Interview With an Older Person Essay

Experiences of Ageing:  Interview, Research, Reflect & Connect 
 Due 9:00 pm Wednesday April 1st  (10% deduction per calendar day late)  
 The objective of this assignment is for you to gain a better understanding of, and appreciation for the often complex and individual experiences of aging, and to relate what you learn to concepts discussed in our course.  
You are to interview an older adult (age 65 or older) about his or her subjective experience of having grown older and a specific factor (e.g. event, relationship, social role, etc.) that has shaped their experience. See pages 5-7 for details about designing and conducting an interview.  
 Format:  Submit a 1500-1800 word (5-6 pages excluding title page, references, & appendices) Submissions should be double spaced, written in 12 point font in Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial, have one inch margins and page numbers.  All sources (e.g. journal articles, textbook, etc.) should be cited and referenced using APA style. Spell-check, proof-read, and have someone else read your paper before you hand it in!   Each paper should have the following sections: 
 • Title Page: For this assignment, you must provide the following information: 
 • A title for your paper (be creative!) 
• Your name, student number,  course number and section 
• The date you are submitting the assignment 
 • Introduction: Begin by providing a brief introduction to your interviewee (ie. 5-6 sentences).  This should not include a lot of detail, but should provide the reader with a general sense of the interviewee.  Please do NOT identify your interviewee by name.  Instead use a pseudonym to protect their confidentiality.  Identify a broad central theme (e.g. stigma, cultural differences, socioeconomic status – something that is repeatedly touched upon by your interviewee) you consider important in your interview, and discuss how it relates to the study of adult development and aging. State the central theme telling the reader what you are going to accomplish in your paper.    (/20)
  • Related Research: In this section you are to locate three peer-reviewed, empirical, primary source, academic journal articles (no reviews, meta-analyses, books, etc) that relate to the central theme you’ve identified from your interview.  Your three chosen articles should focus on one specific aspect of your broad topic (ie central theme) and also relate to your interview (e.g. for a broad topic of “cultural differences” one may choose articles related to “intergenerational differences amongst immigrants”).  Research articles should relate to psychological, social, or cultural factors, and not to biological, physiological or purely medical factors.  You may want to refer to your textbook or lecture slides as a starting point for finding your research articles.  Summarize and relate the primary findings of each article to your interview in a critical and integrative manner.  Consider including and explaining direct quotes from your interview to help provide context to the reader*. (/80) 
 • Reflection & Connection: In this section, summarize and state succinctly your evaluation of your interview in relation to course concepts**.  Here you are expected to take a broader perspective, relating the interview to the theories, concepts and/or factors influencing adult development and aging.  You should NOT discuss topics that you wrote about in the “Related Research” section.  Please also discuss how your interview impacted or changed your views of adulthood and aging.  Consider including and explaining direct quotes from your interview to help provide context to the reader*    (/80)  
• Reference List 
 • Appendix 1:  Take a screenshot of the 1st page of each of your articles and paste it into an appendix following the reference section of your assignment.  The screenshots should include the title, author(s), abstract, and journal information.  You may have to include the second page if any of this information is missing.  (no points for including this, but 30-point deduction for omitting it!) 
 • Appendix 2:   Please include the list of interview questions you prepared prior to your interview.  Your list does not have to include questions that were added during the interview session.   (no points for including this, but 30-point deduction for omitting it!) 
 Citations, references, grammar, spelling & formatting:    (/20) 
 * You are not expected to transcribe your entire interview as this can take quite a lot of time.  Transcribing specific sections related to specific themes you identify may make it easier for you to think more deeply about the content of your interview and how it relates to our course.  
 ** PLEASE NOTE:  Your teaching assistants do not attend classes and may or may not have a background in adult development and aging.  As such, students are expected to clearly explain relevant course concepts in their own words.  
*** Please keep your notes and/or audio recording until course grades are released. These are the primary sources of your information, so do not delete or discard them until your assignment has been graded.   
Two-Part Submission Procedure  
 1. Submit your assignment to Canvas in Word format (docx).  The title page should include your name, student number, & course information.  Be sure to submit to the “Interview, Reflect & Connect” assignment.    
 2. Also submit your work by 9:00pm to Turnitin.com. If you do not submit your assignment to Turnitin by this time your assignment will incur a 10% late penalty, even if you’ve submitted to Canvas. If you do not submit your assignment to Turnitin within five days of the due date, you will receive a 50% deduction (i.e., you will fail this assignment).  
