Intensive Interview
Paper details:
Instructions:
In this assignment, you will interview an older relative or friend, using the techniques learned in
class. Y
our
written report will show both what you learned during
the interview and your mastery
of the interview
techniques.
?WHAT TO DO
Identify a family member or friend who is willing to participate in this project. The person should
be
significantly older
than you, and preferably of a different generation.
Choose one
of the following
topics to talk
about with your informant:
1.
Food traditions and experiences: e.g., the foods, meals, and treats your informant ate as
a child; how
their family used special f
oods for celebrations and holidays; who was and
wasn’t involved with
preparing the food
.
2.
Military experiences: e.g., how your informant or their family members came to join the military;
experiences they had; superiors and colleagues; effects on their th
inking and lives
.
3.
Law enforcement / corrections experiences: e.g., how your informant or their family members came to a
job or career in law enforcement or corrections; experiences they had; colleagues and superiors;
effects on their thinking and lives
.
4.
Childhood play and toys: e.g., how your informant played as a child; favorite kinds of
toys and
places to
play; contrasts and/or similarities to modern toys and play
.
5.
Community/social services experience: e.g., how your informant was an administrator and
/or recipient
of community services or social services; specific experiences and memories; how the experiences
affected their thinking and lives
.
6.
Education: e.g., what it was like for your informant in school; favorite and least favorite teachers and
subj
ects; friends and enemies
.
Set up one or more mutually agreeable times to talk together. Your interview must be conducted in voice
–
to
–
voice communication. Therefore, meeting in person, talking by phone, or Skype are all acceptable, but e
–
mail,
texting, an
d instant messaging are not. Give your informant a general idea of the topics you’ll be asking about,
but do not provide a specific list of questions in advance.
Your interview should be at least
30 minutes and ideally an hour
, and you may conduct multipl
e interviews if
you want (with the same person).
While doing this project, you must apply
at least
five
interviewing/oral history techniques that we learned in
class. Look over your notes and decide which techniques you will make a conscious effort to use
.
Prepare for
your interview by developing a short Interview Guide of topics and questions, as described
in class.
Assume
that you will not need to ask all of the questions; better to be prepared with too many options than too few. As
you conduct the int
erview, create follow
–
up questions based on what your informant tells you, as demonstrated
in class, rather than sticking rigidly to your prepared list.
During the interview, you must take notes in some way. If you have the capability, you may
record your
conversation (with your informant’s permission) and later make notes from it.
However, these notes are
n
ot
your written report.
They are the rough data from which you will develop your paper, but they are not
a paper
by themselves (i.e., do not simply h
and in a transcript of your interview). Your job is to analyze and
draw selectively from the data you collect, to create a readable report that addresses what’s most important
and interesting from your interview. Direct quotes are acceptable, but your repo
rt must be more than a series
of quotes.
When you review your notes, think about you can organize what you’ve learned in a meaningful way. For
example, in an interview about educational experiences, you might notice your informant focused on four
themes (
e.g., their early years in school, their high school years, their teachers, and their friends). You could
then discuss these four themes one
–
by
–
one in your report, rather than simply describing a hodgepodge of
everything your informant said. In other words
,
your report needs to be internally organized around specific
themes, even if your interview itself wandered from topic to topic.
?
WHAT TO WRITE
Write a paper of three to five pages
that includes the components below. Your paper
should use APA format,
in
cluding a cover sheet, page numbers, double
–
spaced, and free of spelling and grammar errors. Do not
write
an abstract. Save your paper repeatedly as you write it, in
.doc or .docx format.
Please read over your paper
and correct errors before handing it in
.
a.
Begin with a cover page
in APA format.
b.
In the first paragraph, introduce your informant
and the topic of your interview. Describe who your
informant
is, what relationship you have with them, and a brief summary of what’s important to know
about them.
Assume your reader has no idea who your informant is, and consider yourself to be
writing
for a formal audience.
For example, starting with “I interviewed Grampa who I love” is inappropriate, but “My informant was my
grandfather, Ronaldo Gomez, age 76, w
ho served in the US Army for 28 years in Kansas, Korea, and
California” is fine.
c.
In the second paragraph, describe the circumstances of your interview(s). Mention the setting, mode of
communication (phone, face to face, etc.), date, time, approximate dura
tion of interview, how and when
you took notes, and anything else you think is relevant.
d.
For the next several pages, describe what you learned. As explained above, this body of your paper
must be organized in a meaningful way, not simply a recapitulation
of the interview.
Do not list the
exact questions you asked your informant; instead, incorporate your informant’s responses into your
paper.
That’s because you’re writing a paper, not just an interview transcript. Here are two illustrative
examples:
•
Po
orly written:
“I asked him what kinds of toys he played with when he was a kid. He responded by
saying that he mostly played outside with balls and bikes, but sometimes played with his five sisters
and their dolls.”
•
Strongly written:
“When Steve was a c
hild, he mostly played outside with traditional masculine toys
like balls and bats. But he also played sometimes with his five sisters and their dolls.”
e.
In the
next
–
to
–
last paragraph, name the
five
(or more) techniques for oral history interviewing you
a
pplied during this project, and explain how you applied each one.
f.
In the last paragraph, describe how your interview felt different (or didn’t feel different) from a normal
conversation.
Finally, discuss what, if anything, you would do differently if yo
u were starting this
project from the beginning.
?
