Living Religins Fieldwrk Prject Interview Reprt 1,000 wrd minimum (12 pint, duble-spaced) Submit as a Wrd attachment via email t yur instructr Name yur file with yur last name, fllwed by a space, fllwed by Interview (e.g., Maaia Interview) Each researcher must cnduct her wn interview, but bth researchers must be present at bth interviews Due: This is a narrative descriptive paper based n qualitative research, in this case, a face-t-face interview with an infrmant at yur research site. Yur infrmant: Smene at the site. It culd be an fficial persn wh leads the cmmunity, an emplyee, r a member. Yu might even want t interview a neighbr abut what he/she knws abut this rganizatin r cmmunity. Yu need t explain t yur infrmant that yu are ging t use this infrmatin fr research abut religin in the greater Washingtn metrplitan area fr a curse in schl. Yu als need t tell the persn the general tpic f the interview but it is yur chice whether r nt yu want t give the persn the specific questins befre the interview. Explain that while aspects f the research might be disclsed t thers, the identity f the interviewee will be prtected. Yu must give this persn cntact infrmatin at the schl that they can address any questins that they have with smene here at NCS. We will give yu a letter explaining the prject that yu shuld give t them. Religius Studies Department Natinal Cathedral Schl Washingtn, D.C. 20016 Tel. 202 537 5619 In yur email t yur instructr, send the name and cntact infrmatin f yur infrmant (email address, mailing address, r telephne number). We am nt planning t cntact yur infrmant but all research needs t have transparency between the researcher and the supervisr f research. Yu must d this befre yu cnduct the interview. Yu need t infrm yur parents when and where yu are cnducting the interview; yu shuld nt cnduct an interview withut smene knwing the circumstances f yur interview. Plan t meet yur infrmant in a public place r in an pen envirnment at his/her wrkplace. Yur Fundamental Research Questins: What are the unifying and diversifying elements f yur religin? In ther wrds: What des yur cmmunity share with the rest f the greater traditin? What makes yur cmmunity unique and different frm ther expressins f this religin? Yur Audience: Imagine that this curse was part f a larger nline curse and the ther students were at peer schls in in L.A., New Yrk, Lndn, Shanghai, and Mumbai. Yur tne and style ught t be prfessinal and publishable, i.e., friendly, but frmal. Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 1
Yur Prtcl: There are fur grups f questins t ask in rder t get a full understanding f the infrmant s psitin n this research questin. Yu may decide t have as many as a ttal f 20 questins, including an icebreaking and a wrapping-up questin t gain depth and clarity in yur understanding f the respnses f yur infrmant. Ice-Breaking Questin t establish rapprt Grup 1: Demgraphic Questins that yu think are imprtant fr this research questin Grup 2: General Questins that expand the main research questin. Here are sme examples: What is religin? What des religin mean t yu? Is there a difference between religin and spirituality? What are the functins f religin? Hw des it functin in yur life? What are sme reasns yu practice/believe in yur religin? What is the rle f religin in the lives f individuals? What is the rle f religin in sciety? What religin are yu? Are yu a different religin than yu were raised? What are the unifying and diversifying elements f yur religin? In ther wrds: What des yur cmmunity share with the rest f the greater traditin? What makes yur cmmunity unique and different frm ther expressins f this religin? Is there anything yu think peple misunderstand abut yur religin? What is yur view f ther religins? If yu had t chse a different religin, which ne wuld yu chse? Hw wuld yu feel if yur children decided smeday t cnvert t a different religin frm yurs? Hw serius are yu abut the practices? (In ther wrds, hw exactly must yu practice yur religius rituals and custms?) Hw serius are yu abut the beliefs? (In ther wrds, hw clsely must yu adhere t the fficial beliefs f yur religin (if there are any)? Why d we suffer? Is there a way ut f suffering? What happens when I die? Hw shuld I live? Grup 3: Cmmn Class Research Questins: In class, we may decide n ne r mre questins that each class member will ask during their interview, such as Have yu ever had a religius experience? Grup 4: Persnal Research Questins: Questins that reflect yur wn special interests t help yu better understand the infrmant, e.g. What is the rle f art in religin? Hw d yu view science in relatinship t religin? What shuld be the rle f prayer? Hw is religin different frm culture? Can yu be religius withut being part f a grup r cmmunity? What is the effect f a religius cmmunity that creates a frmal institutin r rganizatin fr itself? What rituals are helpful? What sacred texts are imprtant enugh that everyne shuld knw them? Sample Wrapping Up Questins What haven t I asked yu that yu think that I shuld have? Wh else d yu think wuld be a gd persn t interview abut this tpic? Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 2
