Getting Readyfor Interview Project

Dr. Taehee Choi

Thanks to Dr. Jiafang LU

Outline

1. Recap of the assignment 1

2. Before you go out to interview

3. Conducting the interview

4. After you come back from interview

ASSIGNMENT 1Part 1

Assignment 1 Group Presentation (30%)

Each group member identifies a target teacher for interview with your group’s questions

Summarise the main patterns, and analyse the data (e.g., potential reasons for the patterns, alignment with previous research)

At least 3 class readings should be referred to in your analysis Include reflection on the experience of a collaborative relationship

during the project (Were your group effective in collaboration? How and why?)

On the day of presentation: Print-out of transcription of the data (anonymized version) + PowerPoint slides etc. should be given to the instructor

Refer to study guide and read details of the Assessment Requirements before starting your work (pp. 5-6)!

Project Purposes

To deepen your understanding of a topic of your choice

To apply/test the theories & your hypotheses

To taste the real work life of teachers

To get better prepared for future professional career

5

BEFORE YOU DO THE INTERVIEW

Part 2

Training for Interviewers

Role play the interview among group members before going out for interview

Discuss within groups how to handle difficult or confusing situations

Demonstrate & Rehearse

Learn your questions by heart

Arrive early!

Approval for audio-recording

Contact the teacher and explain to him/her the purpose of the investigation which is part of a course assessment.

You can show the assessment requirements to the teacher if it helps clarify the purpose.

Seek approval from the teacher prior to doing any audio-recording of the interview.

Preparation

Be familiar with the interview questions Gather information about your interviewee

Information about school The subjects he(she) is teaching The grades he(she) is teaching

Confirm time and place. Be punctual.

Dress – Not too casual

Recording equipment (battery, memory cards, ensure you know how to use the recording function)

DURING THE INTERVIEWPart 3

Types of interviews

Semi-structured Have a framework of themes ( 主題 ) Can flexibly add or omit some questions Order can be flexibly rearranged (depends on flow)

Structured (standardized) Same set of questions Asked in exactly the same order Answers can be easily aggregated and compared

You may prepare a set of Structured interview questions, but don’t have to feel panic when the conversation between you and the interviewee doesn’t follow the order. You can always rearrange their responses while analyzing the data.

Question sequence Questions flow logically from one to the next

General Specific

Less sensitive More sensitive

Factual Attitudes and Opinions

Things to avoid

Embarrassing Questions 尷尬問題 Casual approach

“Have you ever lied to your students?“

The “Everybody” approach "As you know, many teachers have been lying to their

students these days. Have you ever lied to your students?"

The “Other people” approach "Do you know any teacher who has lied to their students?“ PAUSE FOR REPLY ""How about yourself?””

BARTON, J A (1958) Asking the embarrassing question. Public Opinion Quarterly 22 pp.67-8

Guess what’s wrong here

How did your parents treat you when you were 6 months old?

Were you involved in plagiarism?

Asking the wrong questions

Respondents must be competent to answer. How did your parents treat you when you were 6

months old?

Respondents must be willing to answer. Were you involved in plagiarism?

Remember collecting demographic information

Sex (too obvious to ask, but mark it down)

Approximate age

Subject(s) taught

Grade(s) taught

School information (size, public or aided, band information, etc)

These information would be useful in making sense of data and interpreting results.

DURING THE INTERVIEWPart 3

React to your respondent

Be open and flexible― Listen. Observe.

Q: Do you feel being isolated as a beginning teacher? A: No; colleagues here treat me well.

[Oh, no, all my prepared questions won’t work]

― Possible way to carry on Q: How do you do they treat you well?

― Bad interviewer Q: Oh, in what ways do they isolate you? [Used the

prepared Q anyway]

Be an effective communicator

Look for body language: ― Nervous? Aggressive? Relaxed? Superior?

Preferred atmosphere: friendly rapport If you disagree:

― Respect your respondent― Don’t argue, record accurately― Encourage him/her to go on― Say “uh-hum” and nod (instead of “Yes, I agree”)― If possible, withhold your own views― Ask for details “Can I ask why you feel….?”

…but remember your theme

If your respondent goes too much off-topic, you have to lead him/her back [Interview on cooperative relationship with teachers] Q: Do you have contacts after work? Do you go out for lunch

together? A: Oh yeah! We found a really nice restaurant …

[talks on for 10 minutes about that restaurant and food, blah blah blah.] Q: I see, that is a nice restaurant, do you think dining out together is

useful for maintaining relationships with other teachers?

Probing (追問 )

Pursue along an existing answer. Ask for further details / elaboration. ― “How did you feel at that time?”― “What resources did you have available for this

activity?”― “Any particulars reasons for doing it that way?”

Be careful of guided questions.e.g., Did you feel embarrassed at that time?

e.g., Was it because you didn’t like the student?

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

Transcribing

Typewrite the audio recording― Audio files into text― Make your interview ready for analysis― Do not include teacher and school names in the

transcript, you may use fake names instead.

A transcribing software: Express Scribe― The free trial version will do― http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/index.html

Steps for analyzing the data

Sort the answers according to interview questions

Identify salient and distinct concepts/themes from the answers

Categorize concepts/themes under each interview question

Every group member repeats this analysis process. Look for similarities and differences. How similar? Why different?

Looking for answers

Does the analyzed results provide answers to your interview questions?

What theme is repeated? Are there contradictions?

What does the literature (your references) say about this? If any discrepancies, why?

Looking for themes

Are there any new or interesting themes emerging from the data?

Are there any themes consistently emerging across interview cases?

What does the literature (your references) say about this? If any discrepancies, why?

Looking for similarities

What are the common points in answers provided by different interviewees?

What does the literature (your references) say about this? If any discrepancies, why?

Discuss further

What are the main points of YOUR findings

To what extent they agree with the literature (your references), and to what extent they are new to the literature (your references)?

What would be the practical implications of your findings for teachers

Reflect on the processes and dynamics of building collaborative relationships working in your group.

The best research plan also needs some good luck.

Fingers crossed for you!