Operationalizing the interview process

My objective for this interview is to have a better idea of the interviewees’ culture, home country, and interest, preferences so that I can know more about them and their culture. In my interview I try to assure that it would be interesting, and make the interviewee feel comfortable interviewing with me. I would like to ask some questions that describe them best, and some questions that let me to know them in depth.

Prioritized Interview Questions

1. Can you describe a typical day for a child in your country?
2. At what age do you start school? Are you under a lot of stress in school??
3. What are the typical greetings in your culture and what do they mean?
4. How would you describe famous sports in your country?
5. What kind of government is in charge of your home country, how did it affect your life and how has democracy in America been a change?
6. What different modes of transportation are used in your country?
7. What religious holidays or other cultural events do you or others celebrate; can you explain your traditions for each? 8. Do you have any daily rituals in regards to your religious beliefs?
9. Which country`s food do you like the most? What are the similarities and differences between it and your own culture`s food?10. Could you tell me a secret about yourself that very few people here know about and that shows us well, who you are and what you stand for?11. What could SCSU do to make your stay on campus better?

presentation

Evaluating information

1.  Assessing the Credibility of Online Sources from SCSU's Project LEO

You should verify that your professor will accept online sources before you invest time in browsing the Web or assessing the credibility of sources you find there. Once you've determined that online sources can be used, you'll still need to assess their credibility

Assessing an online source includes:

Authorship	Currency
Publishing Body/Publisher	Perspectives

·         Authorship

Find out if the author is identifiable?  If you cannot find the author’s name, use one of the following techniques to find out about it:

o   link back to the site's home page

o   ask the Web development team or sponsoring organization to identify the author

o   You should define if the author is professional in the field

·         Publishing Body/Publisher

o   You need to know if the type of material appropriate for the assignment?

o   Is the site sponsored by a respected organization

o   Does the site have a symbol of the sponsoring organization

·         Currency

o   Identify the date published

o   Determine if a copyright date is listed

·         Perspectives

o   What are the goals of the site

o   Is the perspective appropriate for your paper

o   Is the topic clearly presented

2.  How to Evaluate Journal Articles

·         Purpose of Article: Why was the article written?

·         Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals

·         Date of Article: Some topics, such as those in the health sciences, require current information.

·         Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project?

·         Authority: Is the author an expert in this field?

·         Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing?

Is the article for:

• general readers,
• students (high school, college, graduate),
• specialists or professionals,

3.  How To Evaluate Books

·         Purpose: Why was the book written?

·         Publisher: Who published the book

·         Date of Publication

·         Authority/author: Is the author an expert in this field?

·         Bibliography: Scholarly works always contain a bibliography of the resources that were consulted.

·         Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing?

                                                                                         

answers for 11 core questions

1.               Unfortunately I do not live on campus, which leads to lack of information for me to know how much of afford should SCSU put in order to make students feel better in dorms. So far SCSU has been making a nice job to make me feel comfortable studying at SCSU. Because of its facilities, teachers and opportunities to enjoy practicing many kinds of sports, I have been enjoying my study year. Another good thing that makes me feel better to study at SCSU is its tuition fee rates.  The tuition fees at SCSU are not costly compared to other universities.  The only obstacle that makes me not as much involved as I wanted on campus is that I live off campus.

2.               I consider myself as a person who does not have many secrets which shows who I am. But in terms of identity, I can describe myself briefly. In my whole life, I have been doing a lot to achieve my goals. One of the examples of my success achieving my goals is that studying abroad. As an international student I had to take IELTS test to get an admission. Ever since I had prepared for the test so hardly that I got one the highest scores on the exam. I hope that my dedication about my goals will be improving as I achieve them.

3.               I am originally from Uzbekistan, which is in middle Asia, and I think I like my country’s traditional foods. Because I have been growing up in that country and having those foods of my home country. However, I also really like American fast foods as well. Especially, pizza is my favorite food to eat. Even though pizza tastes really nice, I know eating fast food might be unhealthy, so I try to stick with my home country’s food. in terms of differences between my country food and American foods are my country foods are a bit more spicy compared to American foods, but still delicious.

4.               One of the typical greetings in my culture is handshake. This type of greeting is used commonly. Handshaking is used with friends, elder people and people whom we just met in order to know their name when handshaking. In my culture, it is preferred to do so when we meet strangers. Because this shows that you are not ignoring or disregarding that person. Personally, when I am greeting my uncle or aunt, I give a hug. In my culture, for those who are close relatives we give a hug when greeting.

5.               In my country, democratic government has been governing for years. I guess, It has been doing good to provide with good facilities and opportunities to people. One of the good things about the government in my country is the educational system it provides. Because the government gives the latest technologies and studying tools for students for free and certainly the educational system is good over there compared to other middle Asian countries. I am also happy with the government in my country because I had a good experience in studying at high school. I hope since my home country is a developing country, after a while there would be even better democracy.

