ASSIGNMENT: Interviews

One of the assignments of this course is to conduct several interviews. Everyday, we see and hear interviews through the television, the radio, and even the Internet. Good interviews are not spontaneous - they require research on the part of the interviewer as well as planning. Qualitative Research offers three types of interviews: (1) the informational interview, (2) the general interview guide approach, and (3) the standardized open-ended interview. These approaches differ in the extent to which the interviewer prepares and standardizes interview questions prior to the interview itself.It is still important that the interviews serve to further illuminate the phenomenon understudy (your research questions).

The process:

1. Based on your research project, you will choose the people and setting in which to conduct your interviews.
2. Inquire with the individuals and the institution to solicit participation to conduct the interviews.
3. Create an interview protocol. What are you looking for? How will you record the information?
4. Schedule and conduct interviews with 3 individuals.
5. Write a report (2-3 pages) to include
   1. Interview procedure, including a justification of procedure
   2. Description of the participants and setting
   3. Preliminary analysis of the data
   4. Discussion of if and how you would change your procedures
   5. Conclusion