Interview Paper: Thinking Through an Interview Guide

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Overview
Exercise ID: 1.45
Class size: Any
Level(s): I II
Source: Submitted by HRAF member


Learning Objectives

Does the exercise compare 2 or more cultures? No
Subject selection: Open choice by student
Subjects/OCMS, if applicable:
Region selection: open (student choice)
Region, if applicable: Various
Culture selection: Student chooses from entire collection
Cultures/OWCs, if applicable:
Samples:

Classroom Guide

Instructions for navigating eHRAF included? No
Assignments for students to complete in groups? No
Assignments for students to complete on their own? Yes
Instructions for Microfiche version? No
 

Kiran C. Jayaram, University of South Florida

COURSE INFORMATION

Number:                      ANT 2410
Title:                           Cultural Anthropology
Time/Location:           TBD
Prerequisites:              None
Instructor:                   Prof. Kiran C. Jayaram

 ASSIGNMENT

Interview paper: Thinking Through an Interview Guide

Objectives

Students will analyze how diversity affects interactions with major societal institutions (such as health care, criminal justice, education, employment, voting, military) from contemporary and/or historical perspectives.  Additionally, the project will facilitate understanding of how global issues and systems are experienced differently at local scales by identifying local problems via fieldwork and course readings and applying them to larger global concerns.

Overview

This assignment will still require you to develop an interview guide, but you will use that as a prompt to discuss specific questions.  In other words, this paper represents your ability to integrate data, insight, and reflection.  NOTE:  Because this entire research project builds upon previous classwork, you may be able to use some lines of text from the first paper in this one.

PART 1:  Construct an Interview Guide

Develop a list of 7-10 question interview guide that you would ask a potential research participant.  These should be issues that you want to clarify, confirm, or examine more deeply.

PART 2:  Interview Paper

Write a well-organized and well-written essay of 1000-2000 words (four to eight full pages), not including Works Cited or subsequent material. To do this, you will need to reference specific sources

 Paper Sections–use these headings in your paper!

  • INTRODUCTION:  “What is this paper about?”
  • Include one or two sentences that describe what a semi-structured interview is and what type of data it can generate. Make sure to use and cite course readings, particularly when explaining the general definition of a topic.
  • Identify the research population and location.
  • Includes a thesis statement for the entire paper
    • An example could be “In this paper, I show how questions to a key informant about [short summary of topics of the questions] can help us understand diversity within a population and relationships between the local and global.”
  • Provide a brief description of the paper’s structure.
  • CONTEXT:  “Setting the scene”
  • This section provides background information about your research project.  It allows you to situate your local research project within a broader cultural framework.  In other words, what general information helps the reader understand the specificity of your research?
  • Draw upon primary observational data or secondary sources to describe, among other topics:
    • The research population demographics (age range, gender breakdown, class, ethnic or racial categories) at the local, regional, national, or global levels,
    • The setting for the overall research project, or
    • The setting for the interview.
    • Include in-text citations and create a Works Cited section (in Chicago Author-Date style) for information that you introduce.
  • METHODS:  “What did you do?”

Describe what sources of data you used.  If you used a database, name it.  You do not need to put the name of books or articles, but you should cite them.

  • Brief example: “In addition to the eHRAF database, I also used several ethnographic books (author A 20??; author F 20??; author N 19??).
  • QUESTIONS (7 minimum to 10 maximum):  “What could you learn?”

In this section, you introduce the topic you want to learn about, provide the question, an explanation of what kind of information the question elicits (either methodologically or conceptually as linked to keywords in the required textbook), and a potential answer based upon ethnographic sources.

  • DIVERSITY DISCUSSION:  “How do your data show internal group diversity and similarities across other groups?”
  • Diversity
      • Give a specific example of diversity a) within the population at your field site and b) between you and the population?
      • Explain how these differences may affect who you are able interview, how people answers your questions, and how you interpret their answers.
  • Local-to-Global:
      • How might the answers people give vary if you conducted the same interview with the same person, but in a different location?  Make sure to explain the different locations as well as what major systems under the umbrella of culture may affect the answers.
  • CONCLUSION:  “Why are your findings important?”
  • Restate your reason for constructing the interview guide.
  • Restate the thesis statement.
  • Propose future research or implications of your research for government policy or institutional practice.
  • WORKS CITED:  “What sources did you use?”
  • Make sure that you use Chicago Author-Date format for any in-text citations and their references in the Works Cited.
  • QUESTIONS:  “What did you ask?”
  • Number and list the questions you described in your paper.

 

Submission

Post the .doc or .docx file on Canvas by 11:59pm on the due date.  Failure to adhere to the font (type, size), margins, or paper format as described in the syllabus will cause a loss of points.

 Evaluation

You will be graded out of 100 total points, according to the following rubric:

  • 0-10 points:     Introductory Paragraph
  • 0-10 points:     Context
  • 0-40 points:     In-depth Discussion of Questions
  • 0-10 points:    Diversity discussion
  • 0-10 points:     Conclusion
  • 0-10 points:     Appropriate use of citations and correct reference format
  • 0-10 points:    Use of at least two ethnographic sources to inform answers