interview writing

by

Humanities

Interview Assignment Guidelines 50 points – Introduction to Qualitative Research

Choose ONE individual from ONE of the following life stages for your interview:

Early Adulthood (20 to 40) – Ch 7

Middle Adulthood (40 to 65) Ch 8

Late Adulthood (65 and older) – Ch 9

This individual can be from your own family or a friend. Remember to explain to them that this

is for an assignment for class. Make sure to look ahead in the chapters related to the age of the

individual you interview.

Assignment Format (50 points)

Title Page – see SAMPLE TITLE PAGE on Moodle (similar to Annotation assignment). Use life

stage of person you interviewed for your creative title. (ex. MIDDLE ADULTHOOD)

Introduction (use as a heading)

Include subject’s first name and age and which life stage they fall under. Write a complete

physical description of this person as well as any additional background information of this

person in order to provide a “clear picture” of the person being interviewed. Describe your

relationship with this person. Include a detailed physical description of the setting/environment

of your interview. (5 points)

Four Questions (Use each question as a heading, number & retype each question)

During the interview, ask your selected individual the following questions:

1. “What do you like best about being your age?”

2. “What do you like least about being your age?”

3. “What changes do you foresee in your life in the next five/ten years?” (If over 80 say “in a

few years”)

4. “What do you think are the three most important things in your life at this time?”

You must ask all four questions. You will be graded on the quality of each answer. All responses

must be written in the first person. Include appropriate follow up questions as needed to gain

more information and clarification (so I understand better) such as: Can you give me an example

of that? Explain what you mean by that? Tell me more about that. That’s interesting; can you

give me more detail?

Remember, the depth of these responses are critical – otherwise you won’t have material to

connect to theories and frameworks in our textbook in the analysis section. (15 points)

*When writing this section in the paper, just transcribe the conversation word for word

E. Matthews, 2017

Analysis (Use as a heading)

Link response: Read through the chapter corresponding to that individual’s life stage, and link

two of their responses to two different theories or frameworks from the text. Use details when

describing. Number each of them (Link # 1, Link #2) in two separate paragraphs. If the theory

has a theorist attached, please include the name. Repeat in quotations (” ” ) exactly what

your interviewee said to you during the interview and relate it to what is stated in Discovering

the Lifespan by Robert Feldman (You will be quoting the textbook as well, make sure to use

correct APA citation citing the page # in our textbook). (20 points)

Give your opinion: Comment on your perspective & opinion on whether your subject’s

responses seem typical or atypical for their particular life stage? And, explain if you were you

surprised or not surprised by any of their responses to these question? This section should be

written in 3rd person. (10 points)

References (Use as a heading) Last page – Cite/reference the textbook using APA format

Additional Criteria – APA formatting (12 point font, double spaced, Times New Roman, indent

each paragraph 5 spaces) Approximately 5 pages (including Title Page – see sample on Moodle)

Quality of writing.