Focus Group Study of Youth Reactions to Creative Advertising Concepts Designed to Reduce Tobacco Use

EXPERIMENTER PHASE 1 RESEARCH – Screener OMB# 0910-0674

CREATIVE CONCEPT RESEARCH: EXPERIMENTER GROUP

SCREENER

Respondent’s name: Email address:

___________________________________ _____________________________

Street address: Mobile phone:

___________________________________ _____________________________

___________________________________ Home phone:

_____________________________

___________________________________

Recruited for session number: Recruiter:

___________________________________ _____________________________

Hello, is this the [INSERT LAST NAME] household? May I please speak to the head of the household?

[CONTINUE]

My name is _______________ and I’m with TRU/TFC, a national research organization. I’m calling to find children willing to participate in group discussions for a research project. The research is on tobacco use and prevention. Today I am contacting households in your area and would like to include your opinions. We will be conducting group-discussion interviews in your area in [MARKET] on [DATES], and if a member of your household qualifies, we would like to ask him/her to participate. Please be assured that this research does not involve sales of any kind. We are just interested in your opinions.

[CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE NOW SPEAKING WITH PARENT/GUARDIAN AND REPEAT INTRO]

1. For today’s survey, we need to talk to households with children. Do you have any children aged 12 to 17 living in your household?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

I understand you have a child within the ages of 12 – 17 living in the home. We are looking to recruit a diverse group of participants between the ages of 12 – 17 for this study. May I ask you some questions to assess your child’s eligibility to participate in the study?

Before I get started, I just want to remind you that there will be no attempt to sell your or your child anything. Any information we gather will be used for research purposes only and kept private to the extent allowable by law. All personal information, including information collected during screening will be kept for a minimum of three years and stored on a password-protected computer or a locked cabinet, which are accessed only by limited study personal. Upon completion of the study, all personal information will be destroyed either by the secure shredding of documents or the permanent deletion of electronic information.

2. Do you or does anyone in your immediate family work (currently or in the past) for any of the following?

	YES	NO
A manufacturer, distributor or retailer of toys and/or games	( )	( )
An advertising agency	( )	( )
The motion picture industry	( )	( )
Television, radio or other media	( )	( )
A marketing or market research firm or department	( )	( )
The music industry	( )	( )
A manufacturer, distributor or retailer of tobacco products	( )	( )
The federal government or a federal government agency	( _ )	( _ )

[THANK AND END IF MARKED IN ANY SHADED BOX ABOVE.]

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3. What is the gender, age and the grade in school they attended in the 2012-2013 school year for each child aged 12 to 17 living in your household?

GENDER	AGE	GRADE
M / F
M / F
M / F
M / F

[IF MORE THAN ONE CHILD 12 – 17, CHECK QUOTAS TO IDENTIFY WHICH CHILD IS APPLICABLE]

• RECRUIT SIXTEEN INCOMING 8^TH GRADERS

• RECRUIT SIXTEEN INCOMING 9^TH GRADERS.

• RECRUIT SIXTEEN INCOMING 10^TH GRADERS

• RECRUIT SIXTEEN INCOMING 11^TH GRADERS.

4. What is the name of your [SON/DAUGHTER] who is in the [SELECTED] grade?

_________________________________________________________________

[INSERT YOUTH’S NAME WHERE APPLICABLE FOR ALL QUESTIONS LISTED BELOW.]

5. Which of the following statements would you say best describes [INSERT YOUTH’S NAME] when talking with other people in a group setting? Does [HE/SHE]…

…tend to be open, outgoing and willing to talk OR	( )	[CONTINUE]
…tend to be very shy or reserved?	( )	[THANK AND END]

6. Just for the purposes of grouping the answers different people give us, I’d like to ask you some more general questions about your [INSERT YOUTH'S NAME]. I’m going to ask how you and other people might describe your child in some specific areas. For each statement, please tell me if your [SON/DAUGHTER] would be described as average, above average or well above average.

