded and not from your browser.

3. Enter your first name and last initial ONLY; do not use your full name.

4. Click “computer audio” and “join audio conference by computer” when the audio connection box opens.

If you cannot join by computer audio or you are having trouble with your computer audio, click on the arrow beside the ‘mute’ button on the bottom left-hand corner of your screen and click “leave computer audio”. Then click “join audio” on the bottom left-hand corner of your screen and click “phone call” on the audio connection tab. Follow the instructions to dial into the meeting via your phone. Note: there are two available dial-in numbers; it doesn’t matter which one you decide to use.

5. You are now in the meeting.

6. Once you are in the meeting, please expand the menu to the right of the Mute/Unmute button (see picture below) and click on Test Speaker & Microphone. Once you click, please follow the prompts.

7. DO NOT turn-on your video camera unless specifically instructed for your research session.

8. If you see the 'Host is in another meeting' message because the moderator has not logged in, please stay online as the moderator will be there shortly.

CONFIRMATION/VALIDATION INFORMATION:

A representative for our Fieldwork office will be calling you a few days prior to your study to confirm your attendance and to re-screen you per our quality control procedures. If you do not answer, we will leave you a message with each call. Your attention to our phone calls is greatly appreciated. Should an emergency arise that would prohibit you from attending, please contact us as soon as possible so that we may fill your spot.

Thank you,

Fieldwork National Recruiting Center

Ref ####NRC21

Your voluntary participation in market research with Fieldwork constitutes an Independent Contractor relationship, not an Employment relationship.

OMB Control No: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

FIELDWORK _________ SIGN-IN SHEET

Please read and sign this sheet before you are interviewed

We’re pleased you have accepted our invitation to participate. 

 

You will be interviewed regarding a number of topics of interest to our clients – who have engaged us to host this session.  The entire interview will likely be: 

 Observed (sight and sound); either locally from an adjacent room with a one-way mirror, remotely by way of non-public, electronic media, or both.  Observers may include our clients, their agents and guests. 

• Recorded (audio and video).  The recording will be the property of our clients and will be theirs to use as they see fit.  They will not, however, use your voice or image in any public media without your written consent. 

 

In return for your voluntary participation in this research, you will be reimbursed.  This relationship constitutes an Independent Contractor relationship, not an Employment relationship.  Any ideas you express during the interview become the property of our clients to use without restriction for which no further reimbursement is owed to you. 

 
Since your opinions, observations, reactions, etc. are the reason for conducting this interview, we hope that you will participate fully in the process.  You should know, however, that you are under no obligation to do or say anything during the interview.  If you choose not to respond to a line of questioning, not to partake in a given activity (e.g., tasting a test product) or not to volunteer certain information, that is your prerogative. 

 

You acknowledge that the session you will be participating in is confidential in nature and you agree not to disclose any information concerning this session or use it after the session. 

 

You further acknowledge that pursuant to Fieldwork’s privacy policy, we will not sell, distribute, or otherwise release personally identifiable information we collect to our clients unless it is a necessary component of this research project. 

If you have provided your wireless phone number to Fieldwork you agree that Fieldwork and its clients may call and send text messages for project related purposes.  You may revoke your consent at any time. 

 

By signing this document, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the above and that you waive and release any claim you may have against Fieldwork and its clients, owners, agents, affiliates, employees and managers arising out of your voluntary participation in an interview including contraction of the coronavirus. 

 

_______________________________ 

Sign 

 

_______________________________ 

Print Name 

 

_______________________________ 

Date 

OMB Control No: xxxx-xxxx

Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

MODERATION GUIDE

Recall Messaging Consumers Focus Groups

Moderation Guide

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Welcome and thank you for joining us tonight. My name is X. I have been brought in today as an independent moderator to guide tonight’s discussion. I’m here to facilitate a conversation from a neutral perspective and am just interested in your open and honest feedback.

• Rules for discussion

  • We’re here for 2 hours and have a lot to cover.

  • Want to hear from everyone in the room. This is a free-flowing conversation; I may ask you if I haven’t heard from you. If we have different perspectives, let’s discuss them one at a time. There are no right or wrong answers.

  • No cell phones, please no side conversations, one person speaks at a time.

• This session will be recorded. Everything you say will remain anonymous. Nothing you say will be tied back to your name. Only your first name appears and will NOT appear in any public reports.

• Let’s get started. Let’s go around and say:

• First name

• Where you are from.

• One thing you like to do for fun.

2. Product Recalls (10 minutes) Moderation Note: The moderator will adapt/adjust the language to be simpler, more casual, and more conversational when facilitating the discussion.

1. To begin, I would like to ask about product recalls. As you may know, product recalls are when the manufacturer of a product requests to discontinue the use of a specific product, or asks you to take some other action with the product, due to potential safety concerns. . For this conversation, we are not discussing recalls related to either food or automobiles. What is the last product recall you remember hearing about? Please write down the most recent recall message that you remember and tell me about it. Let’s go around the room.

