FTC Clearance Request: Rsch on Educ. Mat'ls for Older Consumers

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of
Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 3084-0159)
TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Evaluation of Materials for Older Adults
PURPOSE: In-depth interviews will evaluate the content and design of the FTC’s “Pass It On”
materials that form the cornerstone of a consumer education program to reach older consumers
with messages about fraud. The FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education seeks to
reach older consumers and has focused distribution of materials on professionals whose
programs and facilities serve seniors. This research with those professionals – and with older
consumers themselves – will help us ensure that material content and design are relevant to those
older people and useful for professionals who work with older people. Without this research, we
are less confident that the materials are reaching their intended audience with an understandable
message; with the research, and any content or design changes it indicates, we are confident that
the education program will be used by the target audience.
DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Respondents will be older adults or professionals who
have ordered and used Pass It On – for example, community-policing officers, professionals in
assisted living facilities, senior residence communities, local community centers, public libraries,
state and local aging offices, the YMCA, and other similar groups.
TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)
[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form
[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software
[ ] Focus Group

[ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey
[ ] Small Discussion Group
[x] Other: In-depth interviews

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: Jennifer M. Leach
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, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the
Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No
3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No [x] N/A
Gifts or Payments:
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Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to
participants? [ ] Yes [x] No
BURDEN HOURS
Category of Respondent
Private sector (In-depth interviews)

No. of
Respondents
25

Totals

25

Participation
Time
30 minutes

Burden
13 hours
13 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $35,000.
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?
[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?
Researchers will recruit participants from a list of people who have (a) ordered Pass It On
materials from the FTC’s Bulk Order site; and (b) opted to allow further communications from
the FTC. We will seek participants from each type of organization that has ordered Pass It On
materials (i.e., at least one police officer, librarian, Area Agency on Aging, etc.). Potential
participants will first be contacted by the FTC to get permission for the researchers to contact
each individual.
Administration of the Instrument
1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)
[ ] 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

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