Submission Request for FishWatch.gov Usability Testing

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number 0690-0030)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: FishWatch.gov Usability Testing

PURPOSE:

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) created the FishWatch.gov website to provide comprehensive information about species landed in US fisheries. The primary audience of the web site includes federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, the seafood industry (e.g., seafood distributers, processors, chefs and restaurant owners), and the general public. As part of a planned web site redesign, NOAA is collecting feedback from site users about site usability.

The purpose of this information collection request is to perform a brief survey and a set of focus groups with members of the general public about the following topics: when and how they access the FishWatch.gov website, relative interest in site content, usefulness of specific site features, site user-friendliness, and their preferences for site format, style, organization, and level of detail. The survey will be implemented immediately following approval, followed by the focus groups, and then again following the redesign of the site in order to document that the user experience has improved.

The survey instrument is a simple 10 question format based on a survey that NOAA used to poll internal NOAA staff about their perceptions of the FishWatch.gov site. The instrument is web-based and will be hosted on the FishWatch.gov website (for example: www.fishwatch.gov/survey). Respondents will be invited to participate through an announcement on the home page, the FishWatch Facebook profile, and through partner organizations (e.g., state Sea Grants, Gulf of Maine Research Institute). NOAA will not use any sampling methods; rather, any individual who wishes to complete the survey can do so. NOAA will summarize the results of the survey into basic tabulations— no statistical methods will be used. NOAA will use the results for internal NMFS purposes only and to establish a qualitative usability baseline that will be helped in assessing the success of future web improvements.

The focus group discussion questions will cover similar topics as the online survey. A facilitator will guide the group discussion and display aspects of the website on a computer screen for the group to respond to. NOAA proposes to perform 2 – 3 focus groups of up to 10 participants, if there are enough volunteers. Potential participants will be recruited through the survey, announcement on the FishWatch website and Facebook profile, and through an announcement by partner organizations (e.g., posted on their website home page, emailed to their audience, included as part of a newsletter sent to their audience). The focus groups will be conducted virtually using meeting software such as GoToMeeting or Webex at a time convenient to the majority of participants in order to accommodate participants from different coastal regions.

The results will be summarized to identify key themes, areas of consensus and disagreement, and suggestions for improvements. The summarization will be done in a way that does not identify individuals.

The results of this information collection will be used to inform the redesign of the FishWatch.gov website to improve user experience and after the redesign to document the improvement. Specifically, the results will allow NOAA to ensure the website is compatible with the types of devices consumers use to access the information on the site, prioritizes the content that users are most interested in, and presents the information in a clear, concise manner.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Members of the general public with an interest in seafood; broadly, who have used or are interested in using the FishWatch.gov website.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[X] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software) [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] 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: __Rebecca Ferro_______ ____________________________

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

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 [X] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [X] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individuals
Survey Respondents	75	7 minutes	525 minutes (8.8 (9) hrs)
Focus Group Participants	30	1 hour	30 hours
Totals	105		39 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is _$9,000________

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? [ ] Yes [X] 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?

The respondents will self-identify by visiting the website, the FaceBook page or through one of the partner organizations. NOAA will not sample from the potential respondents, any individual that sees the survey announcement is welcome to complete the survey.

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

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

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

Please submit all instruments, instructions, correspondences (emails, letters, etc.) to respondents, and scripts as separate documents along with this request document.

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