 • To submit your paper on TurnItIn you will need to go to turnitin.com, create an account if you do not yet have one, select “enroll in a class”, enter our course ID (24000471) and password (alwayscite), and submit your paper.   
• Be sure that your Canvas and Turnitin copy of your assignment match.   Do not upload the actual research articles to Turnitin (just upload your assignment).  
 • Be careful!!  Make sure you submit to the correct option/movie assignment link. 
 • Please save your document as a Microsoft .doc or .docx format before uploading.  
  • When submitting to Turnitin, DO NOT INCLUDE your name or ID on the document. 
 • Please note: Information submitted to Turnitin is stored in the United States.  If you are concerned about protecting your privacy, please follow the instructions at the following link: https://lthub.ubc.ca/guides/turnitin/    
 • If you decide to use an alias for Turnitin, it is your responsibility to inform your instructor of this.  Neglecting to inform your instructor will result in a grade of zero as we may be unable to match your Turnitin submission to you.  
            Grading Criteria: 
 Introduction (2):   Clearly introduces the interviewee, identifying information relevant to the interview and assignment (1)  Identifies a broad theme, explains its importance to adulthood & aging, and outlines the purpose of the paper (1) Related Research (8)  For each article: Provides a thorough, clear, & concise description of an empirical. peerreviewed article, which is relevant to the specific topic (1.33). For each article: Provides a clear, concise & thoughtful explanation of how the research in this article relates to the interview (1.33). Reflect & Connect (8)   Provides a thorough, clear, & concise description of course concept(s) that would be easily understood by a reader without prior knowledge (3)  Provides a clear, concise & thoughtful explanation of how course concepts relate to the interview (3)  Impact of interview on perceptions of aging: Depth, clarity, & thoughtfulness (2) Formatting & APA (2)   Consistent and accurate use APA style for citations and references (1)  Proofread: No typos or spelling, or grammatical errors (0.5)  Paper formatted correctly (0.5) 
How to Design & Conduct a Semi-Structured Interview 
 You will need to find a person who currently is older than 65 and is willing to be interviewed by you.  It is strongly suggested that you conduct the interview in person as it serves to build rapport and allows the interviewer to carefully observe the interviewee’s reactions and non-verbal expressions.  Interviews over Skype, Facetime, or the phone are permitted, but not ideal, as technical challenges can often interrupt the flow of the interview. It is also strongly suggested that you make an audio recording during your interview, if the person gives you permission to do so.  Having an audio recording will help you transcribe important exchanges between you and your interviewee.   
 Semi-structured interviews allow the interviewer to select/write a set of questions that relate to specific themes of interest.  Despite having a pre-selected set of questions, semi-structured interviews also allow for a dynamic and organic interaction between the interviewer and interviewee in which the direction of the conversation can be shaped by both participants. Selecting/Writing a thoughtful set of interview questions is a critical step in ensuring that the interviewee provides rich, detailed and meaningful responses.  In other words, your grade on this assignment is somewhat dependent on your preparation for the interview and the thoughtfulness of your questions!   
 1. Choosing/Writing Interview Questions 
 Your first step is to choose/write your interview questions.  Although you may already know the person you are interviewing quite well, it is always good practice to start the interview with simple, easy to answer questions, to help the interviewee feel at ease and get accustomed to responding to questions.  You can select/write questions based on your pre-existing knowledge of the interviewee.  4-5 questions will work well, especially if you already know the individual.   
 a. Possible initial questions: 
 - Where were you born? - Where did you grow up? -  Did you ever marry?  What year did you marry? - Did you have any children?  If so, how many? - Do you have any grandchildren?  If so, how many? - Did you ever work?  What did you do? 
 Transition into a set of questions about the general experience of ageing which will hopefully give you broad perspective of the person’s experience.  Responses to these questions will help you write the “Reflect & Connect” section of your assignment.  Try to avoid close ended (yes/no) questions! 
 b. Possible general questions include: 
 - Are you aware of your age? What makes or has made you aware that you have grown older? - When you were younger had you thought that getting older would be like you are experiencing it? Has it been better or worse than what you had expected?   - What are some of the good things that have happened with getting older?   - What are some of the challenges of getting older?  How have you dealt with them? 
- What factors or events have made your experience of aging different from the experiences of other people of a similar age? - What do you like the best about this time in your life?  
