Interview With An Older Adult

Interview With An Older Adult

100 Points

Throughout the course we have studied the aging issues in society. You have learned that there are changes expected with aging. You have also learned that there is considerable heterogeneity in the aging process. The objective of this assignment is for you to learn about the aging process from an older adult’s (60 years or older) personal experience. This type of interview is considered qualitative research, and is often used by researchers to gain a more in-depth understanding of the phenomena under study.

This assignment is two parts that will be submitted as one WORD document.

Part 1: Script (~1 page)

The first part of this assignment is to write a script for your interview. First, include in your script questions to collect basic demographic information, including age, gender, race, years of schooling or highest degree earned, past or current occupation, marital status, place of residence, and number of children and grandchildren. Next, think about a focused theme for the interview (e.g., caregiving, employment, retirement, housing, health). This can align with one of the course content areas, or be a topic of interest to you. Think of ~5 questions, and the best order of these questions to create a good “flow”. Plan for the interview to be approximately 30 minutes, so base the number of questions on whether you anticipate the response to be short or long. Consider these questions as “prompts” or “probes”; feel free to deviate from the script to learn more detailed or interesting information. Be considerate of asking questions that might be too personal or difficult to answer, especially if the topic is sensitive (e.g., death, poor health, or other losses).

Conduct of the interview:

Before beginning the interview, explain the purpose of your assignment and also document that the person has verbally consented to the interview. Assure them that the information they are sharing is for educational purposes only and your written report will not contain any identifying information. You will keep the information discussed confidential. You may tape record your interview if you have a device to do so, but make sure you obtain permission first and do not include any identifying information.

Of course, use your best manners throughout the interview. If the person strays off topic, gently remind them that you have a specific assignment to complete for class and would like to move on to another question. Thank them for their time and cooperation at the conclusion of the interview.

Part 2: Reflection

Format: ~ 3-4 pages, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman 12 pt. font.

Your reflection should be a written narrative of your interview. The first paragraph will introduce your interviewee by describing their basic demographic characteristics. Do not include the interviewee’s name. It should also be clear from the first paragraph what the theme of the interview is about. Be clear what you asked, describe their response, and then, most importantly, reflect on their response. Was their response expected or unexpected; does it align with what we learned in the course, and if not, how so; is this person’s experience typical or atypical of older adults; how does their response influence your thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors about aging? Conclude your paper with an overall reflection of the interview.

Please note that your paper is not to be a transcript of the interview (exact answer does not follow the question), but a reflection on what you learned from the older person.