Focus Group Moderator's Guide
All times are general guidelines. Each group will be different, depending on their particular interests and concerns.
Moderator: All topics in italics are "time fillers" to be asked only if all other topics have been exhausted.
Ground Rules (Allow One minute)
The rules are simple: I'll bring up a topic, and I want to get your thoughts and opinions. Sometimes I'll ask a question and we'll just go around the table and get everyone's thoughts, and other times I'll just wait for anyone to answer.
We want everyone to participate. If you're not talking, I'll eventually notice and ask you for your opinions. On the other hand, if you're the only one talking, please recognize that and give others a chance to participate. Feel free to respond to something that someone else says, and feel free to disagree, but please show respect for others, even if you disagree with their opinions.
Finally, I may cut you off if you're talking about something that's a little too far from our topics. There's no disrespect intended if I do this, but we have a lot to accomplish tonight so we need to stay focused.
IceBreaker/ Personal Intros (Allow 10 minutes)
First, let's briefly introduce ourselves. Let's go around the table, and I'd like each of you to tell us who you are, and offer a little information about yourself: your first name, where you're from, what do you do for a living or where you go to school, or anything else that you want to share.
(Moderator: start with your own bio as a model in terms of content and time. Time your own intro to be about 30-45 seconds. As you go around the room, ask each person a short follow-up question to break the ice in terms of conversation and participation.)
Identification of Drivers Versus Non-Drivers (Allow 5 Minutes)
Okay, we're here to talk about transportation, so let's talk first about how you get around. I'd like to start out by asking all of you how you get around from place to place. Do you drive? Walk? Ride a bike or a motorcycle? Get driven by someone else? Take a bus? Or maybe some combination?
(Moderator: if someone doesn't mention driving, ask if they ever drive. If not, ask who usually drives when they're in a vehicle. Mentally note non-drivers from drivers.)
Driving and Riding Background (Allow 10 Minutes)
(For teens only - ask only at the end of the focus group if you're short on time.) What challenges did you face in learning to drive? These might be problems getting someone to teach you, getting access to a car, learning about driving laws and customs, learning the process of getting a license, or any other challenge. Tell us about how you learned to drive.
General Driving Issues (Allow 20 minutes)
You were given a list of common highway safety problems. We'd like to find out how much of a problem you think these are in the local Black community. We'd like you to rank these problems with 1 being the most serious problem in the community and 16 being the least serious. (Choices will include drinking and driving, non-use of seat belts, aggressive/reckless driving, cell phone use while driving, distractions such as eating, putting on makeup, shaving, etc., poor training of new drivers, bad road conditions or design, bad weather for driving, poorly maintained vehicles, speeding, running stop lights or stop signs, crowded roads, unsafe pedestrian walkways or crossings, unsafe or unsuitable cyclist pathways or crossings, non-use of child safety seats, misuse of child safety seats, and one blank that they can use to write in another issue).
(Moderator: identify three or four issues that rate consistently high and add drinking and driving and seat belts regardless of where they fall.) Why do you think that people engage in those behaviors?
Do traffic safety issues differ between the Black community and the overall community? Would you have ranked your cards in a different order if I had asked you how much of a risk they are to the overall community instead of the Black community?
What knowledge problems do you feel exist within the Black community with regard to (ASK SEPARATELY) driver/passenger/pedestrian/other transportation-related safety? In what segments of the Black community (age group, gender, income level) do you feel these problems are most concentrated? Who should be targeted within the Black community on issues such as drinking and driving, seat belts, safety seats, aggressive reckless driving, and driver training?
(Moderator: ask this only if it's not satisfactorily covered in the previous three questions.) What would you say are the cultural factors that may cause traffic safety-related problems for Black people in this community? These can be passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist or driver safety problems.
Are traffic laws well known and understood in the local community?
Drinking and Driving (Allow 10 Minutes)
Now I'd like to hear your thoughts on some specific issues about traffic safety. First let's talk about drinking and driving.
What does the term "drinking and driving' mean to you?
What do you think about the drinking and driving that occurs in this community? How would you suggest addressing it? Is it more of a problem in some segments of the Black community than others? Which segments?
Pedestrian Safety (Allow 10 Minutes)
Are there issues concerning pedestrian safety in this community? Do pedestrians tend to put themselves at risk? Do motorists tend to put pedestrians at risk? Are there problems with the road system that make it difficult for motorists and pedestrians to coexist?
How would you address pedestrian safety problems in this community? (Moderator: tell them not to talk about specific intersections. They can cite generalities about intersection design or construction, but should not focus on specific locales unless it's part of a broader theme.)
Seat Belt Use (Allow 15 minutes)
How often do you wear a seat belt when you drive? (Note to moderator: If non-drivers, ask "For those of you who don't drive, do you wear your seat belts when you're riding with someone else?")
(If not always) Why not? Are there some situations where you wear your seat belt? How do you make the decision to wear your belt or not wear it? For example, if you'll be driving part of your trip in a situation where'd you normally wear your belt and part of your trip in a situation where you wouldn't, what do you do?