   1. Where did you first hear about this recall?

      1. Television news

      2. Digital platforms: Social media, email, online, podcasts, etc.

      3. Print: Newspapers, magazines, etc.

      4. Word of mouth: Friends and family

      5. Directly from manufacturer

   2. What was the source of the recall?

      1. The manufacturer

      2. A government agency

      3. Announcement made jointly

2. How did you feel when you heard about it? Why?

   1. Concern versus dismissiveness?

3. Have you ever taken action because of a product recall?

   1. Did you share news of this recall with others? If so, how?

   2. Did you return, repair, replace or discontinue use of the product?

   3. Did you do what the recall announcement asked you to do, or something else (e.g., discard instead of repair)?

3. CPSC and Recall Awareness (10 minutes)

4. What is your understanding of how a product recall works?

   1. Who is involved and at what stages?

5. Is anyone familiar with the organization CPSC? Please raise your hand if you are familiar with CPSC. Record the number of participants familiar.

   1. Can you tell me what CPSC stands for?

   2. What does CPSC do?

6. CPSC is the Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC is a federal agency that was established to protect consumers from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, connected devices, ATVs, and household chemicals. Have you ever heard about the Consumer Product Safety Commission?

   1. If so, where did you hear about them?

7. Have you ever heard of saferproducts.gov?

   1. If so, what do you know about this website?

   2. How did you become aware of the website?

4. Willingness and Barriers to Report Incidents (40 minutes)

8. Imagine you experienced an issue with a product that presents a safety risk - for example, a kitchen appliance that could break and cut you, or a baby toy that presented a choking hazard. How would you respond?

Probe

1. Stop using the product

2. Tell friends or family who may use the product

3. Report to the company that made the product

4. Report to the store where you bought the product

5. Report to a government authority or to saferproducts.gov

6. Report to local news or local authorities

9. If you would report this incident;

   1. How (i.e., via what channel)?

   2. When (i.e., at what point in time after experiencing the issue)?

10. Moderation Note: The Moderators will review the process as part of their preparation to be familiar with the interface, the order of information requested, and what information is required. (See Stimuli, Steps to Reporting an Unsafe Product.)
    Spanish Language Moderation Note: the moderator will translate the stimuli text example.
    Exercise: Now, I am going to share on my screen some of the information required to report an unsafe product on saferproducts.gov. The report consists of four sections, however before you begin, you are directed to select who you are before you can complete the report.

    1. Step 1: Let’s first look at Step 1. This step asks for information about the unsafe incident.

       1. Would you be willing to provide this information?

       2. Would these prompts discourage you from reporting?

    2. Step 2: Now let’s look at Step 2: This step asks for further information about the product.

       1. Do you know how to identify this information?

       2. Would you be willing to provide this information?

       3. Would these prompts discourage you from reporting?

    3. Step 3: Step 3 asks about the harm caused.

       1. Would you be willing to provide this information?

       2. Would these prompts discourage you from reporting?

    4. Step 4: Lastly, step 4 asks for some of your personal information.

       1. Would you be willing to provide this information?

       2. Would these prompts discourage you from reporting?

11. For Spanish language groups only. The saferproducts.gov website is in English. Would you be more willing to report an unsafe product if the website was available in Spanish?

    1. Why?

12. What factors would influence your decision about whether or not to report a product issue in this scenario?

13. How do different elements factor into that decision;

Probe

1. Severity of risk

2. How often you use the product

3. Type of product

4. Who is at risk (e.g., yourself, a child, the elderly, etc.)

5. Cost of the product

6. Potential to receive a refund, repair or replacement and the logistics related to these actions

7. Whether you already have a replacement or alternative product that performs the same function

8. Ease of contacting the company, authority, etc.

14. And now imagine you discovered there is an existing recall for this product. Would you take any of the following actions?

Probe

1. Tell friends or family who may use the product

2. Discontinue use of the product

3. Seek out a return, repair, or replacement

4. Report to the company who made the product

5. Report to the store you bought the product

6. Report to local news or local authorities

15. What factors would influence your decision about whether or not to take action on an existing product recall in this scenario?

16. How do different elements factor into that decision? Does your answer change depending on whom you report it to?

Probe

1. Severity of risk

2. How often you use the product

3. Type of product

4. Who is at risk (e.g., yourself, a child, the elderly, etc.)

5. Cost of the product

6. Potential to receive a refund, repair or replacement

7. Whether you already have a replacement or alternative product that performs the same function

8. Ease of contacting the company, authority, etc.

17. How would the ease of communicating that information impact your decision of whether or not to report?

    1. Would you be more likely to report if you had the reporting information handy?

    2. Would you be more likely to report if you could do so through a specific channel? What channel?

5. Recall Communication (15 minutes)

18. Do you currently receive any product recall information or notices?

    1. Through what channels?

19. On a scale of 1-5, how interested are you in receiving regular product recall notices and information generally, which may or may not include products that you own, with 1 being not at all interested and 5 being very interested. Let’s go around the room.

