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Participant Recruitment
If you or someone in your organization is
recruiting the participants, you will need to
develop a script and provide training in
approaching members of the intended
audience. For example, if you are recruiting
participants in a clinic waiting room, the
interviewer should be familiar with the
screening criteria (e.g., women under 60
years of age) and approach only those
people who appear to fit the criteria. When,
after screening, individuals do not qualify to
participate, the interviewer should thank
them for their time and indicate that this
study is not the right fit for them but that
their willingness to participate is
appreciated. If they do qualify, the
interviewer can bring them to a designated
location (e.g., another room or corner of the
waiting room) and proceed with the study.
University and college departments of
marketing, communication, or health
education may be able to provide
interviewer training or trained student
interviewers. Pretesting is an excellent realworld
project for a faculty member to adopt
as a class project or for a master’s student
to adopt as a thesis project. However, this
approach may mean that it takes longer to
accomplish the research, and you could
compromise the quality of the results if the
individuals are not experienced in this type
of research.
Theater-Style Tests
Theater testing is often used in the
commercial arena to test advertisements for
products and services. Theater testing can
also be used to test the effectiveness of
PSAs. In this methodology, participants are
invited to a central location to respond to a
pilot for a new television show; in the midst
of viewing the TV pilot, they are shown your
PSA or advertisement along with other ads.
Participants complete a questionnaire
following the presentation, first answering
questions about the show and then
answering questions about how effectively
your message was communicated to them
and what their overall reactions were.
Common Uses
Theater-style tests are most commonly used
to test TV advertisements and PSAs. For
theater-style tests to be effective, you must
obtain results from 50 to 100 respondents
from each segment you want to test.
Pros
• You can obtain responses from a large
number of respondents at the same time.
• Theater-style tests more closely replicate
what goes on in someone’s home when
they are watching TV, so you can
accurately judge people’s reactions to
your message.
• Theater-style tests can be cost-effective if
you use donated facilities and equipment.
Cons
• It is expensive to rent a facility and
equipment (if necessary).
• Your results are not representative of the
general population.
General Format
Individuals typical of your intended 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 the
session, only that their reactions to a
television program are being sought.
METHODS
Making Health Communication Programs Work 147