(If yes) Why do you always wear your seat belt? Do you remember when you made the decision to do that? Tell us about it.
Is there a tradeoff to wearing a seat belt? What's the downside? What are the odds that you'll be worse off in a crash if you're wearing a seat belt?
A significant percentage of Black people in the U.S. do not wear seat belts on a full-time basis. Why do you think this is true? Do you think that it's true in the local area? Why or why not? (Moderator: if asked, national use rates for Blacks are slightly lower than the national average.)
Seat Belt Laws (Allow 20 Minutes)
Is there a law about wearing your seat belt? If so, what is it? (Note to moderator: we need to find out the actual law beforehand.)
When you arrived, you were given a three-question survey to answer about seat belt laws. These questions were recently asked in a national survey of drivers. Let's talk about those questions now, so please make sure that you have your survey form handy.
First, let's go around the table and see what everyone's opinions were on these subjects. (Moderator: it might be helpful for this series to have the questions written on a flip chart, display board, or other display device. Read each question, and tally the responses on the chart.)
I told you that these three questions are taken from a recent national survey, and we'd like to get your perspective on what that survey found for the Black community. Here are the results from the national survey.
(Moderators: show answers from flip charts that are prepared in advance.) (Answer to first question: Blacks are more likely to support the laws, 94 percent versus 87 percent. 72 percent of Blacks favor them a lot and 21 percent favor them some. Nationally, 67 percent favor them a lot, and 20 percent favor them some. We have some minor rounding error in these figures.) What do you think about these findings?
(Answer to second question: Blacks are more likely to support the laws, 68 percent versus 61 percent.) What do you think about these findings?
(Answer to third question: Blacks are more likely to believe that they'll be ticketed, 54 percent versus 43 percent) What do you think about these findings?
How do you explain the fact that Blacks are more likely to support seat belt laws but are also more likely to believe that they will be ticketed as a result of those laws?
Enforcement and Profiling
Do you consider racial profiling or "driving while Black" to be an issue? (Probe: Do you feel that Blacks are more likely to be targeted for general driving violations by being Black?)
We know that enforcement of traffic laws is an effective way to improve traffic safety. How do we deal with racial profiling while allowing police to enforce traffic safety laws?
Child Restraint Use (Allow 10 Minutes - more for parent groups)
Do we have any people in the group who transport children on a regular basis? If so, did/do you use child safety seats for your kids when they were young?
Around the country, over 80% of child safety seats are not installed properly. There are places all across the country where people can go to get these seats checked. Where would be a good place to have this type of checkpoint in this community?
Is it common for Black parents to use safety seats for their kids? Why do you think that some parents don't use safety seats in this community?
How do people know what type of seat is appropriate for their child?
When are kids ready to use seat belts instead of child-specific restraints?
What are the good and bad aspects of using safety seats each and every time a child is in a vehicle?
Has anyone here heard of booster seats? What are they? When should they be used? Do you use them (or have you used them)? Do you have any concerns about their safety?
Local Leadership and Organizations (Allow 15 Minutes)
I'm going to show you a list now of some of the types of people and professions who often lead traffic safety efforts in communities. (Show list on flip chart: local hospitals, doctors, nurses, paramedics, law enforcement agencies, schools, local non-profit organizations, religious leaders, coaches, political leaders). Do any of these strike you as particularly good or bad candidates to lead such efforts in this community? Is there anyone that you'd add to this list? (Moderator: identify patterns in responses when people present their selections. Probe the trust issue - are some organizations or professions more trusted by the Black community than others?)
What types of organizations, companies, or groups do you tend to have contact with on a continuing basis that might be effective in delivering traffic safety messages? These might be public agencies such as schools, community organizations such as churches or recreation leagues, or even private companies such as grocery stores.
Who do you think most influences people your age in this community? (Moderator: They can be general or specific, as long as we can generalize the findings to certain groups, occupations, etc. The answers may be prominent people or organizations, or they may be personal contacts such as 'my wife,' or 'my boss.' Explain this if the participants seem to be stuck on a particular theme.)
What community gatherings have you attended in the recent past that might be effective in delivering traffic safety messages? These can be school meetings, church services, county fairs, or any other event where a group of people got together. Were there a lot of Black people there?
Ads and Messages (Allow 10 Minutes)
In general, when you think about any marketing or advertising that you've seen, what do you think has worked particularly well in the Black community? Why do you think it has worked?
(Probes: These might include anti-smoking, anti-gang, affirmative action programs, traffic safety, or any other program aimed at increasing the health or vitality of the Black community.)
What hasn't worked and why?
Have you ever seen or heard any messages that specifically encourage traffic safety such as seat belt use, non-drinking and driving, or other issues through the media or through any kind of public gathering? Were they targeted toward the Black population or to any other group? Were they meaningful to you? What messages or types of messages might Black people identify with? In conclusion, what are the most important things to do when trying to reach and influence the Black population with traffic safety programs?