FSW 261 Interview Paper This assignment is to give you a chance to investigate for yourself how relationships and family’s work by interviewing someone, whom you are not related to, in a situation of your choosing (*please refer to options listed below). This is an informal research project where you will be gathering the data by using the interview questionnaire provided and then writing up a quick analysis of your findings by integrating and applying what we have learned/or will learn in class. The analysis is to be about 4-5 pages in length AND should include the questionnaire (which does not count towards the page length) with the interviewee’s answers as typed in the space provided in the questionnaire. Selecting a participant: • • • The individual CANNOT be related to you OR someone that you are romantically involved in (e.g., partner, spouse or boy/girlfriend) to avoid bias or potential for someone to not be completely open since you are related to them. The individual MUST be in the current dynamic for at least one full year in order to provide a better perspective. *Please choose who you want to interview from the following options: Only choose one; attempting to do multiple interviews even if the individual can relate to multiple dynamics would be much harder and require you to do an analysis for each interview. o A married individual o A divorced individual and/or parent o A married parent o A single parent o A remarried stepparent o A cohabiting partner The nonrelated interviewee should be one you feel would be willing to participate and who would feel comfortable doing this assignment with you. Please be sure to inform the individual that the information will not be used for any other purpose but this assignment and that their name will never be documented or mentioned in your paper. You may use what we call a pseudo name to protect their identity and to ensure confidentiality. Be sure to explain that this assignment is designed to get an insider’s perspective on marriage and family dynamics, which will be based on which type of individual you have chosen (e.g., if you chose a divorced person then you would tell them that you are particularly interested in people who have been through a divorce and how it has impacted them and how it compares to what research has found). Also, explain to them that this interview is not designed to have any potential risks or discomforts. However, some of the interview questions may cause slight discomfort to a participant because of reflecting on the past and disclosing information about their personal lives and that your participant is not obligated to answer any question if they feel uncomfortable. Please have them answer the demographic information before the interview. 1 FSW 261 Interview Paper Interview tips: • • • • • Make sure to make them feel relaxed and try to stay relaxed too Choose a location that is free from distraction and comfortable Try to get a few exact quotes to help your analysis—the more direct quotes the better! Take good notes of your interview because this is what you will use when you write up the results and the analysis Bring a notepad, the interview guide/questionnaire, and/or your laptop for note taking Using the Interview Guide & Writing up the results of your interview: • • • Ask the questions as they are presented. Take as many notes as you want and can—even include your own thoughts about what they are sharing with you and their feelings as they respond. Feel free to add your own follow-up questions. As you conduct the interview, you may write on the questionnaire itself or type them as you go. Nonetheless, you must write or type the responses of your participant and attach them to your analysis paper along with the demographic information that is at the end of the interview guide. Make sure to give a complete answer to the questions. You may summarize their answers, but I will still look for a few exact words, descriptions, and/or quotes to be included in every interview response to all questions. You must also include the interview guide to your paper when you turn it in for grading. The Analysis: 1) You will identify what type of individual you chose and explain your reason for choosing that person and situation (e.g., why did you choose to interview a single parent?). 2) You will do research in our textbook based on your topic. ALL information presented within the text and course can be used and cited that is pertinent to the interviewee’s experience. While you may cite the supplemental information from the PowerPoint slides occasionally if needed; please remember your expected research and citations MUST be from the course textbook (cite page number). a. Some chapters that will be helpful are marriage, chap. 7; divorce and step parenting, chap. 14 and 15; and parenthood (single or married), chap. 8, 9, 10, cohabitation chapters 5, 6, and 7 ect. b. A lot of the interview questions are based on what is discussed and addressed in our text about what research has found about each family dynamic (e.g., if you choose a married parent, what has research found about the challenges of 2 FSW 261 Interview Paper parenting compared to what your participant identified as challenging for them— was it similar or different?). The entire textbook is available for you to use--all chapters. Therefore, even if you interview a married person DO NOT limit yourself to only chapter 7, chapter 1, 6, and 11 could also be applicable. c. Compare their responses to our textbook and note any and all differences or similarities. Therefore, your paper should be presenting your interviewee’s responses to EVERY question presented in the interview guide. **Our textbook is Lamanna, M. A., Riedmann, A., & Stewart, S. (2018). Marriages, families, and relationships: Making choices in a diverse society. 