HOW YOU’LL BE GRADED
Your score will be determined by the criteria on the Projec
t Five Assessment Rubric
,
found under “Course
Information”

Intensive Interview
Paper details:
Instructions:
In this assignment, you will interview an older relative or friend, using the techniques learned in
class. Y
our
written report will show both what you learned during
the interview and your mastery
of the interview
techniques.
?WHAT TO DO
Identify a family member or friend who is willing to participate in this project. The person should
be
significantly older
than you, and preferably of a different generation.
Choose one
of the following
topics to talk
about with your informant:
1.
Food traditions and experiences: e.g., the foods, meals, and treats your informant ate as
a child; how
their family used special f
oods for celebrations and holidays; who was and
wasn’t involved with
preparing the food
.
2.
Military experiences: e.g., how your informant or their family members came to join the military;
experiences they had; superiors and colleagues; effects on their th
inking and lives
.
3.
Law enforcement / corrections experiences: e.g., how your informant or their family members came to a
job or career in law enforcement or corrections; experiences they had; colleagues and superiors;
effects on their thinking and lives
.
4.
Childhood play and toys: e.g., how your informant played as a child; favorite kinds of
toys and
places to
play; contrasts and/or similarities to modern toys and play
.
5.
Community/social services experience: e.g., how your informant was an administrator and
/or recipient
of community services or social services; specific experiences and memories; how the experiences
affected their thinking and lives
.
6.
Education: e.g., what it was like for your informant in school; favorite and least favorite teachers and
subj
ects; friends and enemies
.
Set up one or more mutually agreeable times to talk together. Your interview must be conducted in voice
–
to
–
voice communication. Therefore, meeting in person, talking by phone, or Skype are all acceptable, but e
–
mail,
texting, an
d instant messaging are not. Give your informant a general idea of the topics you’ll be asking about,
but do not provide a specific list of questions in advance.
Your interview should be at least
30 minutes and ideally an hour
, and you may conduct multipl
e interviews if
you want (with the same person).
While doing this project, you must apply
at least
five
interviewing/oral history techniques that we learned in
class. Look over your notes and decide which techniques you will make a conscious effort to use
.
Prepare for
your interview by developing a short Interview Guide of topics and questions, as described
in class.
Assume
that you will not need to ask all of the questions; better to be prepared with too many options than too few. As
you conduct the int
erview, create follow
–
up questions based on what your informant tells you, as demonstrated
in class, rather than sticking rigidly to your prepared list.
During the interview, you must take notes in some way. If you have the capability, you may
record your
conversation (with your informant’s permission) and later make notes from it.
However, these notes are
n
ot
your written report.
They are the rough data from which you will develop your paper, but they are not
a paper
by themselves (i.e., do not simply h
and in a transcript of your interview). Your job is to analyze and
draw selectively from the data you collect, to create a readable report that addresses what’s most important
and interesting from your interview. Direct quotes are acceptable, but your repo
rt must be more than a series
of quotes.
When you review your notes, think about you can organize what you’ve learned in a meaningful way. For
example, in an interview about educational experiences, you might notice your informant focused on four
themes (
e.g., their early years in school, their high school years, their teachers, and their friends). You could
then discuss these four themes one
–
by
–
one in your report, rather than simply describing a hodgepodge of
everything your informant said. In other words
,
your report needs to be internally organized around specific
themes, even if your interview itself wandered from topic to topic.
?
WHAT TO WRITE
Write a paper of three to five pages
that includes the components below. Your paper
should use APA format,
in
cluding a cover sheet, page numbers, double
–
spaced, and free of spelling and grammar errors. Do not
write
an abstract. Save your paper repeatedly as you write it, in
.doc or .docx format.
Please read over your paper
and correct errors before handing it in
.
a.
Begin with a cover page
in APA format.
b.
In the first paragraph, introduce your informant
and the topic of your interview. Describe who your
informant
is, what relationship you have with them, and a brief summary of what’s important to know
about them.
Assume your reader has no idea who your informant is, and consider yourself to be
writing
for a formal audience.
For example, starting with “I interviewed Grampa who I love” is inappropriate, but “My informant was my
grandfather, Ronaldo Gomez, age 76, w
ho served in the US Army for 28 years in Kansas, Korea, and
California” is fine.
c.
In the second paragraph, describe the circumstances of your interview(s). Mention the setting, mode of
communication (phone, face to face, etc.), date, time, approximate dura
tion of interview, how and when
you took notes, and anything else you think is relevant.
d.
For the next several pages, describe what you learned. As explained above, this body of your paper
must be organized in a meaningful way, not simply a recapitulation
of the interview.
Do not list the
exact questions you asked your informant; instead, incorporate your informant’s responses into your
paper.
That’s because you’re writing a paper, not just an interview transcript. Here are two illustrative
examples:
•
Po
orly written:
“I asked him what kinds of toys he played with when he was a kid. He responded by
saying that he mostly played outside with balls and bikes, but sometimes played with his five sisters
and their dolls.”
•
Strongly written:
“When Steve was a c
hild, he mostly played outside with traditional masculine toys
like balls and bats. But he also played sometimes with his five sisters and their dolls.”
e.
In the
next
–
to
–
last paragraph, name the
five
(or more) techniques for oral history interviewing you
a
pplied during this project, and explain how you applied each one.
f.
In the last paragraph, describe how your interview felt different (or didn’t feel different) from a normal
conversation.
Finally, discuss what, if anything, you would do differently if yo
u were starting this
project from the beginning.
?
HOW YOU’LL BE GRADED
Your score will be determined by the criteria on the Projec
t Five Assessment Rubric
,
found under “Course
Information”