The following work was completed as a group effort by Sarah Chauncey, Patricia McKenna, and Barbara Stripling in Professor Carsten Osterlund’s 2-Day Interviewing Class following our doctoral residency - May 28-29 2010
PURPOSE & CONCEPTION OF THEME
WHO?
Experts in the field of motivation theory.
WHY?
We would like to collect information to address these questions:
What are the 21st Century Issues and innovations influencing motivation theories and their application?
What gaps will current and future motivational research address?
What do you consider the key constructs underlie motivational theories?
THEORETICAL AND COMMONSENSE PERSPECTIVE ON THE THEME
Motivation theory continues to be lens to understand behavior across domains
Current and future technological innovations (21st Century) affect motivation and therefore changes in motivational theory have to take into account this effect.
The field has become segmented and may benefit from research which considers relationships amongst constructs as defined by different theories.
HOW
Individual semi-structured interviews
Panel discussion
DESIGN
Research questions are founded on motivation theory which requires identification of experts in the field to be interviewed.
We will limit time allotted for each interview to respect the time of our interviewee.
Because we have 80+ theories, and we are interviewing experts for each one, we will pilot a semi-structured interview to ensure a consistent response amongst interviewees.
Interviews will be conducted over time by a number of different interviewers.
IN-PERSON / PHONE – SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
Good morning. We are graduate students at the iSchool of Syracuse University researching motivational theory in the areas of learning and information. You are noted as an expert in XYZ motivational theory. After our reading and study of that theory, we would like to ask you a few questions to understand your perspective. This interview should take no longer than 30 minutes. All information will be held strictly confidential and the data will be aggregated so that responses will not be directly tied to individuals and all responses will be anonymous.
With your permission, we would like to record this interview. You can refuse to answer any question and you can stop the interview at any point.
Our purpose in conducting this interview is to investigate the research question, “How do 21st Century issues and innovations influence motivation theories and their application?”
DYNAMIC: For the record, can you briefly describe your motivation theory?
DYNAMIC: What prompted you to become interested in motivation theory?
INTRODUCTORY: We are very interested in your ideas about how the area of XYZ motivation theory has or has not developed in recent history.
Could you share your thoughts on this?
PROBING: How do you see this theory of motivation or its application being influenced in the immediate future by 21st century innovations, for example social media and networking?
SPECIFYING: How do you see your motivation theory or its application being influenced by the context of 21st century learning?
FOCUS GROUP
Good morning. We are graduate students at the iSchool of Syracuse University researching motivational theory in the areas of learning and information. You all are noted as experts in motivational theories. We are so pleased that you have agreed to be part of a focus group to explore some aspects of motivational theories.
With your permission, we would like to record this focus group. Please know that you can refuse to answer any question and any remarks will not be attributed to you as individuals. Your participation is anonymous.
OUR PURPOSE in conducting this focus group is to investigate the research question, “What gaps will current and future motivational research address?”
INTRODUCTORY: To start, we would like to give each of you the opportunity to tell us what you consider one or two key gaps in motivational research that need to be addressed.
[Individual answers]
INTRODUCTORY: The exploding volume of information and innovations in technology seem to be impacting research in a number of fields. How do you see these 21st century issues influencing research in motivation, both in the theory and its application?
[Conversation among experts]
DIRECT: Isn’t technology, in the form of social networking, motivating in itself? How does this connect to motivational theory?
[Conversation among experts]
DIRECT: How can we use research in motivation to understand assessment of learning in the 21st century, especially given the current environment of accountability and testing?
[Conversation among experts]
INTERPRETIVE: Here are the key points that we’ve heard today about motivational theories and their application . . . . Have we captured the key points? Is there anything we missed?
[Individual answers]
Thank you very much for participating today and for sharing your expertise.
IDEA FOR AN INTERVIEW FOR- Note