13th edition. Cengage Learning. ** Please read the following excerpt (note this was when we were using the previous textbook edition), which was an interview of a single parent. This is how your analysis paper should look: When asked how she would describe being a single parent, Jane replied “Stressful, rewarding, painful, and expensive. He was a blessing; I don’t know where I would be without him”. Jane reports the most difficult aspect of being a single parent is being able to support her son financially and still be “a good parent” as she reports that she often is unable to attend school functions or sports games due to her need to provide financially. Olson reports that common issues for single-parent mothers are high level of stress and the low level of economic and emotional resources that are present for these mothers (2012, pg. 227). Jane reports that without her family, especially her parents, she does not know where her and her son would be. Jane explains that her mother is often the one taking Jack to sporting events and attending his school functions while she is at work. This also supports recent research of how these mothers seek and create support networks to assist them in caring for their families (Lamanna, 2012, pg. 227). Note how the student directly addressed which question they were analyzing, summarized the interviewee’s response based on their interview notes, used direct quotes, and then immediately compared it to research from the text. Your analysis should follow this same format. 3 FSW 261 Interview Paper ***PLEASE REFER TO THE EXAMPLE PROVIDED FOR THIS PAPER IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT I AM EXPECTING(please note the textbook cited in some of the examples is no longer the adopted text for this class also DO NOT plagiarize from these examples—guilty parties will be assigned an automatic zero) **** _________________________________________ The most important thing about this assignment is that you properly and effectively explain your participant’s perspective of their situation as explored in the interview guide AND to integrate research found from the text by citing it with the page number from which it was taken. PLEASE be aware that not every question or answer may be able to apply to the research in our text—and that is ok; just state that it was not applicable to the research we have addressed on this subject matter or in your interviewee’s case. __________________________________________ Finally, write a short reflection on what you learned from the interview and some of the main points you took away from the person you interviewed—from your perspective, what were some of the main things they were trying to convey to you through the interview? *The goal of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to summarize and quote some of your participant’s answers to the entire interview guide and demonstrate your understanding of the course information by appropriately integrating and comparing research when applicable to your participant’s experiences. * Please see checklist on the following page. 4 FSW 261 Interview Paper *Checklist for Interview Paper: (The paper is worth up to 45 points and the breakdown of points is provided in the following) • Did I identify what type of individual I chose and explained my reasons for choosing that person and situation? (5 points) • Did I follow the prescribed format for the analysis as outlined in the above paragraphs by directly addressing every question in the interview guide, summarizing my participant’s response, present some direct quotes for each answer, and then follow-up with how my interviewee’s experience and perspective compared to research from our text and what we have learned in class? (The analysis is worth up to a total of 30 points: it is broken down in the following points) • Did I include ALL questions from the interview guide and provide my interviewee’s responses through summary and direct quotes? (15 points) • Did I provide ample integration of the information and research from the text and also properly cite with the page number in order to demonstrate what I have learned and how to apply it to my interviewee’s experience and views? (15 points) • Did I provide a reflection at the end of what I learned from the interview, and what I believed my interviewee was trying to communicate to me? (5 points) • Did I include my interview guide at the end? (5 points) • Did I follow written expectations and formatting criteria to make sure my work is wellwritten and representing my best work? This would include proofreading to identify and eliminate grammatical and spelling errors? • Does this paper represent my original work and is free of any and all plagiarism? 