6.               In my country one of the most used transportations is cars. Because they are very convenient and reliable type of transportation. The other most used transportation mode is trains. Many people use trains because it will be more affordable and they can reach to the destination faster when there is traffic on highways. Another type of transportation that is used mostly by students is busses. Although, busses are not quite comfortable to ride, in fact it is one of the most affordable types of transportation.

7.                  Personally, I started to go to school when I was 6 years old. Because, I did not go to pre-school due to the fact that the nearest school was quite far away from my house at that time. But, I am happy because I started my 1-grade at 6 years old, which is usually a year earlier. In my senior and junior years in high school I had some difficulties to maintain my GPA high.  Because, at those times I had to do so many homework which sometimes led to a big stresses. Even after attending university, I am having so many homework and assignment to finish, so I figured that the higher educational system we study the homework and projects we have to do which sometimes can be stressful.

8.               In my culture we celebrate two main religious holidays in a year, and other traditional holidays as well. One of the religious holidays is “Eid al-Fitr.” On this day we mainly celebrate finishing the month of fasting. And the second religious holiday is called “Eid al-adhaa.” On this day we sacrifice a goat or ship. Other traditional holidays in my country are mainly the New Year and Independence days.    

8b.         I can say my daily ritual is praying. According to my religion Islam, I have to pray 5 times a day. That I try to do on time every day, however with studies and class timings I cannot manage to pray 5 times a day on time. Another ritual for me is attending to mosque once in a week. This takes place on Friday, it is called Friday prayer. Usually, it takes half an hour to get done with Friday prayer.

9.               One of the most famous sports in my home country is soccer. I guess this type of sport is the most played sport in the world as well. Although my country’s team has not been in top teams, many people, including me, are interested in this type of sport. Every year there would be competitions, and the soccer fields will be full of supporters. In fact, in my home country’s soccer team, we have many good players. Sometimes, other teams try to make a contract with those players for millions of dollars. So, soccer is the main sport in my home country.

10.           I assume that a typical day for a child is pretty much the same for all children in my country. So, I will give an example of my own experience growing up as a child in Uzbekistan. I used to try to get up at 7 o’clock in the morning every day. Meanwhile my mom would prepare my breakfast. I used to eat my breakfast. Due to the long distance between my school and house, my dad used to drop me off at my school. When I was done, I used to take bus to get back to home. At home I used to do my homework and watch TV and play computer for a while before sleeping. So that is pretty much all about a typical day for a child in my country.

Prioritized questions

At what age do you start school?

How many classes did you take when you were in high school?

Were teachers very strict to students?

Are you under a huge stress of study?

Do most of the adults pursue their higher education in your country

What is your current year in school?

What is your favorite subject that you enjoy studying?

What is your major?

When do you plan to graduate?

What is the job market like for your major?

Strategies for Writing a Conclusion

Conclusion is one of the main parts of an essay. It reflects the whole essay in less words. However, it is one of the most difficult parts as well. Because many writers feel that nothing is left to say in conclusion. But, keep that in mind that conclusion is often what a reader remembers best. So your conclusion should be impressive. 

A conclusion should:

• stress the importance of the thesis statement,
• give the essay a sense of completeness, and
• leave a final impression on the reader.

Suggestions

• Your conclusion should answer the question “So What?"

Show your readers why this paper was important. Show them that your paper was meaningful and useful.

• Redirect your readers
• Give your reader something to think about, perhaps a way to use your paper in the "real" world. If your introduction went from general to specific, make your conclusion go from specific to general. Think globally.

• Create a new meaning
• You don't have to give new information to create a new meaning. By demonstrating how your ideas work together, you can create a new picture.

Strategies

• Echoing the introduction: Echoing your introduction can be a good strategy if it is meant to bring the reader full-circle. If you begin by describing a scenario, you can end with the same scenario as proof that your essay was helpful in creating a new understanding.

• Challenging the reader: By issuing a challenge to your readers, you are helping them to redirect the information in the paper, and they may apply it to their own lives.
• Looking to the future: Looking to the future can emphasize the importance of your paper or redirect the readers' thought process. It may help them apply the new information to their lives or see things more globally.
  
• Posing questions: Posing questions, either to your readers or in general, may help your readers gain a new perspective on the topic, which they may not have held before reading your conclusion. It may also bring your main ideas together to create a new meaning.

Example

Campaign advertisements should help us understand the candidate's qualifications and positions on the issues. Instead, most tell us what knave the opposing candidate is, or they present general images of the candidate as a family person or God-fearing American. Do such advertisements contribute to creating an informed electorate or a people who choose political leaders the same way they choose soft drinks and soap?

Interview questions

Country:

·         What is your country?

·         What are the main recourses of your country?

·         What is the culture in your country, is it more of an individualistic or collectivistic?

·         What are the traditional events or holidays?

Family:

·         What is the average size of a single family in your country?

·         Who is the one that motivated you the most in your family, and how?

·         Do you have siblings?

·         Are grandparents expected to live all together with their children and grandchildren in a family?

Education:

·         What is your field of study?

·         Do most of the adults pursue their higher education in your country?

·         Is it easy to find a related job to the degree in your country?

·         What is your favorite subject that you enjoy studying?