Methods Assignments
Survey Techniques
Assignment: You will conduct an interview with one of the following:
1) a college student who has already chosen a major. Do not interview someone from this class. The topic is “choice of major.”
2) an adult who has been working at a job or career for 5+ years. The topic is “choice of job or career.”
Directions and Requirements:
1. Ask someone if they would be willing to do a short interview on this topic and set up a time and date within the next few days.
2. You will use 5-7 interview questions that you create. Pay attention to the text chapter 5 and 9 in thinking about the kinds of questions and the wording of the questions that you create. Your grade will largely be based on the creation of these questions--at least one of which must be closed-ended (offers subject fixed response categories), and one open-ended. You also must include at least one probe. Remember, at the end of the interview, you want to have information about why the person chose this major or job so your questions must do a good job of directly attempting to get at this and related info.
3. Type up an “interview guide” to be used during the interview. This simply consists of the questions you create, and any response categories that you will read to the subject. It will also include probes. Leave plenty of blank lines for the open ended questions as this is what you will fill in with the subject’s answers during the interview.
4. Read carefully the section of the text on “Interview surveys” beginning on p. 258, noting the general rules you should follow in your interview.
5. Conduct the interview in a quiet place convenient for the subject. If you are a friend or relative of the person, be sure to maintain a professional demeanor during the interview so that you can seriously and efficiently complete it. As you read each question, write the subject’s responses on the “interview guide” you have created. Remember that you may not be able to get everything verbatim, but write down as much as you can as the subject is speaking. Do not identify the subject on your guide or in your write up.
6. Write 2-3 pages analyzing the experience. Address the following in essay form: how well were you able to follow the general rules for survey interviewing? how easy or difficult was it to get the information you wanted? why? how good were your questions? how might you have improved them? Your completed interview guide must be attached to this assignment.
Short Sample Interview Guide on Fertility Decisions
Interviewer ___________________________________________Date __________ Time ___________
1. How many children do you have?_____________________________________
2. How satisfied are you with the number of children that you have? Would you say you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, or not very satisfied?
__________________________________________________________________
3. Why did you decide to have ____ children? [note to interviewer: get # from question 1.]
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Probe: Was there any other reason?
______________________________________________________________________________
Melissa Milkie, University of Maryland, College Park.
1) a college student who has already chosen a major. Do not interview someone from this class. The topic is “choice of major.”
2) an adult who has been working at a job or career for 5+ years. The topic is “choice of job or career.”
Directions and Requirements:
1. Ask someone if they would be willing to do a short interview on this topic and set up a time and date within the next few days.
2. You will use 5-7 interview questions that you create. Pay attention to the text chapter 5 and 9 in thinking about the kinds of questions and the wording of the questions that you create. Your grade will largely be based on the creation of these questions--at least one of which must be closed-ended (offers subject fixed response categories), and one open-ended. You also must include at least one probe. Remember, at the end of the interview, you want to have information about why the person chose this major or job so your questions must do a good job of directly attempting to get at this and related info.
3. Type up an “interview guide” to be used during the interview. This simply consists of the questions you create, and any response categories that you will read to the subject. It will also include probes. Leave plenty of blank lines for the open ended questions as this is what you will fill in with the subject’s answers during the interview.
4. Read carefully the section of the text on “Interview surveys” beginning on p. 258, noting the general rules you should follow in your interview.
5. Conduct the interview in a quiet place convenient for the subject. If you are a friend or relative of the person, be sure to maintain a professional demeanor during the interview so that you can seriously and efficiently complete it. As you read each question, write the subject’s responses on the “interview guide” you have created. Remember that you may not be able to get everything verbatim, but write down as much as you can as the subject is speaking. Do not identify the subject on your guide or in your write up.
6. Write 2-3 pages analyzing the experience. Address the following in essay form: how well were you able to follow the general rules for survey interviewing? how easy or difficult was it to get the information you wanted? why? how good were your questions? how might you have improved them? Your completed interview guide must be attached to this assignment.
Short Sample Interview Guide on Fertility Decisions
Interviewer ___________________________________________Date __________ Time ___________
1. How many children do you have?_____________________________________
2. How satisfied are you with the number of children that you have? Would you say you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, or not very satisfied?
__________________________________________________________________
3. Why did you decide to have ____ children? [note to interviewer: get # from question 1.]
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Probe: Was there any other reason?
______________________________________________________________________________
Melissa Milkie, University of Maryland, College Park.
Field Research: Social Behavior in Public Places
Assignment:
1. meet with 1-2 other students from class to discuss your strategy identify one or two possible research questions to answer in the setting you choose.
2. Be certain to read a text that explains ethnographic methodology, before you conduct your research.
3. Take notes in your approved location for one full hour. Sit in a separate location from, but near your partner. After the time is expired do not talk to your partner about your experience or your notes and do not write up your projects together. We will have time in class to “compare notes” and analyses and discuss issues of validity/reliability in field research.
Directions and Requirements:
1. You may select any setting with a large number of people that is open to the public and where you can hang around without appearing too conspicuous. Go to the setting only to conduct this assignment--not because you have business or social plans. Consider going to a place of business like a restaurant or laundromat, a social event, an outdoor area like a park or busy sidewalk, a public event like a rally or talk, or other public places like museums.
