The goal of this assignment is two-fold: (1) to hear a person's views regarding the most serious problem facing his/her group in terms of social class, race or gender and (2) to provide a sociological analysis of that respondent's views. In selecting a respondent, two guidelines are useful. First, from the perspective of this assignment, the respondent should be a member of a subordinate group. For example, a paper focusing on social class should not be based on an interview with a member of the upper class; a paper focusing on race should not be based on an interview with a member of the white race; a paper focusing on gender should not based on an interview with a male. Second, the group to which the respondent belongs, in terms of this assignment, should not be the group to which the interviewer belongs. That's because the purpose of this assignment is to acquaintance students with the view of persons belonging to groups other than their own.
Be sure to focus on the interview on the consequences of belonging either to a subordinate social class OR to a subordinate race OR to a subordinate gender. Do your best to keep the respondent on target, talking about only one of these group memberships.
THE INTERVIEW
People often think that interviewing must be very easy, but nothing could be further from the truth. A number of principles dominate the interview process. Follow the guidelines below.
A. Select a willing respondent 18 years old or over. The person need not be a student. To assure objectivity on both sides, it is best to interview someone you do not know well. Tell the person that you're a student carrying out a Sociology assignment and that you will not reveal his/her identity to your instructor. Tell him/her what your three central questions will be (see below), and give him or her the opportunity to refuse if he/she wishes. Under no circumstances should you coerce or harass anyone into cooperation.
B. When you're starting the interview, repeat your three central questions, but before pursuing these, obtain some biographical information, such as the person's age, educational experiences, occupation (if any), marital status, where they were raised, where they live now, etc. Spend about 15 minutes learning “about” your interviewee. Encourage him or her to share with you any information about him or herself that s/he feels is important.
The formal portion of the interchange consists of the following three, open-ended questions:
1. "In your opinion, what is the greatest problem facing whatever subordinate group your interview will focus on: (e.g. the lower class, “African Americans, “Puerto Ricans, “females) in America today?"
2. "What do you feel are the most important causes of this problem?"
3. "What are your suggestions regarding how this problem can be solved?"
In pursuing your first question, be sure that your respondent focuses on only ONE subordinate group membership and only on ONE problem. Moreover, this problem must be specific enough for you to describe in your paper. For example, if someone states the most serious problem facing her group is sexism, you need to ask “what do you mean by sexism” or “could you tell me about what kinds of difficulties result from sexism”? Do not proceed to the second question until you are certain that the material you have obtained so far will help you in this assignment.
The purpose of the second question is to gain insight into what your respondent thinks are the main factors contributing to the problem. Try to limit your respondent to no more than two causes, preferably one. Prompt him/her to choose the most important cause(s). Again, do not proceed to the last question until you are sure you understand what your respondent’means by each ‘cause’ s/he has identified.
The last question has two purposes. The first is actually to determine what recommendations your respondent has to alleviate the problem. Again, try to limit your respondent to no more than two solutions, one is better still. If, despite encouragement, your respondent refuses to offer a solution, ask him/her to justify that stance. The second purpose of the last question is to allow you to “close the interview” in an emotionally appropriate way. You have asked your interviewee to open up to you; now you need to conclude the interchange in a responsible fashion. Giving her/him time to consider solutions resolves some of the anxiety associated with talking about problems.
C. Do not lead your respondent. Do not tell him/her what you think or phrase questions in a way that gives your interviewee a clue to your opinions. Since most people want to please, once a respondent gets a notion of what it is you want to hear, that's all you will hear. At the same time, you can support and encourage your respondent by repeating back what you think you have heard, and ask for confirmation of its accuracy.
D. Take only brief notes during the interview. On the one hand, interpersonal relations are ruined if you avoid eye contact and write constantly. On the other, a few key words jotted down will prove helpful in recalling the interchange later on. Tape recording is fine provided that you obtain the interviewee's consent and that you tell the interviewee that he/she has the right to ask you to turn off the machine at any time.
THE WRITE-UP
Your write-up will consist of four parts (see below). Even if you do not complete the whole paper right after the interview, it is best to write up the dialogue portion as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should you include the respondent's real name in the write-up. The instructor has no interest in who your respondent is. Rather, you must protect that person's privacy by not identifying him or her. To facilitate writing the paper, you can use a pseudonym (false name)to refer to your respondent, but be sure to state in the paper that the name is a pseudonym. There is a 5 point penalty for using a name without explaining that it is not the respondent's real name.
1) Introduction (10 points)
Begin with an introductory paragraph that describes your respondent (age, gender, hometown, educational credentials, etc.). Use this section also to describe the "tone" of the exchange. Was the respondent happy to talk? Hard to draw out? Reluctant to stop?
