FOCUS GROUPS ON FAMILY LAW ISSUES RELATED TO CUSTODY AND ACCESS
APPENDIX A: SCREENER'S GUIDE
Hello, I'm 
of R.I.S. Christie, a marketing research company. We are organizing a research project on behalf of the Department of Justice Canada -- a department of the federal government. In this project, an individual like yourself is chosen to sit down with several others and give ideas and opinions. We are having a few of these sessions, and would be interested in having you participate.
The purpose of the research is to get public input on some issues related to children and how decisions should be made about children in the event of a divorce.
Your participation is voluntary, and everything you say will be kept confidential. If you choose not to participate, this will not affect you adversely in any way. Thank you for your cooperation.
I need to ask you a few questions to see if you fit the profile of the type of people we are looking for in this research.
-
0) Record gender: (Monitor quotas)
- Male 1
- Female 2
-
1) Do you, or does anyone in your household, work for … ? (READ LIST)
Organization No Yes A marketing research firm 
An advertising agency A magazine or newspaper A federal or provincial government department dealing with legal issues A social services agency A radio or television station A public relations company A law firm If "yes" to any, thank and terminate
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2) We would like to talk to people in different age groups. Into which one of the following groups should I place you? (READ LIST)
age # instruction 18 or under
1 Thank and terminate 19 - 24 2 Watch quotas 25 - 34 3 35 - 44 4 45 - 54 5 55 or over 6 Thank and terminate -
3a) What is your marital status? Are you currently…..? (Read list)
marital status # instruction Married 1 Go to Q.3b Common-law 2 Go to Q.3c Divorced 3 Go to Q. 4a Separated 4 Single 5 Go to Q.3d Widowed 6 Thank and terminate
- 3b) Prior to your current marriage, have you ever been divorced?
- Yes 1
- No 2
Go to Q.4a
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3c) Prior to your current relationship, have you ever been divorced?
- Yes 1
- No 2
Go to Q.4a
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3d) Have you ever been married?
- Yes 1
- No 2
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4a) Do you have any children under 18 years of age living with you at home?
- Yes 1
- No 2
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4b) Do you have any children under 18 years of age living with a former spouse or partner?
- Yes 1
- No 2
If "No" in both Q.4a and Q.4b, thank and terminate
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4c) And how many children under 18 years of age do you have either living with you or living with a former spouse or partner?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or more
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4d) And what is/are their age(s)? (Read list)
ages # Under 1 year 1 1-5 years 2 6-10 years 3 11-14 years 4 15-17 years 5 If "currently" or "ever" divorced in Q.3 series of questions or separated in Q.3a, ask; otherwise go to Q.5
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4e) Because we would like to talk to a cross-section of parents, I would like to ask you which one of the following statements best describes your current arrangement with regard to your child(ren). (Read list and accept one answer only)
Custody question # You have full custody 1 You have jointcustody 2 You have access only to your child(ren) 3 Doesn't apply because there were no children from the former relationship
4 -
5) What is the highest level of education you have received? (Do not read list)
level of education # action Some high school or less 1 Thank and terminate Completed high school 2
Watch quotasSome college/university 3 Completed college/university 4 Post-graduate studies 5 -
6a) Are you currently in the paid labour force?
Yes Full-time or Part-time (Ask Q.6b)
No Would you classify yourself as...- Student 3
- Homemaker 4
- Unemployed 5
- Retired 6 (Go to Q.6c)
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6b) And what is your occupation -- that is, the type of work you do and the type of company you work for? (Go to Q.5 after asking this question)
(Type of work)
(Type of company) -
6c) (Ask only of retired people:) And what was your occupation — that is, what type of work did you do before you retired? (Check against occupation exclusions in Q.1)
(Type of work)
(Type of company) -
7) Which ethnic or cultural group do you most closely associate yourself with?
