In-person Survey vs. Anonymous Google Form Survey:

I completed a mock survey where I gave some people the anonymous google form to fill out and for others I had an in-person interview with the same questions. I learned how both of them compared [refer to the image on the left], and was then conflicted on what was the best way to go. Through an in-person interview, was able to gather more in-depth answers; however, since I am interviewing my community I worry that many people will not want to give me completely honest answers because these questions have a societal “correct” answer, so I worry that people will give me that answer instead of their truthful answer. Then, through an anonymous survey, I gathered more truthful answers however, the interviewees either interpreted my questions in a way that did not give me the type of answer I need or their answers were so short I could not gather enough data from them. Noticing how both had strong pros and strong cons I asked for other people’s opinions on what they think is best. One person had an amazing idea of doing hybrid. So, my survey will be given out in a hybrid format to my community. I will first have in-person surveys with everyone, and after I do the in-person survey’s I will give them a google form to fill out anytime in a certain amount of time-slotted (for example two weeks). This then allows me to have the initial survey in-person to gather information and ask follow-up questions, but then also allows people to, later on, add more information that they did not want to share with me in person. The questions on both formats will be the same and I will have them fill out the entire google survey after the in-person survey so I can still collect data and make connections.

First Round of Interviews:

I currently have 17 interviews scheduled. For the most part, they will take place the second week of January (January 10-January 16). There is a range of people who have volunteered to be a part of the interviews. There are a few teachers, administrators, students, and some who work in the financing department.

One of my predictions before asking for volunteers was that many people who volunteered to be a part of my project would be people I have a relationship with. As I predicted, the majority of people who volunteered are people I already know and have a preexisting relationship with. However, there are a few people who I have not met before. So, while my predictions came true there were still a few people I did not know that volunteered. This is a positive outcome because I will then gain a wider perspective and answers.

Coming next:

I will be sending out another email once school starts up again on January 4 to see if anyone else is interested in participating. Then, I will start the first round of interviews, and work on gathering all of the data in one place.

Gathering Data

After finishing all but three of my interviews I had to start thinking about how I am going to put all of my data in one place, so I can start to make connections. After realizing how much data I would have to gather I figured that the most simple and clear format would be google sheets because I know how to use the application and would be easy to see all the answers right next to each other.

Interview:

For the February interview portfolio post my manager and I agreed that since my project is based around interviews that reflecting on the interview process as my interview portfolio post would be most beneficial.  I have completed the interview section of my project, and I was able to learn and develop my interview as I went on. I would every couple of interviews I learned a new way to ask a question or another way to think about the question. For example, I had a question that if you were the teacher of a high school class and a student told you that their exam said they got a B, but you graded the work wrong and they should have gotten an A. What would you do? After asking this question someone answered both with when they were younger compared to now and before a big life-changing event to after that event. I realized that asking for different times in their life for this one question allowed me to get to know so much more and have more conclusive data. My interviews have been successful. Most people were open and willing to answer my questions to their full truths, for the most part, and I grew my skill of asking questions and learned many different ways to ask questions. During my interviews, I had to learn how to create a space where the other person felt comfortable opening up to me about things that they might be hesitant to share. I was able to learn information to answer my essential question, and just doing the interviews I could already see some potential connections. I did have an issue with flow from one question to another. There were some parts in my interview that jumped to a new area but then a couple of questions later jumped back. However, after doing a couple of interviews I realized this and reorganized my questions to flow better. The interviews have been challenging and sometimes really awkward, but they have given me the space to learn and develop my interviewing and communication skills.

What does success look like for your project?

Success for my project would be to have meaningful interviews with people, which means to have people feel comfortable to answer the questions to their fullest. Then, finding connections between the different interviews will allow me to create my final product. The overall success of my project would be to have enough connections from different people that I am able to create conclusions from them, and then write down those conclusions so others are able to read what I have learned.

What experiences are you hoping to have?

I am hoping to experience interviews and learn from each one of them. I want to have the experience of writing a paper even if my paper is a shorter one than the length of normal papers. I also experience presenting my ideas to other people and having the space to learn what they think.

What outcomes are you expecting to complete?

There are two main outcomes that I expect to have. One would be a written document discussion and evaluating the conclusions I have gathered and an answer to my essential question. The other outcome is to present my findings to my community and the people that I interviewed to hear their comments and feedback.