5 1 Interview Paper: Married Parent Interview Analysis From reading the text, one can find that the popularity of marriage is declining, and the average length of a union is only seven years (page 311). This being said, I chose to interview a married parent because I wanted to explore more about marriages (with children) that have lasted much longer than that. Since I see myself wanting to be a married parent someday, I thought it would be interesting to interview someone in that particular situation. Dana and her husband have been married for 13 years. They will be celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary next month, as they will be going on a cruise with their two children. Dana and her husband have had a very successful marriage, in which they have not only begun to raise two wonderful children, but have also grown together as a couple. Their daughter, Gabrielle, is seven years old, and son, Christian, is five years old. After having been married for so many years, marriages similar to Dana’s prove that it is still possible to be in a loving relationship despite what the divorce rates may be or what statistics may show. Before parenting, Dana had many different expectations of life and what it would entail with little ones. She imagined having five children and living life like they did on “The Cosby Show.” Agreeing with one of the myths in the text, she thought that parenthood would be fun (page 335). She was greatly surprised though, in which she “didn’t realize how much transition your life would go through.” When asked, “What were some of your expectations of parenthood?” she also stated, “I envisioned a lot of laughter, a lot of football games on Friday nights, family dinners and vacations.” According to the text, these can definitely be some of the myths of parenthood and can cause parents to underestimate and “sugarcoat” parenthood (page 2 335). Luckily, Dana was able to realize that parenthood wasn’t all fun and games once the babies came and understand that parenting did provide many challenges. The text mentions that couples are waiting longer than ever to have their first child. Since children can greatly impact a couple relationship and present many new challenges for a couple, the age of the mother at the birth of her first child is 26.5 years (page 333). Similar to Dana, she waited until she was 32 years old to have her first child. “We waited seven years to have children after we were married, which was a very good idea. It takes a while to “gel” as a couple before a child comes along and changes everything.” Dana was able to explain to me that waiting was not only the best option for her and her husband, but also for her future children as well. With school and work being big priorities in life at the time, it was important for them to wait to have their first child. I definitely agree that delaying children was a good choice because it allowed for more growth within their relationship and in the workplace. When asked, “In comparison to what you thought parenthood would be like before, how would you describe parenthood now?” Dana’s overall response was parallel to what I thought she would say. “Parenthood is overwhelming. You worry about them constantly.” Her response was also very comparable to the text, in which the text describes becoming a parent as stressful for most couples, with most finding it harder than anticipated (page 338). I think it is safe to say that Dana definitely had similar experiences to those labeled in the “The Transition to Parenthood” section. Parenthood was a huge turning point in both Dana and her husband’s lives that required much effort and time dedicated to the children. It not only impacted them as a couple, but as an entire family unit as well. As the texts states and with the birth of Dana’s first child, “parenting is a complex process that raises many questions” (page 349). Many of Dana’s questions matched with the 3 common questions that the text presents when parenting rolls around. How shall we raise the children? How strict should we be? “Am I spending enough time? Am I spoiling them too much? Am I preparing them to grow into good people?” She found that these questions raised many new ideas on how she should raise her children. Dana also found the idea of disciplining her children quite difficult. Since 68% of parents feel that children today are somewhat to very spoiled, she did not want to be too lenient with her children (page 351). “It’s hard to discipline sometimes. You don’t want to seem to harsh, but you need to teach them appropriate life lessons.” I think it is very important to find a happy medium between strictness and leniency. Although parents want to spoil their children sometimes, it is beneficial to show them what the real world is like. I think it’s great that Dana has been able to find balance within her discipline system. When it comes to parenthood, there are many adjustments and challenges that both spouses have to experience in order to learn the ropes of becoming parents. Dana described her and her husband’s biggest adjustment as having to juggle work and childcare. “It's is challenging having two working parents outside the home and trying to juggle all of the responsibilities. You never want your kids to feel neglected or second rate to your job. It's hard to assess good childcare. It's also expensive,” she explained. This is one of the biggest challenges that parents have to deal with when raising children. As stated in the PBS video clip, “No Longer 9 to 5,” it is difficult nowadays to balance both work and family. With more parents working outside the home, childcare is now becoming a necessity. The text also states that “families with an employed mother and a child younger than 5 paid and average of $129 per week for child care” (page 355). Agreeing with Dana’s quote that childcare is expensive, she has two children she puts through daycare. This is can get quite expensive and cause financial problems for couples if 4 not addressed. Although childcare can get expensive, she explained that quality daycare is worth it for her. With good people taking care of one’s children, parents realize they are doing the best they can for their little ones. Looking back, Dana wishes she would have known how demanding parenthood would be. Although she sees herself as a good parent, she still wishes she had done some things differently. “I wish I had known that sometimes you can do everything right, and things not turn out ok. I wish I had known earlier that it's ok to not be a perfect parent all the time. You will make mistakes, and you need to learn to forgive yourself for those mistakes.” I completely agree with her statement, in which parenthood is definitely challenging at times. Even if you think you’re doing the right thing, it may be a potential mistake. Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect. Like Dana said, “I don't think anything can prepare you for being a parent. It's an adventure and a journey that you have to experience and enjoy on the fly.” Just as our text talks about parenting, there is no manual on how to raise children (page 334). There are no educational requirements and one has to often rely on conventional wisdom. Despite the fact that there are parenting books and classes, to me, parenting is “trial and error” and mistakes are likely to be made. In terms of parenting and its effects on marriage, Dana states that raising children has improved her marriage with her husband. Unlike this being stated as a “myth” in the text, this is no myth for Dana and her husband. She was happy to say, “I think children have eventually made our marriage better.” She also stated the importance of communication and how that has helped to improve her marriage while raising the two children. “If you don't learn how to communicate to each other and be patient/forgiving, marriage can get tough.” I whole-heartedly agree with her, in which communication is essential to keep the marriage satisfied. If 5 communication is broken, then the relationship is broken. I’m glad to see that Dana has disproven the myth “Children improve marriage” (page 335). In her case, children have not only improved her marriage, but have changed her life for the better altogether. Dana was able to provide great advice to those couples wanting to have children in the future. Although it was short and sweet, it was wonderful advice to those wanting to become future parents. “Be able to laugh at yourself. Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember what a blessing your babies are, even when they are working your last nerve. Be good to each other, and work as a team to help these little ones be the best people that they can be. Pray often!” she said. This is some of the best advice a future parent could ask for. I will definitely take this with me when I am ready to become a parent. With laughter, comes happiness. Although children may get on your nerves at times, it is important to cherish every minute with them. Before you know it, they will be grown up and on their own. It is also important to have teamwork as a couple. More things will be accomplished and there will be happier outcomes. With the many difficulties of parenting, comes great happiness and success. Parenting seems to definitely be one of the most rewarding jobs in this lifetime. Reflection After interviewing Dana, I was able to learn the struggles of parenting, previous expectations, the effects of children on marriage, and life as a married parent. She was able to provide me with great examples from her experiences as a parent and advice as to what was to come with parenthood in the future years. From my perspective, I was able to take away that parenting was a difficult job. It requires a lot of time and effort and can create a juggling act between work and family life. This being said, though, parenting is one of the most rewarding jobs out there. Just as Dana said of her children, “They are such joys and true gifts from God. To 6 see them smile brightens my day.” This really shows me the joys that parenting can bring to someone. Although it may be difficult at times, the positives outweigh the negatives. Parenting is a journey that I can’t wait to experience in the future. By interviewing Dana, she showed me that although being a married parent takes work, happiness can and will result if approached the correct way. Overall, I really enjoyed taking the time to sit down and speak with Dana. 7 Interview Guide for Married Parent 1. What did you imagine parenting to be like before you were a parent? What were some of your expectations of parenthood? “So, before I became a parent, I imagined having 5 children, and living life like they did on “The Cosby Show.” You had issues with your kids, but you talked it out, and in the end everything turned out ok. I expected to have these little beings that would love you unconditionally. However, I didn't realize how much transition your life would go through. I thought I'd be a tough parent, but loving and understanding. I envisioned a lot of laughter, a lot of football games on Friday nights, family dinners and vacations.” 