-
Recruit cross-section
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8) We would like to talk to a cross-section of people with different income levels. Which ONE of the following groups best describes your total household income before taxes? (READ LIST)
income range # instruction Under $30,000 1 Watch quotas $30,000 - $39,000 2 $40,000 - $49,000 3 $50,000 - $69,000 4 $70,000 or over 5 -
9) Are you personally active in any groups involved in lobbying the government on issues related to divorce?
Yes/No # Instruction Yes 1 Thank and terminate No 2 -
10) As I mentioned to you earlier, we are organizing some discussion groups among people like yourself. Have you ever taken part in such discussion groups?
Yes/No # Instruction Yes 1 No 2 Go to Q. 12 -
11a) And when was the last time you attended a discussion group?
time span # instruction 6 months ago or less 1 Thank and terminate OR more than 6 months ago 2 -
11b) What topics have you ever discussed?
(If any child-related or divorce-related topics, thank and terminate)
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12) Sometimes participants in the discussion session are asked to write out their answers to a questionnaire, or read descriptions of ideas for various products or services. And in these particular sessions, people will be asked to do a lot of reading and writing. Is there any reason why you could not participate?
- Yes 1
- No 2
Terminate if respondent gives a reason such as sight, hearing, verbal, or related to writing, or if they think they may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.
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13) Please rate yourself on each of the following statements using a scale from 1 to 5, where "1" means you strongly agree and "5" means you strongly disagree. READ STATEMENT AND CIRCLE CORRESPONDING NUMBER
question Strongly
Agree
1
2
3
4Strongly
Disagree
5a) I would feel comfortable talking with a small group
1
2
3
4
5b) I usually have an opinion on any given subject and can express my opinion freely
1
2
3
4
5c) I consider myself an outgoing individual who enjoys talking to others
1
2
3
4
5d) I prefer to let others do the talking
1
2
3
4
5
NOTE: ALL RESPONDENTS MUST FALL WITHIN THE BOXED AREAS TO QUALIFY; WE WANT TO INVITE PEOPLE WHO ARE ARTICULATE AND INTERESTED IN A GROUP DISCUSSION, NOT JUST THE INCENTIVE.
INVITATION
We are going to talk about some issues surrounding children and divorce. The entire session will last about 3 hours. In the first hour of the session, you will be asked to read various materials related to these issues, on your own. A 2-hour group discussion will then follow. We are interested in your opinion and believe you will find the session very interesting. All of your comments will be kept in strict confidence, and you will not be contacted by anyone outside the facility. For taking part, you will be given an honorarium of (5:30 session $90; 7:30 session $75) and refreshments will be served during the session. Would you be willing to participate?
| Question | # | Instruction |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1 | CONTINUE |
| No | 2 | THANK AND TERMINATE |
Thank you. We would like to invite you to participate in one of our group discussions. The session will last 3 hours, and will be held:
SCHEDULE
| CITY | DATE | LOCATION | GROUP TYPE | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | March 8 | Camelford Graham/Focus First 2300 Yonge Street Suite 1001 |
Women Men |
5:30 - 8:30 P.M. 7:30 - 10:30 P.M. |
| Halifax | March 9 | Omnifacts Research Cogswell Tower 2000 Barrington Street |
Men Women |
5:30 - 8:30 P.M. 7:30 - 10:30 P.M. |
| Edmonton | March 13 | Research Innovations 10303 Jasper Avenue Suite 1000 |
Women Men |
5:30 - 8:30 P.M. 7:30 - 10:30 P.M. |
| Vancouver | March 14 | 6 th Line Solutions 1156 Hornby Street |
Men Women |
5:30 - 8:30 P.M. 7:30 - 10:30 P.M. |
| Montreal | March TBD | TBD | Women Men |
5:30 - 8:30 P.M. 7:30 - 10:30 P.M. |
Someone from our office will be calling you back to confirm these arrangements. Could I please have your name and phone number where we can reach you during the evening and during the day?
Thank you very much!
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