Instructions & public survey - USGS aftershock forecast

OMB Control # 1028-NEW

Expiration Date: xx/xx/2024

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is collected to help improve earthquake forecasting products. A Federal 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. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned Control No. 1028-xxxx.

Public Burden Statement: The public burden for the collection of information is estimated to be three minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any aspect of this collection of information may be sent to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, USGS, 12201 Sunrise Valley Dr., Mil Stop 242, Reston, VA 20192. Please do not send your form to this address.

Privacy Notice: The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRPP), which was first authorized in 1977, Public Law (PL) 95-124, and most recently reauthorized in 2004 (NEHRP Reauthorization Act of 2004, PL 108-360) authorizes the USGS to collection information. The purpose of collecting this information is to allow users to assess how aftershock forecast products work for different groups. Responding to this survey and providing your information is voluntary. You are not required to provide any job-related or demographic -related information in order to submit your survey. However, if you do not provide this information, we may not be able to use your survey responses in understanding how forecast products affect different subgroups. The USGS website privacy policies can be reviewed at https://usgs.gov/office-of-the-director/privacy-policies.”

Questions for User Testing of Graphics for USGS Aftershock Forecasts (1028-NEW)

October 6, 2023

1. What is your relationship with the earthquakes? (If specific earthquake related)

   1. I live in the location and was personally impacted by the earthquake.

   2. I live near the area but was not personally impacted.

   3. I have friends or family who were impacted.

   4. I have business interests in the area.

   5. I am a responder to the earthquake but was not personally impacted.

   6. I am a responder to the earthquake but was personally impacted by the earthquake.

   7. I am a decision maker of an organization that was impacted or responded to the earthquake.

   8. I work in the recovery efforts.

   9. I’m a reporter or journalist covering the earthquake.

   10. I am interested in earthquakes.

   11. I am an earthquake scientist.

2. How did you use the forecast? (open text)

3. When did you see the forecast during the disaster response?

   1. First day

   2. Within the first few days

   3. A week

   4. About a month

   5. Do not remember.

4. What probabilities for what sized earthquakes were most meaningful to you?

   1. M3

   2. M4

   3. M5

   4. M6

   5. M7

   6. M8+

5. What timeframe is the most critical to have a forecast?

   1. Day

   2. Week

   3. Month

   4. Year

   5. Other: _______

6. Looking at the forecast, which statements are the most critical to you? (multiple choice)

7. What do you think about science agencies releasing this kind of information publicly? (open text)

8. How should they release this information? (open text)

9. What are the best channels e.g. media, website, social media that science agencies can use to get out this information? (open text)

10. Again, looking at the forecast, what information do you think is more critical for decision makers and emergency responders? (open text)

11. What is the level of forecasted shaking at location X? (multiple choice)

12. Is location Y one where the forecasted shaking would require additional attention or resources due to its forecasted shaking? (multiple choice)

13. Between locations A and B, where would you need to send additional resources, based on the forecasted shaking map? (binary choice)

14. How does the color scale (number of colors/colors used) affect which map was easier to use to make judgments about the forecasted shaking? (open text)

15. What would you change about the maps you saw to make them more useful to your needs in responding to earthquakes and aftershocks? (open text)

Demographics

1. Age

2. Gender

3. Profession