Post-interview guide

Appendix I:
Post-observation Interview Guide

OMB Control Number: 0583-0169
Expiration date: xx/xx/xxxx

POST-OBSERVATION INTERVIEW GUIDE

Introduction Script

Thank you so much for your time today and allowing us to record your actions while you prepared a meal just like you would in your home. If it is okay with you, I’m going to ask you a few follow-up questions that will focus on some of the activities you participated in while in the model kitchen.

Is it okay with you if I record your answers? The recording is confidential and will only be used to accurately capture our conversation (allowed recording y/n).

If it is okay with you, I’d like to begin this interview, which will take about 15 minutes. If no: Terminate interview.

If yes: Proceed.

Observation Follow Up (use trigger form for context)

1. Experience with Frozen Products

What types of frozen products do you prepare at home? Can you provide a few examples? Probe if necessary: meat, poultry, vegetables.

Some frozen products are labeled as fully cooked and some are labeled as uncooked or raw. For the frozen products that you prepare at home, what type were they? How do you know that?

Does knowing if a frozen product is labeled as fully cooked or raw matter to you when you are deciding what to buy when you’re shopping in the grocery store?

How do you figure out how to prepare these frozen products?

Is this the same or different for frozen chicken products?

How do you figure out how to prepare frozen vegetables?

2. Washing Hands after Handling Frozen Chicken Product

Did you wash your hands after handling the frozen chicken product?

Can you tell me why you did that? Is that something you typically do when cooking at home? Why?

When handling this type of product, do you handle it the same way you handle raw chicken? Why or why not?

3. Cooking Process for Chicken/Food Thermometer

Did you read the instructions on the frozen chicken packaging?

If yes: What did it say?

Do you think the chicken product you cooked today was raw or fully cooked? Why do you say that?

I saw that you prepared the chicken product in the (INSERT: microwave, oven, stovetop, etc.)? Why did you choose to prepare it this way?

How would you normally prepare it at home? Why?

If you had children younger than 18, would you buy the chicken product you cooked today for them to prepare at home or not?

If yes: What cooking tips would you share?

If no: Why not?

Do you have a food thermometer at home?

If yes: do you typically use a food thermometer when cooking frozen chicken products like the one you prepared today? Why or why not?

If yes: With what type of products do you normally use a food thermometer? Why?

If yes: With what type of products do you not use a food thermometer? Why?

Did you use a food thermometer to check the doneness of the chicken product?

If yes: What information were you looking for?

If no: Why not?

How important do you think it is to use a food thermometer when cooking frozen chicken products like the one you prepared today? Would you say …

• Very important

• Somewhat important

• Not important at all

[Don’t know]

4. Preparing Corn and Bean Salad

Did you read the preparation instructions on the frozen corn?

If yes: What specific information were you looking for?

How did you know the corn was done? Is this the same or different for other frozen vegetables?

If said used food thermometer to determine doneness: Why did you do this? Is this something you would normally do at home?

How did you wash the cucumber? Is this how you would normally do it at home? Do you wash different kinds of produce differently at home? Please give some examples.

5. Cleaning Kitchen Items

Are you concerned about this type of frozen chicken product cross-contaminating other food or surfaces in your kitchen? Why or why not? If necessary: By cross-contamination I mean spreading germs from the breaded chicken to another surface.

6. Thawing

Imagine you have raw chicken in the freezer, and you plan to cook it for dinner later in the week. How would you thaw it?

Probe: Do you thaw it the day you’re cooking it or a couple days before?

Probe: What method of thawing do you use: in the microwave, in the refrigerator, in water in the sink, or on the countertop?

If in microwave: do you cook it immediately or wait awhile before cooking it? How long do you wait?

If in refrigerator: where do you place the frozen chicken? On the top, bottom, or middle shelf? What, if anything, do you place it on? When do you cook it?

If water in sink: Do you use hot or cold water? Running or standing water? Do you change the water at some point?

If on counter or another surface in kitchen: About how long do you typically leave it out?

Let’s say you thawed the chicken for dinner tonight, but something came up and you were not able to cook it. How many days would you leave it in the refrigerator before cooking it or throwing it away?

7. Antecedent Questions

1. How concerned are you about bacteria or viruses being on or inside the food you cook? On a scale of 1-7, with 1 being not at all concerned, 4 being neutral, and 7 being very concerned, how concerned are you?

Why do you say that?

2. How common do you think it is for people in the United States to get food poisoning because of the way they prepare food in their home? On a scale of 1-7, with 1 being not at all common, 4 being neutral, and 7 being very common, how common do you think it is?

Why do you say that?

3. How confident are you in your ability to safely prepare food when cooking at home? On a scale of 1-7, with 1 being not at all confident, 4 being neutral, and 7 being very confident. how confident are you?
   
   Why do you say that?
   
   When thinking about the food you prepare and cook at home, what steps do you take to make sure the food you cook is safe?

4. Have you ever had food poisoning? Y/N

If yes: Can you tell me about your experience? What were the symptoms?

What food do you think made you sick?

Do you think you got sick from food cooked at home, or food prepared away from home?

5. Has a family member ever had food poisoning? Y/N

1. Question about Video

1. After you arrived for the study and were waiting in the waiting room, a news program was playing. Did you watch any of the news program? Y/N

   1. If yes:

      • What was your impression of the news program?

      • What do you recall watching?

      • What information was new to you?

      • If did not mention food safety story: Do you remember seeing the story about food safety? If yes, tell me what you remember about it.

      • If mentioned food safety story: before today, had you heard that these types of frozen products may not be fully cooked so that doneness needs to be checked with a thermometer to ensure it is cooked to a safe internal temperature?

        • If had heard before: Where did you hear this information?

        • If had heard before: Do you have children that prepare these products at home? If yes, do you plan to share this information with your children or not?

      • Tell me what else you remember about the news story.

   2. If no:

      • Why didn’t you watch the news story? [Go to Conclusion]

[If respondent does not remember seeing any of the news story, Go to Conclusion.]

2. Did the information in the news story influence your actions in the kitchen today or not?

   1. If yes: In what way?

3. Do you think the information in the news story will influence how you cook at home in the future or not? Why?

4. Do you have any questions about the news story on food safety?

5. Is there additional information that you would like to see in the food safety story to help you safely prepare such products for your family?

9. Conclusion

We mentioned in our recruiting materials that we were interested in testing a new breaded chicken product prepared from frozen. However, the specific focus of our study is on food safety and how to prevent food poisoning. While you were in the waiting room, you watched a produced news video that discussed a wide variety of topics and may have included a segment on safely preparing frozen foods. This video was part of the study. We purposely did not tell you exactly what our specific research objectives were in advance in order to capture your behaviors in a natural way. You can request to be removed from the study at any time, and if you decide to exit the study at this point, we will destroy the recordings of your actions, and you will not be included in the data set.

We want to confirm with you now that you understand the focus of our study and that you wish to remain as a participant.

If no: Thank you so much for your time we will remove your data from our dataset and destroy any records.

If yes: Thank you for your consent.

Thank you again for your time and for your participation in our study today. Are there any questions that you have for me?

Please see the greeter on your way out to receive the $75 gift card and gift.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0583-0169 and the expiration date is xx/xx/xxxx. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minute per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.