2. In comparison to what you thought parenthood would be like before, how would you describe parenthood now? What are the blessings and what are the difficulties? “Fortunately, most of what I've envisioned has come to fruition. Your children do love you unconditionally, until adolescence (from what I'm told). It's hard to imagine how much you love these little people. I can't really remember what life was like before them. They are such joys and true gifts from God. To see them smile brightens my day.” “However, parenthood is overwhelming. You worry about them constantly. Are they safe? Are they eating properly? Are they developing the way they are supposed to? Are they getting what they need? Is anyone being mean to them? Are you educating them properly?” “You worry if you are being a good parent. Do I love them enough? Am I spending enough time? Am I spoiling them too much? Am I preparing them to grow into good people? It's hard to discipline sometimes. You don't want to seem too harsh, but you need to teach them appropriate life lessons. There's no manual. You never know if 8 what you are doing is right. When they are sad, your heart aches. You wonder about their future. You worry about if you will still be here to help them navigate it all.” 3. Looking back, what do you wish you would have known about being a parent before you became one? What do you think could have helped you and your spouse better prepare for parenting? “We waited 7 years to have children after we were married, which was a very good idea. It takes a while to “gel” as a couple before a child comes along and changes everything. I wish I had known that sometimes you can do everything right, and things not turn out ok. I wish I had known earlier that it's ok to not be a perfect parent all the time. You will make mistakes, and you need to learn to forgive yourself for those mistakes. I don't think anything can prepare you for being a parent. It's an adventure and a journey that you have to experience and enjoy on the fly.” 4. What do you consider to be some of the biggest adjustments or challenges that you and your spouse have experienced about parenting? What was the biggest surprise? How has parenting impacted your marriage? “The biggest adjustment for us was juggling work and childcare. It's is challenging having two working parents outside the home and trying to juggle all of the responsibilities. You never want your kids to feel neglected or second rate to your job. It's hard to assess good childcare. It's also expensive. You worry what types of people you might be exposing your kids to. It's also been hard to carve out couple time. With everything that has to get done in a day, you are tired at the end of it. You forget sometimes that you need to be a couple, and do fun “couply” things. I think children have eventually made our marriage better. When things are tough, you sit back and say, "Wait a minute. These little people are watching us, and looking to us to get it right for them!” It's quite a wake up call. They make you responsible and accountable. The infant and toddler years are tough. Your life is entirely consumed by feedings, diapers, crying, and sleepless nights. If you don't learn how to 9 communicate to each other and be patient/forgiving, marriage can get tough. You have to let go of the "It's all about me,” mentality. Because with kids, it's really all about them!” 5. What advice would you give couples before they have children? “Be able to laugh at yourself. Don't sweat the small stuff. Remember what a blessing your babies are, even when they are working your last nerve. Be good to each other, and work as a team to help these little ones be the best people that they can be. Pray often!” Please fill out the following demographic information after the interview. You are not obligated to answer any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering. Gender: ___Female_____ Age: ___39___ Ethnicity/Race: ___African American___ Years of Marriage: ___13_____ Number of children: _____2____ Extra Notes: Dana’s daughter is 7 years old. Her son is 5 years old. FSW 261 | The Interview Paper Checklist for the Interview Paper (The paper is worth up to 45 points and the breakdown of points is provided in the following) • Did I identify what type of individual I chose and explained my reasons for choosing this particular person and situation? (5 points) • Did I follow the prescribed format for the analysis as outlined in the above paragraphs by directly addressing every question in the interview guide, summarizing my participant’s response, present some direct quotes for each answer, and then follow-up with how my interviewee’s experience and perspective compared to research from our text and what we have learned in class? (The analysis is worth up to a total of 30 points: it is broken down in the following points) • Did I include ALL questions from the interview guide and provide my interviewee’s responses through summary and direct quotes? (15 points) • Did I provide ample integration of the information and research from the text and also properly cite in APA with the page number or section number if using an e-book version included to demonstrate what I have learned and how to apply it to my interviewee’s experience and views? VERY IMPORTANT!! (15 points) • Did I provide a reflection at the end of what I learned from the interview, and what I believed my interviewee was trying to communicate to me? (5 points) • Did I include my interview guide at the end? (5 points) • Did I follow written expectations and formatting criteria to make sure my work is well-written and representing my best work? This would include proofreading to identify and eliminate grammatical and spelling errors. • Does this paper represent my original work and is free of any and all plagiarism? Please be sure to check your Turnitin score concerning your analysis. If it flags you concerning the interview guide questions, it is not a problem, and you may ignore it. 1 
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