Focus Groups

OMB Control Number 0648-0744

Expiration Date xx/xx/20xx

Focus Group Script

1. Introductions (10 min)

   • Introduce NCCOS team and purpose

     • Who we are and who we represent

     • Introduce moderator

     • Study sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA)

   • Why you have been asked to participate

     • You are a resident of the Oregon Coast who may have opinions on offshore wind energy development in the region

     • You are here today to help pilot test an upcoming NOAA survey, and share your feedback

     • We’d like to know how you interpret and understand questions and would like to gain perspectives into the types of responses that might be received

     • Pilot studies are a crucial element of good study design, and while conducting such pilot studies do not guarantee success in the main study, it does increase the likelihood of success

   • How the discussion will work

     • Session will last about an hour

     • We will write a summary report based on the discussion, but no names will be used

     • Discussion will be open an informal

     • We will hear from everyone in the group

     • One person talks at a time

     • No right or wrong answers or ideas - We want YOUR opinions

     • Silence or turn off cell phones

     • Although we are talking about topics related to coastal hazards and coastal management, I am not an expert, so I may not be able to answer all of your questions

   • Participant introductions

     • First name or pseudonym, where you are from, and how you relate, professionally or personally, to offshore wind energy development

2. Survey (20 min)

   • You will answer a series of questions related to offshore wind energy development on the Oregon Coast

   • The information from the full implementation of the survey help BOEM assess the potential human and social impacts from offshore wind energy development in your region

   • Complete the survey as you would in an everyday setting

   • We will have a discussion when you finish

   • This is not a test and you will not be quizzed when finished, so please just navigate through the questions and respond as you would if you were doing this on your own

   • If you have any questions as you are taking the survey, jot it down and hold your question until after you are done taking the survey

   • We will have time to walk through the questions at the end.

   • Any questions? [If none] Please read the instructions and begin!

[Monitor completion times and watch participants to see which questions take the greatest effort]

3. Review of Questions (25 minutes)

   • Let’s go over a few of the questions.

   • First, looking at the items that may be impacted by offshore wind energy development.

     • Did each of these items make sense to you? Would you rephrase any of them?

       • [If not mentioned] Was the difference between Q7 and Q8 clear? Did the different potential impact directions make sense?

       • [If not mentioned] How did you interpret impacts to electricity availability?

       • [If not mentioned] Should views of the ocean be split into daytime views and nighttime views?

     • Were there any items you expected to see, but didn’t?

     • If you were unsure about any of the impacts, what specifically were you unsure about?

       • [If not mentioned] Were you unsure about whether there would be an impact or the direction of the impact?

   • Moving on to Question 9.

     • Were you familiar with each of these energy sources?

     • Were any energy sources confusing to you?

     • Were there any energy sources you were expecting to see, but didn’t?

   • Now looking at the questions related to public participation on the Oregon Coast.

     • Do you understand what is meant by “public participation?”

     • Were any of these questions difficult to answer?

     • Did you understand all of the actions?

       • [If not mentioned] How did you interpret “Tried to change a friend’s or relative’s mind”?

       • [If not mentioned] How did you interpret “Influenced others using social media”?

     • Were we missing any important action types?

     • Did you understand each of the goals listed in Question 14?

     • Are there any important goals that are missing from Question 14?

   • [If there is time remaining] With the time remaining, let’s open the discussion up to the rest of the survey. Are there any questions, comments, or suggestions you’d like to share?

     • [If not mentioned] Did you need to read any questions more than once because you weren’t sure what they were asking?

     • [If not mentioned] Were any particularly difficult to answer?

     • [If not mentioned] Did we use the correct terminology?

     • [If not mentioned] Did the scales make sense?

4. Close out (5 min)

   • Is there anything else you wanted to share today?

   • Thank you for your time

Public Burden Statement

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0648-0744. Without this approval, we could not conduct this information collection. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: NOS/NCCOS, 1305 East West Highway, Bldg. SSMC4, Rm 9320, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, sarah.gonyo@noaa.gov, 240-621-1999.