    1. How come?

20. How would you most like to receive this general recall information?

    1. Probe: email, phone call, social media, news, etc.

21. Are you interested in receiving recall notifications or information directly from manufacturers regarding products that you have purchased?

    1. Why or why not?

    2. What would encourage you to do so?

    3. What level of effort would you put forth to get this information?

    4. Would you sign up for alerts upon purchasing products (such as through a product registration card or online registration)?

22. How would you most like to receive this specific recall information?

    1. Probe: email, phone call, social media, news, etc.

23. What sources would you most want product recall information to come from?

    1. Probe: the manufacturer, a government agency.

    2. What sources would you trust more than others? Why?

24. Would you engage with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on social media channels, such as following them or interacting with their posts, in order to stay up to date on product recalls and other consumer safety information?

    1. Why or why not?

25. What channels would you engage with CPSC on? Why?

    1. Website

    2. Facebook

    3. Twitter

    4. Instagram

26. Now I’d like to ask about what would catch your attention when it comes to product recalls. Thinking specifically about product recall information, how do you feel that information can be best communicated?

    1. To start, what should it look like?

    2. What should the tone of the communication be? Serious, straightforward, alarming, cautious, calm, etc.

27. In general, the following information is included in a product recall notice. What else might be lacking? What information would motivate you to respond to the recall?

    1. Information regarding the specific risk presented

    2. Information regarding the number and severity of injuries or deaths

    3. A call to action on what consumers should do
       
       

28. For Spanish language groups only: Would you be more willing to engage or act on a product recall if it is presented to you in Spanish?

29. Is there anything else about a product recall message that you feel would ultimately influence your decision on whether or not to take action?

6. General Messaging Stimuli (30 minutes) (Note: The stimuli, once approved, will be rotated to eliminate sorting bias and will not be labeled for group participants)

30. Now, I am going to share some examples of CPSC messaging about how to stay educated about product safety and reporting unsafe products on the screen and get everyone’s reaction to this messaging. Spanish language groups only: The examples are in English. First, I will show you them in English and ask for your reaction. Next, I will translate the text and ask for your reaction.

31. Share stimuli A. This is a Twitter post shared by CPSC on its Twitter handle. Allow respondents to read.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. Would this encourage you to take action?

32. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

33. Share stimuli B. This is a Twitter post shared by CPSC on its Twitter handle. Allow respondents to read.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. Would this encourage you to take action?

34. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

35. Share stimuli C. This is a CPSC poster. Allow respondents to read.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. Would this encourage you to take action?

36. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

37. Of the three messages we just viewed, which one do you feel would be most effective in encouraging consumers to take action regarding product safety?

    1. How come?

38. Did these messages make you think about product safety differently?

    1. As you can see, these messages are from CPSC. Does that impact how you view them?

39. For Spanish language groups only: Overall, would you be more willing to take action on this type of messaging if it was in Spanish?

40. Now, I want to share some examples of how specific product recalls are shared with consumers and get everyone’s reaction. Share stimuli D - YouTube Video. Disclaimer prior to the video being shown: This is a graphic video with imagery of a child who is hurt so please know you have the option to not view the video. This is a news segment from the Today Show covering a product recall. I am going to show you the whole video. Allow respondents to watch the video. Spanish language groups only: The examples are in English. First, I will show you them in English and ask for your reaction. Next, I will translate it into Spanish and ask for your reaction.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. If you owned the product, would this cause you to take action?

41. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

42. Share stimuli E - CPSC Website (Moderator will share screen with live website and scroll through the full example). Moderator Note: Avoid discussing elements of the website design or layout. Focus on the content, messaging, and overall efficacy at driving action. This is a product recall announcement published on the CPSC.gov website. It takes about one minute to read the information contained on the web page, which includes information about the recalled product, the issue with the product, links to consumer contact information for the manufacturer, and links to related product recalls. Allow respondents to read.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. If you owned the product, would this cause you to take action?

43. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

44. Share stimuli F - Twitter Post. This is a Twitter post shared by CPSC about a recalled product. Allow respondents to read.

    1. What are your initial reactions to this?

    2. What do you like about it? What resonates with you?

    3. What don’t you like as much?

    4. Is it the right tone?

    5. Does it share the right information?

    6. If you owned the product, would this cause you to take action?

45. Spanish language groups only: Now that you’ve heard this in Spanish, does it change your reaction?

    1. How?

    2. Why?

46. Of the recall messages we just viewed, which one do you feel would have the largest impact on protecting consumer safety?

    1. Why?

    2. Probe: how does the format impact the effectiveness of the messaging?

47. For Spanish language groups only: Overall, would you be more willing to take action on this type of messaging if it was in Spanish?

7. Closing (5 minutes)

48. What is something you learned tonight that you hadn’t considered previously?

That concludes tonight’s session. Thank you for your time.

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Stimuli

1 Opportunity sampling is a type of non-probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close to hand.

1