by Ariel Ginsburg, Publishing Manager and Dionisia Morales, Publishing Manager
Oregon State University—Extension and Experiment Station Communications
ACE Grant Project 2016
- Farwest Show (August 25, 2016) in Portland, Oregon
- October Pest (October 13, 2016) in Aurora, Oregon
- Eshraghi Nursery Training Day (April 10, 2017) in Hillsboro, Oregon
- Ensure locations had Wi-Fi capability
- Ensure tables/chairs could be arranged for casual conversation and display of materials
- Bring mobile devices (iPads and iPods) and laptops for viewing mobile versions of materials
- Set up digital audio recorder to capture groups’ responses
- Provide participants a $25 Fred Meyer gift card to thank them for their timeand input
- Prepare samples of all print materials
The boxwood blight materials we brought were:
In addition, we used a bilingual publication in a flip-book format (PNW 659), in which the English and Spanish are separate halves of the book; and a publication designed with English and Spanish side-by-side (EM 8906).
- Printed bilingual poster (EM 9124-P)
- Two printed publications, separate English and Spanish versions of the same content (EM 9124 and EM 9124-S)
- Links to mobile-friendly formats of each of the two publications
Question Set 1 (10–15 minutes)
Purpose: To get a general sense of how the focus group members get information
Question Set 2 (20–30 minutes)
- Let’s go around. Tell us your first name and what sports or hobbies you like to do in your free time.
- When you want to learn more about your interests or hobbies, where do you go to find information? Why do you choose to look for information there?
- When you look for information, what kind of device do you use? Why?
- Do you use social media as a source of information? Why or why not?
Purpose: To gather opinions on specific Extension materials
- Here is the same information on boxwood blight that has been prepared for different formats. Take a few minutes to look them over.
- What did you especially like about some of the formats? Why?
- What did you not like? Why?
- Which formats would you be more likely to use to help you in your work? Why?
- Do you like to have both English and Spanish included in the same publication, like on the poster? Or do you think it is better to have separate English and Spanish versions of publications?
- What other ideas do you have that would help us improve how the Extension service can provide information to nursery workers and managers?
- Farwest Show: 6 people in one group
- October Pest: two groups, one of 7 people and one of 8 people
- Eshaghi Nursery Training Day: 9 people in one group
Gilberto/Luisa—(Introduce yourselves). Today, we just want to ask you some questions about the kinds of information that you use in your daily lives and the kind of information that you think would be helpful to you at your job.Question Set 1 | 10–15 minutes:
I work for the Extension Service at Oregon State University. Part of the work of the Extension Service is to produce publications for the public. There aren’t many Extension publications for the nursery industry that are in Spanish. So, today we want to learn from you about the kinds of publications you think you would find helpful.
We have about 45 minutes and this is meant to be an informal conversation.
I encourage you to:
- Speak openly. There is no “right” answer. We are just interested in everyone sharing their opinions.
- Please ask questions as we are talking. Chances are that if you have a question, someone else has one too.
- Finally, we are taping our discussion but it is only for note-taking purposes.
Ask people to come up to a table with different Extension materials related to boxwood blight: printed pdfs, pdf pulled up on a laptop, mobile-friendly versions on 2 tablets and 2 phones, a full-size poster.
Here is the same information on boxwood blight that has been prepared for different formats. Take a few minutes to look them over.
Thank you for taking time to share your ideas. Your input will help us improve the materials that we produce in the Extension Service. Before you go, please see Ariel or Dio and they will give you your gift card.
- What did you especially like about some of the formats? Why?
- What did you not like? Why?
- Which formats would you be more likely to use to help you in your work? Why?
- Do you like to have both English and Spanish included in the same publication, like on the poster? Or do you think it is better to have separate English and Spanish versions of publications?
- What other ideas do you have that would help us improve how the Extension Service can provide information to nursery workers and managers?
Item | Item subtotal | Item total | |
---|---|---|---|
Gift cards | 30 cards @ $25/ea | $750.00 | |
Travel | $162.00 | ||
to Portland (Farwest Show) | $55.60 | |
|
to Aurora (October Pest) | $57.80 | ||
to Hillsboro (Eshraghi Nursery) | $48.60 | ||
Transcripts |
$616.93 | ||
Portland group | $180.49 | ||
Aurora group #1 | $145.47 | ||
Aurora group #2 | $155.57 | ||
Hillsboro group | $135.40 | ||
Printing (poster) | $114.14 | ||
Total: | $1,643.07* | ||
*Overage paid by EESC |