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For my second project, I plan to interview a 19-year-old who has recently become
For my second project, I plan to interview a 19-year-old who has recently become a mother. Latina raised by a single mother doesn’t know who her father is.
Your paper should be logically organized, but does not need to adhere to a specific format you may have been taught, such as 5-paragraph essay, compare/contrast essay, etc. The length should be about 4-5 pages, double-spaced (or approximately 1,000-1,250 words). It is OK with me if you want to turn in something longer. (You also have the freedom to turn in something shorter, but if it is substantially shorter, it is probably not possible to do an excellent job of addressing the topic thoughtfully).
This paper is short, so I don’t expect a full transcript. In this paper, I want you to focus on analyzing what you learn from your interviewee. If you have too much to write about, you can focus on the most interesting things you learn. It can be very effective in the paper if you are sometimes able to provide an actual quotation to support your point.
An “A” paper effectively incorporates the readings/videos/online discussion. Please note your sources by referring to the article author (and page number if applicable), or classmate’s name and date if mentioning something from online discussion. Remember that you must cite sources in this paper. It is not necessary to do outside reading for this assignment, but if you refer to anything that is not from class (whether it is a website or something in print), include that reference information in a bibliography.
Questions to answer in the paper
For introduction: Choose a pseudonym (fake name) to use in the paper to represent your interviewee. Describe your interviewee. Why did you choose this person to interview? How do you know the person? What is their approximate age? What do you already know about the person’s interests, personality, appearance? You may want to include any information about your interviewee’s identity that seems relevant to you, such as ethnic or cultural background, sexual orientation, etc.
For the middle of the paper: Describe the most interesting things you learned from the interview. Aim to discuss at least three concepts related to adolescent development or emerging adulthood.
Which pieces of information seem most important to understanding the person or to understanding adolescence or emerging adulthood? Was any of it surprising to you, and why? Is what you learned from your interviewee consistent with what we’ve learned in our readings/videos/online discussion? If not, how is it different?
For conclusion: What have you learned about adolescence or emerging adulthood from doing this interview? How is this person’s experience/perspective/background similar to or different from your own? Did the degree of similarity or difference affect what the experience of interviewing was like for you? How did your prior connection with this person affect the interview? What have you learned about the process of interviewing from doing this assignment? If you were going to do another interview, is there anything you would do differently next time, and why?
Overall interview guidance
Choose some interview questions from the relevant set(s) below. You are not limited to using these questions – a good interviewer will ask follow-up questions, like “Tell me more about…” or “What do you mean by…” Also, there is no need to try to ask all of the questions! You should prioritize the questions that are of most interest to you. A 45 minute interview is plenty for this assignment. If you initially scheduled in one hour for the interview, then you should respect your interviewee’s time and end the interview after one hour. When scheduling the interview, it’s good to allow extra time just in case you get a late start. I have personally found that an interview under 20 minutes doesn’t provide as much material to write about as a longer interview does.
If your interviewee is comfortable being audio-recorded, you can use your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to record the interview (practice ahead of time). You won’t have time to transcribe the entire interview, but it may be handy to be able to listen to the interview later, or to go back and transcribe a particular quotation to use in your paper.
You can start your interview by briefly explaining about the assignment – that you’re taking a class on adolescent development, and your goal is to supplement your book learning by talking to someone who is an adolescent or emerging adult, or is the parent of an adolescent or emerging adult, or is a professional who works with adolescents or emerging adults. Because it can be awkward using the term “adolescent” in conversation, feel free to use “teenager” or “teen” or whatever seems more natural. And because most people haven’t heard of the term “emerging adult,” you might want to say “young adult” or “someone in your 20’s” if that seems more appropriate. If your focus is on emerging adulthood, then I suggest asking some of the questions from that section below.
When you are interviewing someone for research purposes, your primary objective is to be a good listener! It’s fine to share a little bit about yourself in order to get someone to open up, but it shouldn’t be a 50/50 regular conversation. Your interviewee should be doing most of the talking. When you feel the natural impulse to contribute to the conversation, try to wait a few more seconds quietly to see if they want to add anything, or you can ask “Is there anything you want to add?” or “Are you finished answering that question?”
Starting with some of the questions below, which were brainstormed by previous HDEV 312 students, should make it easy to do the interview. But please feel free to add your own questions!
Potential interview questions
General Questions
Tell me about what you do on a typical weekday.
Tell me about what you do on a typical day on the weekend.
(For professional) Tell me what you do on a typical day at work.
What are some of the changes you’ve experienced in your life during your adolescent (or emerging adult) years?
What is one of the best things that has happened to you during your adolescence (or emerging adulthood)?
What is one of the worst things that has happened to you during your adolescence (or emerging adulthood)?
Questions Related to Adolescence (some can also be used for Emerging Adulthood)
How would you describe your role in your family as an adolescent?
How does the economic status of your family affect your adolescence?
What are your parents’ expectations of you?
What are your expectations for yourself?
How does your community influence your upbringing?
Who are your main influences or role models?
How do you feel about school?
Do you fit in with any social cliques or groups at school?
Have you indirectly or directly experienced bullying? If so, what did that look like?
What types of social and romantic relationships have you been involved in?
Who are you friends with? Tell me about what your friendships are like.
Do you have any experience with dating or romantic relationships that you can tell me about?
If you have kids in the future, would you raise them how you were raised, or what aspects would you change?
Questions Related to Emerging Adulthood (some can also be used for Adolescence)
Describe what it means for someone to be an adult in your eyes.
Do you consider yourself an adult now? Why or why not? If yes, when did you feel like an adult and why? If no, when in the future do you think you will feel like an adult, and why?
What are your future goals?
What responsibilities do you have?
Are you living with your parents? What is your relationship like with your parents?
Are you in school? Why or why not?
Are you currently working? Can you tell me about your job? (Or can you tell me about what you used to do, or the kind of work you are looking for?)
Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
Are you thinking about marriage? Having children?
ion you have faced in dealing with adolescents?
What is your most valuable tool for working successfully with adolescents?
What have you learned about how to communicate with adolescents from your work?
What have you learned about how the home life of adolescents affects them socially or academically?
What else have you learned about adolescents from your work?
What advice do you give to adolescents?
What advice do you have for someone who plans to work in your field?
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