Worksheet 3: Interview -- Sustainability and Research

For worksheet 3, you will design a formal set of questions based on the goal of interviewing someone outside of class from whom you can learn more about the ideas behind “Sustainability” and how people use research and writing in their fields.

You should identify an appropriate person to interview for the goals of this assignment. You might want to choose someone who already is working within an identifiable “sustainability project” or someone who works in a field that you are interested in. You need to have researched and become familiar with what the term sustainability means in a broad enough sense to be able to talk to someone about it. You also should do some initial research on the project and person you choose to interview.

In class, we workshopped the outline for the formal questions which you should tailor to your specific interviewee’s area or project. Those questions are due in DropBox by 4/14. The rough guideline we worked out in class includes:

*An introduction of yourself and your interest that identifies what we are doing in this course, what you hope to gain from the interview, and why you chose to interview this person.
*A question about defining sustainability. You need to briefly describe your definition of the term, and as the interviewee to provide their definition or “take” on sustainability.
*A question that asks the interviewee to discuss the project they are working on in some detail, or to describe what their job entails.
*A question that asks what type of research activities the interviewee uses (either for the project they are working on or in the course of their job/discipline).
*A question that asks what type of writing and communication skills their project/job/discipline entails.

You need to structure these questions in terms of your particular focus and the person you are interviewing’s area. You may generate a couple more questions as well that pertain to your particular interest.

Phase 2:  DUE DATE TBD
After you have generated the questions and turned them in to dropbox (worth 10 points) for my approval, you need to conduct the interview. Think about how you will record the results that come out of the interview (will you take notes, use a recorder). Also think about how you will conduct yourself during the interview, showing your interviewee respect and consider his/her time.

Phase 3:  DUE DATE TBD
You will turn in a formal summary of what you learned through the interview, specifically focusing on how the interview gave you more insight into some of the ideas we have been discussing in class. I do not want copy of the full responses. I want you to write a coherent, formal summary of what you discovered. (15 points).