Testing the Young Voter Registration Form for the 2014 Referendum on Scottish Independence

APPENDIX A: RESEARCH MATERIALS

Discussion guide

Introduction and background

Introduce self, Ipsos MORI.

Thank participants for agreeing to be interviewed; mention should take a maximum of 30 minutes.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Government which involves talking to members of the public to see whether people understand and can easily complete voter registration forms.

Mention anonymity of respondents and MRS (Market Research Society) code of conduct. This is not a test - we are only interested in whether they find the form easy to understand and complete.

Ask permission to record.

Exercise: Completing the registration forms

We would like you to complete the forms in this envelope as if you had received them through your door today. Please complete the forms as you would if I was not here. Although I'm not interested in your personal information, it will make it a more realistic test of the forms if you treat it as 'real'. Just work at your own pace. I will be looking to see how you get on. But, don't worry, this is not a test of you, it's a test of the forms! One thing that is helpful for me to understand how you are getting on is for you to 'think aloud' and say what you are thinking about as you complete the forms.

1.1 [INTERVIEWER: note any important comments made in think aloud, expressions, hesitations or body language.]

1.2

1.3 IF PARTICIPANT QUERIES THE DATE OF THE REFERENDUM EXPLAIN: We are just using this date for the purposes of testing. The actual date for the referendum has not been set yet. IF NECESSARY: But you are right, it is likely that the referendum will take place in autumn 2014.

Interview

1 Overall intelligibility

How did you find that?

• Was it easy or difficult?
• Anything that was unclear or tricky about it?

What did you have in mind when you were completing the forms?

What were your first impressions of the forms?

• Anything off-putting about either of them?
• Anything you particularly liked about either of them?

2 Accuracy - household members entitled to vote

How did you decide who to include?

How confident are you that you have completed the forms correctly?

Who do you think should be included on this (main) form and who should be included on this (young voters) form?

YOUNG VOTERS FORM:

[FOR PEOPLE WHO DID NOT INCLUDE ANYONE ON YVF:]

Why did you not include anyone on this form?

[FOR EACH PERSON INCLUDED ON YVF FORM:]

Why did you include this person on this form?

[ALL:]

Did you consider including anyone else on either form?

• Why did you decide not to include them?

Is there anyone else who stays here sometimes but you didn't put on the forms?

• Why did you not include this person on any of these forms?

Are there any children in your household?

• How old are they? [ASK FOR DATES OF BIRTH IF ELIGIBLE/CLOSE TO BEING ELIGIBLE]

[CHECK: ANYONE DUPLICATED?:]

Why did you decide to include this person on both forms?

[CHECK: ANYONE INCLUDED ON THE WRONG FORM?:]

Why did you decide to include this person on this form but not this one?

We're particularly interested in the young voter registration form so for the rest of the interview I am mainly going to ask you about that one.

3 Understanding - Main page (front page)

Did you read the instructions fully, scan them, or did you skip them?

• [IF READ:] Was it helpful/confusing?
• Why did you scan/skip that part?

Did you feel it was clear what you were being asked to do?

IF READ: How did you feel about completing the form after reading it?

[IF NOT READ, ASK TO READ NOW]

[ALL:] Is there anything that's a bit confusing?

Do you feel everyone would understand these instructions? What sort of people would have difficulties?

• What aspects of the form would people have difficulty understanding?

What words or phrases, if any, are difficult to understand?

What do you think is meant by 'eligible 15 year olds'?

Did you notice the instruction about registering people who are 15 at the moment but will be 16 by the referendum on 30 January 2014?

• Was it helpful/confusing?
• How could it be made clearer?

Did you notice the instruction about not completing the form if there are no 15 year olds living at this address?

• Was it helpful/confusing?
• How could it be made clearer?

Did you notice the instruction about not registering people using this form if they are already 16 or older?

• Was it helpful/confusing?
• How could it be made clearer?

Would you have liked more guidance?

• What information would you add?

4 Understanding - 'About this form' page (back page)

Did you read the instructions fully, scan it, or did you skip any of it?

• [IF READ:] Was it helpful/confusing?
• Why did you scan/skip that part?

[IF NOT READ, ASK TO READ NOW]

[ALL:] Is there anything that's a bit confusing?

Do you feel everyone would understand these instructions? What sort of people would have difficulties?

• What aspects of the form would people have difficulty understanding?

What words or phrases, if any, are difficult to understand?

Would you have liked more guidance?

5 Other aspects of the form

Was it clear how you should write in the boxes? [CHECK IF THEY HAVE COMPLETED THE FORM USING BLOCK LETTERS]

What do you think of the layout of the page

• Is there too much/too little information?
• Would you change anything?

How did you find the length of the form?

[INTERVIEWER TO POINT TO EACH BOX (NATIONALITY, DATE OF BIRTH, POSTAL VOTE) IN TURN:] Was it clear what you were supposed to include in each of these boxes?

• What was unclear?

[FOR NATIONALITY:] Why did you complete it this way?

• Did you consider a different answer or leaving it blank?

[FOR POSTAL VOTE:] Why did you tick/not tick this box?

What did you think of the bottom section?

• [IF DID NOT COMPLETE:] Why did you not sign the form?

6 Closing questions

Was there anything on the form you weren't particularly happy about being asked?

Did you have any concerns when you were answering?

Are there any questions that you did not answer honestly?

What would you do if you were having difficulty with the form or needed more information?

THANK AND CLOSE - Thank you for helping out with this important exercise. The findings will help the Scottish Government make improvements to the form if necessary before it is sent to everyone in Scotland later this year.

Version 1 of the YVF

Version 2 of the YVF

Generic annual canvass form