2) The dialogue (30 points - 10 points for each question)
Write this portion out like a drama, beginning questions and answers with Q. and A., respectively. If your interview was very long, limit this portion to your key questions. Spend no more than two pages on this section, preferably less. However, the dialogue should give the reader something of the content of the interaction between yourself and your respondent.
3) Critical analysis (48 points - 24 points for each portion)
This portion of your paper should contain two critical analyses: one critical analysis of the causes your respondent associates with the problem s/he has chosen (24 points) and one critical analysis of the solutions your respondent's has offered for that problem (24 points). Write the critical analysis of your respondent's cause(s) first, of his/her solution(s) second.
Note that your job is not to criticize your respondent's choice of problem. You may or may not agree that s/he has selected his/her group’s greatest problem, but this is the ‘data’ you have collected. In writing your critical analysis, your job is to assess how appropriate are his/her causes, given the problem s/he has identified, and how appropriate are his/her solutions, given the causes s/he has identified. In other words, your task is to assess your respondent's reasoning.
For your critical analysis of your respondent's causes of the problem,(a) paraphrase (state in your own words) what the respondent selected as the important cause(s) of his/her group's greatest problem (8 points); (b) state whether or not you agree that the cause(s) s/he has chosen as important (8 points), and (c) defend the stand you took in (b), that is, explain in detail why you agree (or disagree) that the causes your respondent has offered are important causes (8 points). In explaining why you agree or disagree with your respondent, you may draw upon a variety of sources, including readings assigned in this or other classes, newspapers, magazines, your own personal observations, etc. If you conclude that your respondent has omitted an important cause, you may want to discuss that cause, explaining why it is important. However, before proposing your own ideas, be sure to justify your assessment of your respondent's cause(s).
For your critical analysis of your respondent's solution to the problem s/he identified, proceed somewhat differently. First, (a) paraphrase what the respondent selected as his/her solution to the group's greatest problem (8 points); (b) state whether, in your opinion, the solution that the respondent has identified would or would not solve the problem s/he has identified; and (c) defend that stand you took in (b) -- that is, explain in detail why you agree (or disagree) that the solution that your respondent has proposed would solve (or at least reduce) the problem s/he has selected. In thinking about the appropriateness of the solution, consider whether or not your respondent's solution is related to his/her cause. Sometimes people propose good solutions that have nothing to do with the cause they mentioned earlier; other times people propose solutions that address the causes they previously identified. If you conclude that your respondent has overlooked a valuable solution, you may want to discuss that solution, explaining why it is a good one. However, before proposing your own ideas, be sure to justify your assessment of your respondent's solution.
4) Conclusion (12 points)
Finally, close your paper with a paragraph or two that examines the relationships between "who" your respondent is and what he/she said. Factors such as a person's race, ethnicity, sex, age, level of education, hometown, etc. often influence which problem they select, what causes they identify and what solutions they propose. Look for connections of this kind, and describe them in this last part of your paper.
Additional Matters of Importance
Proper spelling, grammar, and style
You will lose one point for each spelling error, grammatical mistake, or run-on sentence, etc., up to 10, after which no further penalties will be assessed. This policy means that if you do not proof read your paper before handing it in, you are sure to lose points. Moreover, when you proof read, even if your paper is typed, feel free to use pen or pencil to correct the errors you discover. Indeed, such Apenned-in@ corrections will be interpreted as Agood news@, because they indicate that you have proof read.
Students whose writing style shows serious deficiencies may regain some of the points lost by revising the paper and handing in a second (or possibly even a third) draft. Better yet, students concerned about the quality of their writing are encouraged to write a preliminary draft and bring it to office hours a few days before the due date. Alternatively, the University Writing Center is housed in the Library's Learning Commons. Tutors there also assist students in improving preliminary drafts. For more info, see http://writingprogram.hfa.umass.edu/writingcenter/writingcenter.asp
Length
Your paper should be four to six double-spaced, typewritten pages. If you cannot type it, then write it out legibly on lined paper, skipping lines. Not included in the page limit is the expectation that you include a cover sheet that displays, at minimum, your name, the course title, the date and a title for the paper (choose anything you like). All pages must be stapled. Please do NOT put the pages in a folder or plastic holder.
Plagiarism
Failing to give credit for ideas obtained from others is academic dishonesty. If you draw upon published materials or web pages to bolster your critical analysis, please append a bibliography. You may use any standard format for your citations. If you do not draw on the work of others, then you do not need a bibliography page.