Interview Assignment Instructions:
For this activity, you are tasked with designing a qualitative interview studying
one of the following social phenomena (which you can think of as a variable in
the way we have talked about):
-Relationship closeness
-Narcissism
-Academic success
-Social media
You must choose one of the social phenomena listed above to study. In
addition to this phenomenon/variable, you will need to decide on a specific
context for studying it. For instance, if you choose to study “narcissism,” you
might choose to study the 40 top earning CEOs of corporations as your “context.”
You will then provide a rationale for why the 40 top earning CEOs is a
good/appropriate context in which to specifically study your phenomenon of
interest: narcissism.
So give some thought to your context and why you chose it: You will be asked to
provide a rationale and justification for your choice of context in the assignment.
Remember your goal is to study one of these four phenomena/variables so you
can be as creative as you want when deciding what a useful context would be in
which to study it
Step 1: Introduction
Once you’ve chosen your phenomenon/variable of interest, you should begin
your assignment by providing a conceptual definition for the
phenomenon/variable you’ve chosen, and articulate at least one research
question you have regarding your chosen topic. You should also explain the
context (see example above) in which you plan to study your chosen variable
and explain why this context is an appropriate place to study your
phenomenon/variable of interest and an appropriate context to answer your
research question. You should also outline a justification for why your topic is
relevant and interesting for research (remember—this justification should be
rooted in course concepts such as novelty, contributions to an ongoing
discussion, development of theory, impact, etc. which we discussed in Unit 1)
Step 2: Methods
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Discuss your proposed interview design by walking through all six stages of
the interview process and how you will approach them (thematizing, designing,
etc). Be sure to identify your participants. Discuss how you will gather your
sample, and whether you need to consider any inclusion criteria (who you will
purposely include in your sample) or exclusion criteria (who you will purposely
exclude) for your participants (be sure to state why these criteria are important for
identifying your sample). Be sure to clearly identify a sampling approach and
outline how you plan to use that approach to gather your sample. You should
justify your choice of sampling method and discuss at least one benefit and
one drawback inherent with your sampling method choice.
You should also outline which interview design you will choose (structured,
semi-structured, unstructured, focus group) and then explain, based on your
chosen design, what your interview would look like in practice. In an appendix
included at the end of your assignment, you should create an interview
protocol (a list of interview questions) with at least 8 questions (this does
not count toward the 5-6 page length). These questions should follow your
chosen interview design and adhere to the principles of a positive interview as
discussed in class. You should also discuss how you, as an interviewer/
moderator, will create a comfortable interview environment and identify a
location that is appropriate (e.g., will you interview them at their home or at work
and why). Identify at least 3 key principles to a successful interview that you
will keep in mind, and 3 things you will avoid doing in your interview. Be
sure to ground these principles in your specific study context .
Step 3: Critique
What are the overall weaknesses in your design? What are its strengths?
Discuss the merits of your study based on concepts from class (such as validity,
reliability, generalizability, representativeness, etc.). Outline at least two reasons
why this design is superior to a quantitative research design (e.g., survey or
experimental design) for answering your specific research question. Include
information about how you will decide when you’ve done enough interviews.
Using the criteria and format suggested above, write your assignment. The assignment should be 5-6 pages long, double-spaced with an additional 1-
page appendix at the end (this is where you will outline your interview
protocol/questions). Your assignment should address all of the questions raised
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above and it is essential that you connect your answers to the questions detailed
above to concepts discussed in class.
