1. Main Idea Communication/Comprehension
What was the main idea this message was trying to get across to you?
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What does this message ask you to do?
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What action, if any, is the message recommending that people take?
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In your opinion, was there anything in the message that was confusing?
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Which of these phrases best describes the message?
______ Easy to understand
______ Hard to understand
2. Likes/Dislikes
In your opinion, was there anything in particular that was worth remembering about the message?
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What, if anything, did you particularly like about the message?
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Was there anything in the message that you particularly disliked or that bothered you? If yes, what?
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3. Believability
In your opinion, was there anything in the message that was hard to believe? If yes, what?
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Which of these words or phrases best describes how you feel about the message?
____Believable
____Not believable
4. Personal Relevance/Interest
In your opinion, what type of person was this message talking to:
Was it talking to . . .
___ Someone like me
___ Someone else, not me
Was it talking to . . .
___All people
___All people but especially (the target audience)
___Only (the target audience)
Which of these words or phrases best describes how you feel about
the message?
____Interesting
____Not interesting
____Informative
____Not informative
Did you learn anything new about (health subject) from the message? If yes, what?
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5. Other Target Audience Reactions
Target audience reactions to messages can be assessed using pairs of words or phrases or using a 5-point scale. The following is an example of how this is done.
Listed below are several pairs of words or phrases with the numbers 1 to 5 between them. I'd like you to indicate which number best describes how you feel about the message. The higher the number, the more you think the phrase on the right describes it. The lower the number, the more you think the phrase on the left describes it. You could also pick any number in between. Now let's go through each set of words. Please tell me which number best describes your reaction to the message.Too Short 1 2 3 4 5 Too Long
Discouraging 1 2 3 4 5 Encouraging
Comforting 1 2 3 4 5 Alarming
Well Done 1 2 3 4 5 Poorly Done
Not Informative 1 2 3 4 5 Informative
Is there anything in the message that would bother or offend people you know?
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6. Impressions of Announcer
Please select the one answer from each pair of phrases which
describes your feelings about the announcer.
___Believable
___Not believable
___Appropriate to the message
___Not appropriate to the message
___Gets the message across
___Doesn't get the message across
SummaryThis television PSA pretesting methodology is a modified version of the theater-testing techniques used by commercial advertisers. Here is how it works:
Individuals typical of your PSA's target audience are invited to a conveniently located meeting room. The room should be set up for screening a television program. Participants should not be told the real purpose of this gathering but simply that their reactions to a television program are being sought.
At the session, participants watch a television program. The program can be any nonhealth, entertaining 15 to 30-- minute (approximately) videotape. The videotape is interrupted about halfway through by a sequence of four commercials. Your test PSA should be inserted between the second and third commercials (as indicated in the diagram below).
At the end of the program, the meeting host (you or one of your
colleagues) asks participants to write in their answers to questions designed to gauge their reactions to the program. Then the host asks about the advertisements participants saw. Then, your test PSA is played again, by itself, and the host asks participants specific questions about their reactions.
Preparing for the Pretest
Preparing involves:
1. producing the PSA in rough form
2. planning the pretest
3. preparing the questionnaire
4. recruiting respondents.