2. Plan to spend about 60 minutes conducting your study. Allow at least that much time soon afterward to write up your notes into fieldnotes, and of course, more to organize and write up this assignment. Prepare a tentative plan for observing phenomena that are of most interest to you and that you believe will be most helpful in understanding social behavior at this location. Consider observing the frequency and type of interactions between people including non-verbal and body language, the spatial arrangement of people, how people of various types are engaged in different kinds of activities, age, gender or ethnic segregation, etc. Also review mentally your previous experiences in this type of setting to help you decide how to focus your formal observational experience. Once in the setting, focus on the situation, the types of people in the setting, and how they interact, not on specific individuals or socially irrelevant activities (such as color of clothing). You may attempt to infer something about a person or persons you observe, like social class, but cite evidence for any such inferences.
3. While you are observing, jot down brief notes as unobtrusively as possible on a piece of notebook paper, a napkin, or whatever is handy and fits in the setting. You are an observer--make sure you do not “alter” your social setting by talking with people in the setting you are observing. As well as making brief notes about things happening and particular interactions, you may want to count the numbers or types of activities, persons of different types etc. Explain to anyone who asks that you are observing behavior for a class assignment. Turn these “jotted” notes in with your assignment.
4. Translate your “jotted notes from the field” into fieldnotes with as much detail as possible (try to record all that you observed) as soon as you can with as much accuracy as possible after leaving the setting. You cannot record everything you see in complete detail right in the setting, since you would miss other activities. Do not turn these in, but summarize them for your report, below.
5. Your written assignment should include the following in essay form: 1) identify the issue(s) that you studied in the setting 2) report briefly on how your study “developed”--how you entered the field setting, what you first noticed in the setting, how you felt, what you did during the observational period and what impact you seemed to have in the setting. 3) Present your findings, identifying the different types of behavior and interactions and/or groups you observed. Note the frequency of occurrence of these behaviors. Try to identify the similarities and differences between people and groups engaged in different behaviors. 4) Analyze your observations. What have you learned about behavior in this setting? Be certain that any tentative conclusions that you make are based logically on the observations that you reported. You must attach your handwritten “jotted notes from the field” to this assignment.
Melissa Milkie adapted from Schutt, Russell. 1997. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research Sage Publications:London.
1. meet with 1-2 other students from class to discuss your strategy identify one or two possible research questions to answer in the setting you choose.
2. Be certain to read a text that explains ethnographic methodology, before you conduct your research.
3. Take notes in your approved location for one full hour. Sit in a separate location from, but near your partner. After the time is expired do not talk to your partner about your experience or your notes and do not write up your projects together. We will have time in class to “compare notes” and analyses and discuss issues of validity/reliability in field research.
Directions and Requirements:
1. You may select any setting with a large number of people that is open to the public and where you can hang around without appearing too conspicuous. Go to the setting only to conduct this assignment--not because you have business or social plans. Consider going to a place of business like a restaurant or laundromat, a social event, an outdoor area like a park or busy sidewalk, a public event like a rally or talk, or other public places like museums.
2. Plan to spend about 60 minutes conducting your study. Allow at least that much time soon afterward to write up your notes into fieldnotes, and of course, more to organize and write up this assignment. Prepare a tentative plan for observing phenomena that are of most interest to you and that you believe will be most helpful in understanding social behavior at this location. Consider observing the frequency and type of interactions between people including non-verbal and body language, the spatial arrangement of people, how people of various types are engaged in different kinds of activities, age, gender or ethnic segregation, etc. Also review mentally your previous experiences in this type of setting to help you decide how to focus your formal observational experience. Once in the setting, focus on the situation, the types of people in the setting, and how they interact, not on specific individuals or socially irrelevant activities (such as color of clothing). You may attempt to infer something about a person or persons you observe, like social class, but cite evidence for any such inferences.
3. While you are observing, jot down brief notes as unobtrusively as possible on a piece of notebook paper, a napkin, or whatever is handy and fits in the setting. You are an observer--make sure you do not “alter” your social setting by talking with people in the setting you are observing. As well as making brief notes about things happening and particular interactions, you may want to count the numbers or types of activities, persons of different types etc. Explain to anyone who asks that you are observing behavior for a class assignment. Turn these “jotted” notes in with your assignment.
4. Translate your “jotted notes from the field” into fieldnotes with as much detail as possible (try to record all that you observed) as soon as you can with as much accuracy as possible after leaving the setting. You cannot record everything you see in complete detail right in the setting, since you would miss other activities. Do not turn these in, but summarize them for your report, below.
5. Your written assignment should include the following in essay form: 1) identify the issue(s) that you studied in the setting 2) report briefly on how your study “developed”--how you entered the field setting, what you first noticed in the setting, how you felt, what you did during the observational period and what impact you seemed to have in the setting. 3) Present your findings, identifying the different types of behavior and interactions and/or groups you observed. Note the frequency of occurrence of these behaviors. Try to identify the similarities and differences between people and groups engaged in different behaviors. 4) Analyze your observations. What have you learned about behavior in this setting? Be certain that any tentative conclusions that you make are based logically on the observations that you reported. You must attach your handwritten “jotted notes from the field” to this assignment.
Melissa Milkie adapted from Schutt, Russell. 1997. Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research Sage Publications:London.