Sme ntes abut questins - Ask as many pen-ended questins as pssible instead f clsed-ended questins. When the infrmant finishes, yu can encurage the infrmant t cntinue by giving a nn-leading respnse such as I see r Fr example? r Culd yu say mre abut that? Brainstrm ways t ask a questin in mre than ne way, in case yu need t elicit a better respnse.) Pay attentin t the difference between nrmative questins and descriptive questins, e.g. the difference between asking smene What is the rle f religin in plitics? as ppsed t What shuld the rle f religin be in plitics? Nte that there are tw kinds f research prjects. In sme kinds f traditinal scial science research it is vital t get thrugh all the questins cmpletely and in a specific rder. That is the kind f research where yu are trying t prve sme hypthesis and yu want data t back up yur thery. That is nt this kind f research. In this type f research, based n smething called grunded thery, yu are nt trying t prve an intellectual claim but, rather, are trying t get enugh infrmatin, i.e., data that yu culd use t prpse an intellectual claim r hypthesis that yu might later n want t try t prve. Als, if yu have an especially gd experience r are inspired by smene Give cntact infrmatin fr anyne frm this site wh might be willing t perfrm at an NCS Cathedral Service and a very brief descriptin f what kind f music they culd d. Give cntact infrmatin fr anyne yu think might be apprpriate t invite t an NCS Cathedral Service r t ne f the three NCS divisinal chapel services. List any cngregatinal singing hymns r sngs r chants used at this site that yu think might be apprpriate fr an NCS Cathedral Service r ne f the three NCS divisinal chapel services. Citatin and Anntatin Pst an anntatin f yur paper in the Papers sectin f the WrdPress Wiki using this citatin mdel. Insert yur submissin in the prper rder in the bibligraphy. Student s Surname, Student s First Name. Title f the Paper, Living Religins, Natinal Cathedral Schl, 10 September 2013. [write 3 t 6 sentences describing yur paper] Recmmended Reprt Organizatin (See Belw) Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 3
Recmmended Reprt Organizatin Title Give yur paper a descriptive title that is infrmative and catchy. Paragraph 1 Tell yur reader 1) the general research tpic and why it is imprtant, i.e., interviewing the wisest persn yu knw abut the nature f religin. Tell yur reader the mst imprtant 3 t 6 specific questins that yu asked and 2) the thesis statement, a single declarative statement that answers the questin: what did yu learn. Paragraph 2 Describe the persn yu chse with imprtant demgraphic infrmatin (educatin, ccupatin, age, in what city they live, marital status, children, race, religin, ethnicity yur chice abut what yu think is imprtant t mentin) abut yur infrmant. Explain why yu chse this persn. Yu shuld give yur infrmant a pseudnym and use this and ther cnsideratins t disguise their identity. Refer t this individual by the pseudnym. Include a ftnte that identifies this as a pseudnym. D nt refer t this individual as my mther r my grandfather, thus, giving away the identity f yur infrmant. Paragraph 3 - Give a descriptin f the interview itself: where, when, etc. What was the atmsphere like? Give a rich descriptin f the time and the space. Explain the md f the experience (tense, friendly, warm, rushed... ) Paragraph 4 and additinal paragraphs Write a narrative descriptin, nt a transcript, f yur interview. Give cncrete details. D nt, hwever, give yur wn persnal, running cmmentary abut what yu think f what yur infrmant said. N.B. Reprt as accurately and as sympathetically as yu can what yur infrmant said, regardless f whether r nt yu agree with yur infrmant. Ideally, yu ught t be able t finish the interview withut yur infrmant having any clue what yu think f what she/he has said. Yur jb as a researcher and as a reprter f yur research is t blend int the backgrund as much as yu can; neither yur infrmant nr yur reader ught t knw yur persnal pinin abut the subjects being described. Yur task is t dcument an accurate and sympathetic vice t yur infrmant abut these questins. Cncluding Paragraph D nt repeat the thesis; tell yur readers what fllw-up yu think wuld be wrthwhile research, e.g. what ther questins wuld yu like t ask this infrmant in anther interview r what ther