Focus Groups for attitudes, opinions, perceptions and awareness about VA

Whitman Insight Strategies

DDB Chicago – Ad Council

Veterans Screener

Respondent Specs for recruiting:

RECRUIT 10 FOR 8 PER GROUP

GROUPS LAST 90 MINUTES PER

RECRUIT MIX OF RACE/ETHNICITY PER GROUP

APPROXIMATELY HALF OF EACH GROUP SHOULD BE VA BENEFITS USERS (S9)

Tentative Schedule

TBD

GROUP SUMMARIES:

GROUP 1: Today’s Vets (S6-1=1)

GROUP 2: Gap Year Vets (S6-1=2)

GROUP 3: Next Generation Vets (S6-1=3)

WHITMAN INSIGHT STRATEGIES

DDB Chicago – Ad Council – Veterans Focus Groups

IMPORTANT NOTES TO RECRUITER:

• If respondent asks who is conducting the research, tell him/her that it is being conducted by Whitman Strategies, an independent opinion research company, on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs (the “VA”) and conducted by a third-party. Instruct respondent that the information from this research will be kept private to the extent of the law. No personal identifiers will be disclosed to the VA.

• If respondent terminates at any of the following questions, please politely terminate but attempt to get a name and reference (telephone or email) for a fellow area-vet, or a family member/loved one that might be willing to participate:

• (IF RESPONDENT CANNOT PARTICIPATE) “I’m sorry that you cannot attend, but do you know of any buddies in the area who have served, or any of your loved ones or family members that might be interested in participating? They will be paid $75 for their time.” When pronouncing VA – say each letter separately “vee-ay”

PARTICIPANT SCREENER

Name:

Address:

City/State/Zip:

Phone Number:

Date:

Recruited By:

Hello, my name is ( __________ ) and I’m calling from ( ____________ ). We’re conducting a study on different issues in the area, and would like to include your views. I can assure you that we are not trying to sell you anything. If you are invited to attend the group discussion planned for this project, you’ll be paid $75 on the spot for voicing your opinions.

S1. Have you ever served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces? This includes serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, as well as activation from the Reserves or National Guard, and applies to combat experience as well as peacetime service.

1. Yes

2. No THANK & TERMINATE

S2. And are you currently on active duty?

1. Yes THANK AND TERMINAGE

2. No

TERMINATE LANGUAGE: “Thank you. We’re looking for veterans of active duty service.”

S2-1. When you left service, did you do so….

1. Under honorable discharge

2. Under general discharge

3. Under dishonorable discharge TERMINATE

4. Through another means (SPECIFY______________)

TERMINATE IF ANOTHER MEANS INCLUDES DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE

S3. In which branch or branches did you serve on active duty? {ACCEPT MULTIPLE RESPONSES}

1. Army

2. Navy

3. Air Force

4. Marine Corps

5. National Guard/Reserves

6. Coast Guard

S4. What is your age? ______________ (Record Age)

1. Under 18 {THANK & TERMINATE}

2. 18-24

3. 25-29

4. 30-34

5. 35-39

6. 40-44

7. 45-49

8. 50-54

9. 55-59

10. 60-65

11. 66-69

12. 70+

S5. [GENDER]: {BY OBSERVATION}

1. Male

2. Female

RECRUIT MALE VETS ONLY FOR TODAY’S VETS GROUP

RECRUIT MALE VETS ONLY FOR GAP YEAR VETS

RECRUIT 2-3 FEMALE VETS FOR NEXT GEN GROUP

S6. We would like to know when you served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. If there are different time periods—just tell me.

[DO NOT READ. RECORD TIME PERIOD AND VERIFY BELOW]

	Time Period	Conflict	Yes, Served [CHECK BOX]
1	September 2001 – Present	Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), Operation New Dawn (Iraq)
2	1990 to 2001	First Persian Gulf War
3	1975 to 1990
4	1962 to 1975	Vietnam
5	1955 – 1962
6	1950 to 1955	Korean War
7	1947 to 1950
8	1941 to 1946	World War II
9	Before 1941

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: FOR EVERY TIME PERIOD MENTIONED BY RESPONDENT THAT HAS TEXT IN CONFLICT BOX—VERIFY BY ASKING RESPONDENT IF HE/SHE SERVED DURING CONFLICT]

S6-1. Code Veteran Type:

1	Today’s Vets	Male Age 55+
2	Gap Year Vets	Male Age 35-54 S6=2,3 S6 does not = 1
3	Next Generation Vets	Male or Female Under 45 S6=1

S7. What was your rank during your last deployment? (READ CHOICES)

1. E1 to E4

2. E5 to E8

3. W1 to W5

4. O1 to O5

5. O5 or above

6. Other _____________

S8. Have you ever applied for or used any benefits through the VA (say “vee-ay”) or Department of Veterans Affairs?

1. Yes

2. No

RECRUIT EVEN MIX OF USERS AND NON-USERS PER GROUP

S9. [IF YES in S8] Please tell me which benefits you have applied for from the VA, and which you have actually used… (DO NOT READ LIST)

	Applied For	Used
Health care
Life insurance
Home loans
Education or training
Vocational rehabilitation
Burial or memorial benefits
Disability compensation
Pension
Dependent benefits
Transition assistance

S10. Do you belong to any of the following Veteran Service Organization?

1. VFW

2. American Legion

3. Blue Star Families

4. IAVA

5. Disabled American Veterans

6. Another (SPECIFY____________________)

7. None of these

And now just a few more questions to make sure we get the right mix of veterans…

S11. I’m going to read some statements, for each, tell me if the statement applies to you or not…

RANDOMIZE ORDER OF STATEMENTS

	Yes	No
I suffer from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that makes normal day-to-day activities incredibly difficult for me	THANK AND TERMINATE
I have sustained severe physical injuries as a result of my military service that make normal day-to-day activities incredibly difficult for me	THANK AND TERMINATE

TERMINATE LANGUAGE S11: Thank you, but we have already filled our requirements. We appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions, and may be in touch in the near future for another opportunity to share your opinions.

S12. What of these best describes your marital status?

1. Single

2. Married

3. Living with someone

4. Divorced or Separated

5. Widower

S12-1. Which of the following income groups reflects your TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME last year before taxes? (Just stop me when I read the correct category.)

{READ CODES 1-7}

1. Less than $25,000

2. $25,000 to less than $50,000

3. $50,000 to less than $75,000

4. $75,000 to less than $100,000

5. $100,000 to less than $150,000

6. $150,000 to less than $200,000

7. $250,000 or more

8. Don’t know {Do not read} {THANK & TERMINATE}

9. Refused/NA {Do not read} {THANK & TERMINATE}

RECRUIT MIX

S13. How would you describe your race? Changes are based on OMB’s guidance

1 White

2 Black or African-American

3 Asian

4 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

5 American Indian or Alaskan Native

6. Hispanic or Latino Yes/No

7 Other {Do not read}

8 Don’t Know {Do not read}

9 Refused {Do not read}

RECRUIT MIX

S14. What do you think is the biggest issue facing this country and what would you do about it?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SUBMIT RESPONSES TO S15 TO WHITMAN STRATEGIES EVERY MORNING DURING RECRUITMENT PERIOD.

S15. One last question, changing the subject a little bit: If you could have dinner with any famous person, living or dead, who would you have dinner with and why?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IN ANSWERING THE ABOVE, RESPONDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO EASILY AND CLEARLY EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS.

THANK AND RECRUIT