Outline and thesis statement for my research paper

1.  Interviews

In order to learn the views, opinions, and evaluations of people, we conduct interviews. Interviews can be of two types:

· Structured

· Unstructured

In structured interviews, students prepare a set of questions and try to obtain answers to these questions. Data analysis is easier, because they have comparable categories for each respondent, and they can analyze what each respondent said as an answer to each question and compare and contrast their answers.

Unstructured interviews: The researchers only have the topic of the interview but no set questions to ask the interviewee. The interview may follow whatever course the interviewee chooses to talk about. Every subject may dwell on a different aspect of the topic in question, and as a result, data from individual subjects may not be comparable. On the other hand, such data provide in depth information in great detail about individual subjects.

 For our own purposes, structured interviews where the interviewer focuses on a set of predetermined questions, and tries to obtain answers to these questions are more feasible since we cannot expect our students to conduct case studies or personality analyses.

 

I. Finding subjects: The selection of subjects to be interviewed depends on the topic of study. However, there are certain guidelines the interviewer should not neglect:

  

1. Do not interview people you know well personally. In such cases, the subjects hesitate to open up and share their genuine opinions with the interviewer they know personally. The answers they give will be answers given to the person they know personally, not the answers they would give to an interviewer with whom they have no personal relations.

2. It is difficult to find the right people to interview. One way is using your contacts. If you know people who know the people you want to interview, use your contacts and get an introduction to those people.

3. If you have no contacts, you may go and contact directly the people you want to study. If you are lucky and approach the target group wisely, most people may agree to collaborate with you.

4. Always introduce yourself, tell your name, where you come from, your school, what your study is about, what you are trying to do. If necessary, get a letter from your teacher describing your research study and introducing you.

 

II. The interview

· The interview should last as long as necessary for the interviewer to obtain the answers she needs, and for the interviewee to express her opinions adequately.

· If possible record the interview. To do the recording, it is necessary to ask for the permission of the interviewee first.

· Make sure that all the preset questions are answered.

· Take notes during the interview. Taking notes helps you to record impressions that might have gotten lost if not written down and also shows to the interviewee that you are actively interested in what he has to say.

A soon as you get home, write down your impressions, comments, etc. before you forget them. It is a good idea to keep a research journal in which you record all your observations, questions, problems, and interpretations.

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III. Tips on how to conduct an interview

Most people are happy to answer the questions asked by university students and welcome them, showing a cooperative attitude. However, there are a few guidelines every wise researcher must be careful about:

· Be respectful, friendly and accepting

· Don’t argue with your interviewees

· Don’t judge them as right or wrong

· Let them talk at their own speed, with their choice of topics. Sometimes it may be necessary to guide the subjects into the topic of the interview, asking a few questions, clarifying points.

IV. Analysis of interviews

The data obtained during the interviews can be analyzed in two ways:

1. Each interview can be analyzed and reported as an individual case. The researcher summarizes the data, highlights certain points, lists points of importance, and draws conclusions.

2. Data from different interviews can be analyzed for comparative purposes, thus each respondent’s answers are classified and interpreted in terms of points of comparison, in terms of their attitude to certain topics. Their opinions, evaluations, responses are classified and then compared.

Depending on the topic of research, one of the two methods may be used.

 

For a sample paper based on interview technique, see “ Problems of the Turkish Theater ” . " Clothing and Stereotypes " , on the other hand, demonstrates a mixture of interview and questionnaire techniques.

http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/teachers/THE%20RESEARCH%20PAPER.htm#Interviews