infrmant wuld yu like t ask these same questins. Tell yur reader what ther future researchers might d next as a result f this initial wrk. Fr example, yu might suggest new questins fr a secnd rund f interviews with this individual. On the ther hand, yu might suggest asking the same questins f ther individuals with different demgraphic backgrunds. Required Supplementary Persnal Reflectin Put this n a separate page and labeled Supplementary Persnal Respnse. Althugh this is required, it is nt assessed and is nt included in the wrd cunt requirement. Yu dn t need t answer all the fllwing guiding questins. Chse as many as yu think apprpriate t explain what yu learned in ding the assignment. This is the time fr yu t sit back, think abut the entire prcess, and figure ut what yu ve gained frm the experience. Reread yur ntes and yur reprt. Which questin was the mst interesting, the mst difficult, the mst imprtant, r the mst intractable? What was easiest r hardest: chsing yur infrmant? Ding the interview? Writing up yur ntes? Writing the reprt? The bttm line here is t ask yurself what the key feature f the entire prcess was that best gives insight int what is fundamental t the experience f being a living human being. What did yu learn frm this prcess f analysis abut yurself? Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 4
Sample Interview Prtcl (Nt necessarily in this rder) 1. Ice-breaking questin t build rapprt 2. Demgraphic Questin 1 3. Demgraphic Questin 2 4. Demgraphic Questin 3 5. Demgraphic Questin 4 6. Demgraphic Questin 5 7. Demgraphic Questin 6 8. General Backgrund Questin 1: What is religin? 9. General Backgrund Questin 2: What is the rle f religin in the lives f individuals? 10. General Backgrund Questin 3: What shuld be the rle f religin in the lives f individuals? 11. General Backgrund Questin 4: What is the rle f religin in sciety? 12. General Backgrund Questin 5: What shuld be the rle f religin in sciety? 13. Cmmn Class Research Questin 1. What elements unify yur religius traditin? 14. Cmmn Class Research Questin 2. What elements make yur cmmunity different frm thers within yur religius traditin? 15. Cmmn Class Research Questin 3 16. Yur Persnal Research Questin 1 17. Yur Persnal Research Questin 2 18. Yur Persnal Research Questin 3 19. NCS Research Questin 1 Is there anyne here wh might be willing t ffer a musical cntributin that is representative f this religius traditin at an NCS wrship service? 20. NCS Research Questin 2 What are the mst representative sngs, hymns, r chants f this religius traditin? 21. Cncluding Questin 1 - What haven t I asked yu that yu think that I shuld have? 22. Cncluding Questin 2 - Wh else d yu think wuld be a gd persn t interview abut this tpic? Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 5
Field Wrk #4: Interview Grading Rubric 4 Yes, and 3 Yes 2 Yes, but 1 N, but 0 - N Categry Cmpnents Pints Cmments Base Pints Supplementary Persnal Reflectin Interview with smene cnnected t yur fieldwrk site r the religius cmmunity Assignment is n-time and cmplete. Reprt Length (Abut 1000 wrds) Reprt Title (Per Instructins, including Title, Student Name, date) Includes required individual reflectin n the assignment. (Sme suggestins: What wrked well? What was challenging? What came naturally? Were there any surprises? Hw did yu feel abut the assignment befre and after cmpleting it?) Identity Thesis/Theme Backgrund Knwledge Des the reprt cntain apprpriate demgraphic infrmatin abut the interviewee and a descriptin f the interview setting? Is the interviewee s identity prtected? Des the reprt articulate the general research tpic and/r a clear thesis statement? Des the cntent supprt the theme/thesis? Des the reprt suggest questins fr future research? Des the reprt make cnnectins t the knwledge f the traditin? Is there explanatin f cncepts and practices that are specific t the religius cmmunity? Cntent Organizatin Vice Grammar Lgistics Des the interviewer ask the primary questins and any necessary fllw-up questins? Is there an effective mix f retelling and direct qutatin f the interviewee s respnses? Are the ideas cmplete? The rganizatin is effective. It is clear and sequential. The wrk flws. Transitins between parts f the paper are smth. There is a hk, intrductin, bdy, and cnclusin. The tne f vice is well-develped, nuanced, and enhances the meaning. It is apprpriate t the assignment. It is drawsin the audience, enhancing the receptin and understanding f the material. Clear sentences, with a variety f simple and cmplex sentences. Grammar is crrect. Punctuatin aids meaning. N typgraphical errrs. Instructins are fllwed fr spacing, fnt size, margins, wrd cunt, prper heading, cnsistent frmatting, etc. Living Religins Field Wrk Assignment 5 Page 6