Prepare a set of questions that will highlight an area of interest for you and will serve as the theme for the “Related Research” portion of your assignment.  For example, you could ask about identity, health, relationships, social roles, thoughts of death, hobbies/activities, immigration, etc (see the textbook as starting point for ideas).  You may want to prepare two subsets of questions (ie. choose two themes and have a set of questions for each) then pick the set that relates best to your interviewee’s responses.  You can then integrate one set into the more general questions above, or insert them when the opportunity arises naturally.      
 c. Sample of specific questions:   
An example of more specific questions pertaining to the theme of one’s career  
 - What is the best thing about your career?  What is the worst thing?  How have these experiences shaped your experience of aging? - Do (Did) you look forward to, or dread retirement?  Why? - Has retirement been a good or bad experience? Why?  
 - What advice about preparing for retirement would you give to young(er) adults? 
 An example of more specific questions pertaining to the theme of grand-parenting 
 - You mentioned having grandchildren.  Do you enjoy being a grandparent?  
 - How has being a grandparent impacted your life?  - How has being a grandparent impacted the relationship with your children? - How would you feel if you didn’t have grandchildren? -   
Finally, to end the interview, select (or write your own) a few concluding questions that wrap-up the interview.  
 d. Sample of concluding questions: 
 - What would you tell a young person about the years of adulthood or old age? - Is there any advice that you would want to give a young(er) person? 
 - Thank you for your time and thoughtfulness!  Is there anything important that you’d like to add, that I didn’t ask about?  (This is always a great question to close with, as it indicates that the interviewee has an important voice in the process!!)  
 Your interview should have at least 10 questions, but not more than 15 questions (excluding the quick initial questions and ones added during the interview).  Before you conduct your interview, feel free to see your instructor or TAs for feedback on your interview questions. 
2. Conducting the Interview 
 Select a location that is quiet, comfortable for both you and the interviewee, and where there will not be interruptions or distractions.  Locations such as coffee shops are not ideal as there is often ambient noise which makes the quality of audio recordings poor.  Ensure that you have memory and sufficient battery power to record your interview.  Test the audio recording before you start to ensure voices are recorded clearly and loudly.  Don’t forget to bring your questions, notepad and pen!  Begin the interview by thanking the interviewee and explaining the purpose of the interview (i.e. explain PSYC 322 and the objective of this assignment, but also indicate your interest in gaining a better understanding of their life). Inform the subject that you will be asking some questions, and he or she should feel free to expand on the topic or talk about related ideas. The more information they provide, the better for you!  Also let them know that they can skip a question if they are not comfortable answering, and that they can stop the interview at any time.  Let your interviewee know that their name will be replaced with a pseudonym and that their identity will be kept confidential. Set a definite schedule for the interview (such as five minutes per question) and try to stay on that schedule. Take notes as you progress through the interview.  You may want to return to a topic that seemed important, or rearrange the question order depending on the flow of the interview.   
 Remember that you want rich detailed responses from your interviewee.  If their answers are too brief or uninformative, follow up with questions like, “Why did you choose X?” or “Why do you think X happened?” If something the subject says seems important, follow up with additional probing questions, like “Tell me more about X.”   Part of your job as an interviewer, is to be observant.  Listen not only to what is being said, but how it is being said.  You may notice that the interviewee pauses, sighs, or smiles when responding.  Ask about these emotions… ”I noticed that you smiled when you were talking about X.  That memory seems to bring you a lot of joy.  Can you talk a little more about that?”  
  Interview tips 
 - Rapport building is important.  It is your job to ensure your interviewee is comfortable, communicate this to the person.  - Remember, you are interested in your subject’s life and ideas. Be careful to limit talk about yourself, or talk about your own experiences during the interview, except as a way of encouraging your interviewee to talk. Your job is to listen, reflect, probe, and be curious. - If topics seem uncomfortable for your interviewee, attempt to put them at ease. - Be patient!  Sometimes participants have lots to say, and it’s all important to them!  If topics stray too far, gently and respectfully bring the focus back to the interview questions. - Give yourself ample time for your interview.  Schedule 2 hours, just in case something unexpected arises.  You don’t want to rush your interview! - Enjoy the conversation!  We don’t always have such opportunities in our busy lives. - Have something for yourself and your interviewee to drink.  
  The following two videos demonstrate semi-structured interviews 1) done well, and 2) done poorly: 
 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNMTJTnrTQQ&t=94s 
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4UKwd0KExc&t=62s