interview with international student

Project description
The task is to conduct an interview, record it, transcribe a sample of your recordings, undertake some initial analysis of the content of the

conversation and reflect on the process of collecting data this way. It is expected you will support this using insights gained by your wider reading

on the subject of qualitative interviewing.

you must follow the instructions given by the Doctor it is very important and also the tools of conversation analysis (Naturalistic transcription)

this is very important
you will find attached the instruction given by the Doctor
if you want me to do the intrview send me the question list and i will try to find someone, in case you will do it please send me the record of the

interview.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Research Design and Dissertation
Research Report 1 – submission deadline, 8 December 2014

The first assignment is to produce a research report (max. 3000 words) based on an analysis of qualitative data you will each collect by undertaking

an interview. Your task is to conduct an interview, record it, transcribe a sample of your recordings, undertake some initial analysis of the

content of the conversation and reflect on the process of collecting data this way. It is expected you will support this using insights gained by

your wider reading on the subject of qualitative interviewing.

The aims of the assignment are:
•   to familiarise yourself with the use of a qualitative method (in this case interviewing) for both data production and data analysis
•   to develop your research interviewing and transcription skills
•   to promote reflection on the process of doing qualitative research.

The assignment task is to use a semi-structured or an unstructured interview process to discover your interviewee’s views and perspectives on the

subject of the experiences of postgraduate students who study abroad.

This will involve using interview approaches to probe the subject and gather and analyse your interviewee’s own responses to this topic (in his or

her own words).

The expectation is that you will interview a fellow postgraduate student, possibly someone from your own course (but you can interview a postgraduate

student from outside the University if you wish). You will have to use your initiative to find a person who will be willing to be interviewed. It is

preferable to make contact with someone you don’t know very well; a useful approach to do this may be to seek someone who is a friend of a friend.

Give yourself plenty of time to set up the interview. Having made contact, you will have to explain what the interview is about and arrange a time

and date. The interview should take place at a location where the interviewee feels comfortable but also where you are both safe, for example, in a

public space such as the university library or business school building during normal office hours. (University guidance on lone working can be

found at https://portal.lincoln.ac.uk/C1/hs/Health Safety Handbook/S, Lone working policy and Guidance v1-5.doc). Set aside between 1 to 2 hours for

the interviewing; you may not need this long but don’t underestimate how long it may take to undertake a meaningful interview. The intention is to

allow the interviewee to talk freely.

You decide if you want to use a unstructured or semi-structured interview approach. You must explain your choices in the method discussion of your

report. If you use a semi-structured approach prepare a schedule of interview topics you think it may be useful to discuss (please include these as

an appendix to your report and comment on the practical and theoretical relevance of these in your analysis). If you use unstructured interviewing

approaches describe in your report how you started the discussion and used follow-up questions. You should lead your interviewee into the topic

gently without putting words into his or her mouth; so you should not introduce too much rigid structure or artificiality into the conversation. The

atmosphere should be relaxed allowing your interviewee to talk in detail about events important to him or her. Your role is to keep the interview

flowing and on-course and respond to their conversation appropriately with follow-up questions and comments. Ideally you want to capture rich,

descriptive details of their experiences and perspectives.

There are three stages to this assignment, each has specific marks allocated to it and must be in evidence in your final report:

1) Data production and Method (approx. 1000 words):
• Each student is to conduct their own interview with a relevant participant and should consider (through appropriate reading) how to conduct

this successfully.
• The report should discuss who you selected (a general description, without identifying the individual); why you selected them and how you set

up the interview with them.
• Ethical guidelines are emphasised and you should ensure that you follow these (including for example considering issues of informed consent

and confidentiality).
• The interview must be recorded – this must be kept safe and made available to the tutor if requested. You should be able to use your phone,

mp3 player, computer or a recorder to complete this task. (Loan audio/video equipment if required is under the supervision of Media Loans, Ground

Floor, MHT building; equipment is limited so book early!)
• Your report should include an account of the methods used and your methodological approach. Academic references should be used to indicate

how your approach was informed by background reading on qualitative interviewing. You should also discuss how and why any themes were chosen to help

structure the interview and how the resulting data was analysed.

