Homework
What and Why
To that end, you will conduct interviews with at least 2 professionals. The purpose of these interviews is to gain insight into the relevance of and need for effective professional written communication.
Who
You are to select at least 2 professionals. Ideally, these professionals would be in your field of interest (psychology). They do NOT have to be psychologists or mental health professionals, although they certainly can be.
When selecting professionals, it would be best if the individuals were in different organizations and/or professions, as well as have differing levels of responsibility. Having such diversity will give you a greater perspective. The only requirement is that the interviewees writes as part of their professional duties and that can include many different types of fields/disciplines (e.g., professional authors, lawyers, scientists, psychologists, professors in all disciplines, etc...).
Guidelines for the interviews
• Identify your professionals.
• Conduct your interviews. When possible, face-to-face interviews are always best. However, as we are in the online arena, phone interviews are also acceptable. Additionally, you may use Skype, FaceTime, and/or email technologies to conduct the interviews. If you will be recording your interview, be certain to gain permission from the interviewee to record (this could be required by law depending upon your state/jurisdiction).
• Be sure to take copious notes so that you can recall the details when you begin the writing phase.
Guidelines for interview questions
I. Demographic information (e.g., gender, education, occupation, years of experience in the field, etc...)
II. Interview questions
• It is best to use open-ended question format, as this encourages individuals to share whatever they feel relevant in addressing your question.
• Areas to explore (this is not a required or exhaustive list; feel free to create your own questions)
o Level and type of daily written communication
o Current challenges in written communication
o Past challenges in written communication
o Type of academic and professional writings
o Positive experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication
o Negative experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication
o Writing journey
Task
You have some freedom in how you submit your finalized project. That is, you can submit a written paper, a PowerPoint presentation (with Notes), or some other creative, but pre-approved, format.
Keep in mind that the objective is to discover the relevance of and need for effective academic, professional writing. To that end, in your final submission, you will need the following:
1. Summarize each participant's interview information
2. Discuss commonalities between interviewees' experiences
3. Discuss differences between interviewees' experiences
4. Reflect upon the relevance to you
• What did you gain from this homework?
• Was anything surprising? What? Why
• Was anything disheartening? What? Why?
• How can you use the information in your current and future endeavors?
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
• The answer must be using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, typed, with one-inch margins on all sides.
• The response also includes a cover page containing the student's name, the title of the homework, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
• Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.