SOCS185 WEEK 4 COURSE PROJECT-PART 2 Latest 2018 November

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 4 COURSE PROJECT – PART 2

Part 2: Interview Questions and Transcript

Assignment Topic:

Develop a set of questions (open-ended) to interview the person from another culture you identified in Week 2 and provide a transcript (written responses) from this interview.

Note: The transcript of the interview will also enable completion of Course Project – Part 3 that is due in Week 7.

Directions:

Interview Question Selection:

Develop a written set of interview questions that you plan to use in your interview.

Review the section below containing Sample Questions: Questions to Ask a Person from Another Culture.

Select 10-12 of these questions (more if you want, but choose at least 10), plus add any other questions that you would like to ask.

You do not need to ask all these questions or ask them in the order you have them listed, as you will find that if you use open-ended questions they naturally lead to other questions based on the person’s responses.

Conduct the Interview:

Interview the person identified earlier using the questions you have prepared and drawing on your background knowledge from your research in Week 2.

Although it is very useful to take notes in the interview and/or tape record the interview, you need to be sensitive to how the person may react if you do this as well as to how it will influence you if you are taking notes as you do the interview.

If appropriate and with permission, you may take photos of the person and where they live, pictures of the person’s home/workplace/environment/artifacts from the person’s story; you may scan in pictures the person has shared with you, or you may draw your own pictures to illustrate points in your story. For this purpose, kindly get Informed Consent. See Sample under Section on Informed Consent.

If the person you conduct the interview with does not want to answer a question, you cannot make them do so.

Keep in mind the code of ethics employed by sociologists. The three main ethical principles that must guide fieldwork are:

acquiring informed consent,

respecting one’s informant’s privacy and dignity, and

doing no harm (protecting them from risk).

Capturing the Interview Information

After the interview, it will be helpful preparation for Week 7’s Part 3 of the Course Project if you take a moment now to note specific sociological concepts being learned in this class that may be related to responses received from your interviewee – especially while the interview is still fresh in your mind!

How to cite an interview:

As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list. Instead, a personal interview should be referenced as a parenthetical citation. For example: (First Name Initial, Last Name, personal communication, Date of Interview).

Sample Questions – Questions to Ask a Person from another Culture

What is your history? What is your home of origin? Why did you/your family settle in _____?

How much do you feel a part of your culture of origin? Do you participate in your cultural community? How?

How closely do you identify with and affiliate with your culture? What are some of your family customs and roles of members within your family? What is your role in your family?

What are the five (5) most important values of your culture (of origin)?

How do people express these values? What would you see someone in your culture do that would let you know that these are their values?

How are people taught these values?

How were you taught your values?

What do you think are the most positive things about being a member of your culture/ethnic group?

Are there any negative things?

What are your family beliefs about around child rearing and discipline?

What are the gender roles in your culture? And in your family?

What is your concept of personal space? What is considered appropriate touch between people of various relationships? (Consider how people greet each other when they are first introduced, when they greet friends, when they greet relatives)

What are the power structures in your family? Is age a factor in who has power? How are decisions made at the family and community level?

Who holds positions of formal power in your culture? Who are the most powerful informal leaders in your community? Who held positions of power in the past?

What religious or spiritual beliefs are influential in your culture and for your family?

What is your concept of health? What are customary health practices and beliefs? Who is responsible for and influences health care? Do you use home or folk remedies, a healer, shaman or some other traditional or spiritual healer?

How can you communicate effectively in your culture? Consider the meaning of tone of voice, gestures, eye-contact, overall body language, terminology used to describe health, face-saving behaviors.

How assimilated into the mainstream culture are members of your family and how well is that accepted by the rest of the family?

How much a part of American culture or society do you feel?

Are these cultural values that are the same or similar to American cultural values or values that help you “fit” or succeed in American culture?

How are your culture’s values different from “American” cultural values?

Has this caused any problems for you or people you know? (ask for examples)

How do you/did you deal with this?

Were there or are there difficulties in participating in mainstream American culture/society?

Have you or your family or friends experienced discrimination or negative experiences based on treatment due to your cultural/ethnic group? (Examples).

Identify and verify customs, beliefs, and practices that might be misinterpreted by established institutions within your community e.g. schools, law enforcement, social services, health care providers (this includes beliefs around certain body parts, such as the head, male and female circumcision, cutting or puncturing the skin, transfusions, autopsies)

What do you think are the most important needs of your cultural/ethnic community?

[Adapted from E. Lynch & M. Hanson (1998) Developing Cross-Cultural Competence.]

Informed Consent:

See samples of Informed Consent and Photo Release: Informed Consent._Samples.docx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Deliverables (what to submit at the end of Week 4):

Written assignment which includes:

Cover Page in APA style

Provide a copy of questions with transcript (answers).

It should be typed, double-spaced, size 12 font: Times New Roman or Arial font

Length of paper (excluding cover and reference page): 2-3 pages

Reference Page: As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list.