2) Transcription (approx. 500 words of actual conversation from the interview):
• The assignment must include a transcript of part of the interview; which should demonstrate the use of transcription techniques.
• Students need to familiarise themselves with the ‘script’ of the resulting interview. They should listen to the tape several times to work

out which parts of the conversation are most relevant, interesting and able to demonstrate your transcription skills. This extract from the interview

should be around 500 words and must include (as a minimum) the exact words as spoken during part of the interview.
• The interview should be conducted in English (even if the interview participants English is not perfect). Your transcript should be of the

interview as spoken, and this may include mistakes and unusual sentences. You may however sometimes have to include some explanatory comments in

order to make the sense clear to the reader.
• In the extremely unlikely event you are unable to interview in English you would need to make a full transcription in the first language and

then a full translation. Your reasons for doing this must be justified and discussed in the method section and it should be noted that this is NOT

RECOMMENDED – as it takes much longer to do and is much harder to capture the meaning of the conversations.

3)   Reflection on key research findings and process (approx.. 1000 words):
•   Students need to write a short reflection on the interview they conducted.
•   This should include a summary of the key findings – including a summary of key themes emerging from the interviews and the lessons learnt.
•   You might want to discuss the differences between your original expectations of themes for conversation and those discussed in the interview

itself.
• You should reflect on the success or otherwise of the interview in addressing the overall original objective of the research.
• You may want to relate this discussion to the known strengths and weaknesses of the technique you chose (giving academic references).

Remember this should always relate to a reflection on the process of your interview and its outcomes not a general discussion.

The structure of the report should be as follows:

•   Method Description and Discussion (approx. 1000 words) – 40% of marks
•   Transcript. Presentation of an extract from the interview, a sample transcript with annotations (approx. 500 words) – 30% of marks
•   Reflection on the interview findings and approach (approx. 1000 words) – 20% of marks
•   References (using Harvard conventions) – demonstrating appropriate wider reading and skills in referencing – 10% of marks

The report should be submitted electronically (via Blackboard) as ONE document; so as to detect any attempted plagiarism. Please remember that

academic honesty is required at all times and your work must be entirely your own. Views and quotes from other authors are encouraged where they add

to your argument/discussion but the source of these should be clearly given (as a reference) and all quotations/website extracts must be clearly

indicated by using quote-marks.

Submission deadline 8 December 2014 (submitted through Blackboard)
Maximum word count: 3,000 words

Suggested Further Reading

Bryman A & Bell E (2007) Business Research Methods 2nd Edition Oxford University Press
Denzin N & Lincoln Y (2005) The SAGE handbook of Qualitative Research London: Sage
Eriksson, P & Kovalainen, A (2008) Qualitative Methods in Business Research London, Sage
Gummesson E (1991) Qualitative Methods in Management Research London: Sage.
Marschan,-Piekarit, R & Welch, C, (2005) Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods for International Business London: Edward Elgar.
Mason, J. (2002) Qualitative Researching. London: Sage
Saunders, M et al (2006) Research Methods for Business Students London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall
Silverman, D. (2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing talk, text and interaction. London: Sage
Silverman, D (2000) Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook London: Sage

Generic Marking Criteria
Overall result Marking Criteria
Distinction
70%+ 70-79%

80-89%

90%+   Excellent work that will:
o   display a full understanding of area of research and mastery of a significant body of data
o   use full range of sources, used selectively to support argument
o   provide a coherent and strong argument
o   display originality in analysis and subtlety of interpretation
o   be exceptionally well written and presented
o   present the possibility of publication.
High quality throughout with an excellent understanding of the subject.
Showing insight and potential for publication with some revisions.
Exceptional insight and of publishable quality.

Good
Pass
60-69% 60-64%

65-69%   The work will:
o   display effective use of main materials, going beyond the standard secondary sources
o   present coherent and concise argument of complex concepts
o   present independent and critical evaluation of a range of theories
o   show some evidence of originality
o   be written and presented to good academic standards.
Well developed argument and evaluation.
Approaching excellence in some areas.

Pass
50-59% 50-54%

55-59%   The work will:
o   display a sound basic knowledge of principals relevant to the area of study
o   present a logical structure, though this may not be fully thought through
o   display some capacity to critically reflect or analyse
o   be unlikely to show evidence of originality
o   be presented and written to adequate academic standards.
Generally accurate and sound understanding of area of study.
Approached good standard in several areas.

Fail
<50% 40-49%

30-39%
<30%   Many of the basic elements may be present but the work will be lacking in other areas, such as,
o   key information sources and content which will be limited
o   unsophisticated use of key sources
o   poorly structured and sustained argument displaying limited knowledge
o   conceptual understanding is poor.
o   defects in presentation
o   parts of the question may be missing or only partially answered
Overall knowledge limited and poorly presented.
Very poor knowledge of subject and weak understanding of issues.
Deeply flawed, containing fundamental mistakes.

Last Revised May 2014
R Herron

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