[READ STATEMENTS, “X” ANSWER UNDER APPROPRIATE COLUMN BELOW]

	Average	Above Average	Well Above Average
How would you describe your [SON’S/DAUGHTER’S] imagination?	( )	( )	( )
How would you describe your [SON’S/DAUGHTER’S] willingness to speak up and give [HIS/HER] opinions in front of people [HE/SHE] doesn’t know?	( )	( )	( )

[MUST INDICATE “WELL ABOVE AVERAGE” OR “ABOVE AVERAGE” TO THE TWO STATEMENTS OTHERWISE, THANK AND END INTERVIEW.]

7. I'd like to speak to [INSERT YOUTH'S NAME] to assess [HIS/HER] interest in participating in this study about tobacco use and prevention; is [HE/SHE] available to talk right now? [IF YOUTH IS NOT HOME, ASK WHEN YOU COULD CALL BACK.]

DATE: _______________

CALL BACK TIME: _______________

[WHEN YOUTH COMES TO THE PHONE, BE SURE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF FIRST AND THANK HIM/HER FOR TALKING WITH YOU.]

My name is ____________ and I’m with TRU/TFC, a national research organization. I’m conducting a survey and would like to include your opinions and potentially invite you to be a paid participant in a research project. The research is on tobacco use and prevention. Before we begin, I just spoke with your [PARENT/GUARDIAN] and they said it would be okay if I ask you a few questions to see if you qualify to take part. All of your answers will be kept private to the extent allowable by law and will not be shared with your [PARENT/GUARDIAN]. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions I’m going to ask you. You also don’t have to answer any questions if you don’t want to. If an answer leads to me ending the call, this doesn’t mean that there was anything wrong with the answer you provided. May I ask you a few questions?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

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8. First, have you ever participated in a market research study where you’ve been asked to come to a research office and discuss your opinions of products or advertising before?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[SKIP TO Q.12]

9. When was the last time you participated in one of these research studies? [DO NOT READ LIST]

Within the past six months	( )	[THANK AND END]
More than six months ago	( )	[CONTINUE]

10. Thinking back, how many market research studies have you participated in over the past three years? [DO NOT READ LIST]

Two or fewer	( )	[CONTINUE]
More than two	( )	[THANK AND END]

11. What did you talk about/discuss in that/those research group(s)?

[IF RESPONDENT EVER DID ANY TYPE OF TOBACCO OR ADVERTISING/PROGRAMS TO GET YOUTH NOT TO SMOKE, THANK AND END INTERVIEW.]

12. For our study, we need to speak to people of different ethnic backgrounds. Which of the following ethnic backgrounds do you consider yourself? Pick all that apply. [READ LIST]

Hispanic / Latino	( )
African American	( )
White / Caucasian	( )
Asian American	( )
Other	( )

A few of the questions I am going to ask you will focus on your opinions and experience with tobacco. I am asking these questions of people in your area because we are looking to get some opinions about tobacco firsthand from people in your age group. It is important for you to know that all of your answers will be kept private and will not be shared with anyone you know. For example, information you share about your tobacco-related attitudes, beliefs and behaviors will not be shared with your [PARENT/GUARDIAN]. So please answer the following questions honestly.

13. About how many cigarettes have you smoked in your entire life? You can answer using the letters
    A – H [READ LIST; RECORD ONE RESPONSE]

A. I have never smoked cigarettes, not even one or two puffs.	( )	[RESPONDENTS MUST HAVE A CHECK IN THE SHADED AREA TO CONTINUE, OTHERWISE THANK AND END INTERVIEW]
B. 1 or more puffs but never a whole cigarette.	( )
C. 1 cigarette.	( )
D. 2 to 5 cigarettes.	( )
E. 6 to 15 cigarettes (about half a pack total).	( )
F. 16 to 25 cigarettes (about 1 pack total).	( )
G. 26 to 99 cigarettes (more than 1 pack, but less than 5 packs).	( )
H. 100 or more cigarettes (5 or more packs).	( )

14. Have you ever smoked a menthol cigarette?

Yes (menthol)	( )	[CONTINUE]
No (non-menthol)	( )	[CONTINUE]
Don’t know	( )	[CONTINUE]

[CHECK QUOTAS; RECRUIT AS APPROPRIATE FOR MENTHOL GROUPS]

15. Now I am going to ask three questions and I would like you to answer each one by saying either definitely yes, probably yes, maybe, probably no, or definitely no.

