Supporting Statement

OMB Control # 0693-0043

Expiration Date: 10/31/2012

NIST Generic Clearance for Usability Data Collections

Public Safety Imaging Systems – Human Perceptions Testing Questionnaire

FOUR STANDARD SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. Explain who will be surveyed and why the group is appropriate to survey.

All of the public safety providers (including agents and officers) who have participated in the perception testing will be surveyed. The participants were selected based on recommendations by their supervisors because of their background using various imaging systems. The survey will be given to the perception test subjects once they have completed the perception tests. The response to the questions will capture the level of experience with particular imaging systems as well as the physiological state of the participants. The responses will aid in the interpretation of perception test results and will indicate any need to modify the perception test procedure to better accommodate the comfort of the test subjects.

2. Explain how the survey was developed including consultation with interested parties, pre-testing, and responses to suggestions for improvement.

The survey questions were developed by investigators participating in NIST’s research program on assessing the effects of image quality on the ability of emergency response personnel to perform perception-based safety/security tasks. No pre-testing was done, and no suggestions for improvement were received.

3. Explain how the survey will be conducted, how customers will be sampled if fewer than all customers will be surveyed, expected response rate, and actions your agency plans to take to improve the response rate.

The survey will be provided to all participants at the end of the perception testing in a paper format and the expected response rate is 100%. To encourage respondents to complete the survey before they leave the testing area, an appeal will be made to the respondents’ innate sense of duty to protect the public and other public safety providers by participating in this project to the fullest extent possible. It will be explained to the respondents that their full participation will benefit the greater public safety and emergency response community, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the general public that relies on the expertise of public safety and emergency response providers to protect them. The participants will also be provided a self-addressed stamped-envelope in the event that they are not able to complete the questionnaire immediately after the testing. NIST will take every effort possible to ensure that the participants have enough time to complete the questionnaire.

All participants, as appropriate, will be compensated for their local travel the testing location and will receive a per diem payment for food expenses while they participate in the perception testing.

4. Describe how the results of the survey will be analyzed and used to generalize the results to the entire customer population.

The results of each survey question will be combined so that no individual response is identifiable. The combined survey results will provide a general sense of the level of experience that the perception test subjects have with pertinent imaging systems and the type of imaging system that they currently use.

In addition, survey questions regarding the perception test subject’s physiological state will be used to make adjustments in the perception test protocol if the survey results indicate a need for longer breaks, different lighting, etc. In either case, no attempt will be made to generalize the survey results beyond the actual survey respondents.

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