	Definitely Yes	Probably Yes	Maybe	Probably No	Definitely No
Do you think that you might smoke a cigarette again?	( )	( )	( )	( )	( )
Do you think that you might smoke a cigarette again in the next 30 days?	( )	( )	( )	( )	( )
If one of your best friends offered you a cigarette, would you smoke it?	( )	( )	( )	( )	( )

[RESPONDENT MUST HAVE AT LEAST 2 CHECKS IN THE SHADED AREA IN ORDER TO CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, THANK AND END INTERVIEW.]

16. I am going to read you another statement and want you to tell me whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement.

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I think of myself as being anti-smoking, meaning I’m totally against smoking and anything doing with tobacco.	( )	( )	( )	( )	( )

[RESPONDENT MUST HAVE A CHECK IN THE SHADED AREA TO CONTINUE. OTHERWISE, THANK AND END INTERVIEW.]

17. As you can tell from the questions I’ve been asking, the subject matter of this research is somewhat personal. Would you be comfortable about your thoughts regarding tobacco in a small discussion group of other youth your age led by an adult moderator?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

[THE NEXT QUESTIONS WILL BE USED TO ESTABLISH ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ARTICULATENESS. RECORD RESPONSES VERBATIM. IF RESPONDENT OFFERS ONLY EXTREMELY BRIEF ANSWERS, THANK AND END INTERVIEW. IF OPEN AND TALKATIVE—MEANING RESPONDENT GIVES AT LEAST ONE COMPLETE SENTENCE OF A MINIMUM OF 9 WORDS—CONTINUE.]

18. Now I’d like to hear your opinions about some other things. What commercial would you consider your favorite commercial? What is it about this commercial that gets your attention when it comes on TV? Why?

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19. We’re conducting group discussions with people your age in your area on [DATE] and would like to invite you to participate. You may be part of a discussion and asked to talk and share what you think about tobacco in a small group of other people your age. The discussion will be led by an adult moderator. You will be at the research facility for about 90 minutes. You need to know that not all of the people recruited to come to the research will be participating in the discussion but if you arrive on time to the research facility, you will be paid $50 whether or not you are selected to participate.* Can you join us?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

*[IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE RESPONDENT UNDERSTANDS THAT HE/SHE MUST ARRIVE ON TIME SO THAT THE GROUPS MAY BEGIN ON TIME.]

20. Now I want to make sure you know that you will be talking about your opinions with other youth your age and an adult moderator. What you say is really important to us, and we want to be sure you know what will happen. Your full participation will give you the best experience and give us the most helpful information. So, you need to feel comfortable talking in front of people you don’t know. In fact, we need people who are really great at speaking up and speaking their mind. Is this something you’re still interested in doing…and do you think you’d be good at it?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

Finally, you should know that during the discussion, you don’t have to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable and you can leave the group discussion at any time. If at first you agree to join the discussion group, but later change your mind, you should let your parents know or tell me when I call back. You should discuss your participation with your parents. [THANK AND ASK TO SPEAK TO PARENT AGAIN]

21. [READ TO PARENTS ONLY] We are conducting group discussions with young people in your area in [MARKET] on [DATES] and we would like [INSERT PARTICIPANT’S NAME] to participate. During the discussion, [HE/SHE] will be asked to share [HIS/HER] opinions and attitudes about tobacco use and prevention with a professional interviewer and other people [HIS/HER] age. [HE/SHE] will be at the research facility for about 90 minutes. This experience should be both fun and educational for your [SON/DAUGHTER]. For [HIS/HER] participation, [HE/SHE] will be paid $50. Can [INSERT PARTICIPANT’S NAME] join us?

Yes	( )	[CONTINUE]
No	( )	[THANK AND END]

22. Please understand that what your [SON/DAUGHTER] says is important to us.. It is very important that [HE/SHE] arrive right on time so that the group may begin on time.*

[WHEN CALLING TO CONFIRM THE APPOINTMENT, ASK THAT THE RESPONDENTS ARRIVE ON TIME.]

( )	[RECONFIRM THE DAY BEFORE SCHEDULED GROUP]
( )	[REMEMBER TO GIVE DIRECTIONS TO THE FACILITY]

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