Assignment Prompt & Instructions
**Assignment Instructions:**
For the interview project, you will conduct a semi-structured interview to learn about a peer’s experience in pursuing a doctoral degree. (See your assigned partner under 4.0.)
Qualitative researchers primarily use data collection instruments developed specifically for the research questions and context of a study. Effective instrument development requires a thorough understanding of the study topic. Questions asked during an interview should be informed by the existing literature related to the topic and the study’s theoretical framework. For example, a study exploring the influence of servant leader behaviors should include questions that ask about the application of specific servant leader behaviors as defined in the literature.
This week, you will 1) complete a table mapping your interview questions to existing literature and 2) develop an interview protocol using the mapped questions. You will use the templates below for each component of the assignment. Please read all assignment details and ask questions early in the week if needed.
**4.1_Interview_Questions_Mapping_Table_Template.docx**
**Interview Questions Mapping Table**
For this assignment, you will complete a mapping table demonstrating how your interview questions were developed from existing literature. Use the template provided and include all cited references on the References page. You are required to use minimum of five peer-reviewed sources from the list below in your mapping table. You may also use the course text (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) as a source. No other sources are permitted for the assignment.
In developing your primary questions for the interview, consider factors such as motivation, challenges, benefits, family support, faculty support, peer interactions, and future goals. You are not expected to complete a thorough literature review for the interview project. Therefore, sources are provided below that you will use for completing this assignment as well as the report that will be due in Week 7. Please do not use other sources in completing this assignment.
Each of the main questions in your interview protocol should be mapped to a scholarly source from the list. The mapping table must include an explanation and a citation for each main question that reflect a clear connection to the topic and thoughtful analysis of the source in developing question content. Your initial ice-breaker question may be mapped to the course text as in the example provided. The content-specific questions should be mapped to sources related to the topic. The mapping table should include two questions for the Opening phase, six to eight questions for the Primary Discussion phase, and one or two questions for the Closing phase (a total of nine to 12 main questions). These questions will be used to develop a more detailed interview protocol for the second component of this week's assignment.
**Sources:**
– [All You Need is Self-Determination: Investigation of PhD Students’ Motivation Profiles and Their Impact on the Doctoral Completion Process](https://ijds.org/Volume16/IJDSv16p189-209DeClercq6339.pdf) (De Clercq et al., 2021)
– [A Phenomenological Exploration of the Student Experience of Online PhD Studies](https://ijds.org/Volume15/IJDSv15p575-593Lee6475.pdf) (Lee, 2020)
– [Contributing Factors for Success of Nontraditional Students at Online Doctoral Programs](https://ucumberlands.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UOTC_INST/1ib4vvq/cdi_crossref_primary_10_1177_15210251231155488) (Kebritchi et al., 2023)
– [Factors Contributing to Imposter Phenomenon in Doctoral Students: A US-Based Qualitative Study](https://ijds.org/Volume18/IJDSv18p251-269Bano8939.pdf) (Bano & O'Shea, 2023)
– [Growing Grit to Produce Doctoral Persistence](https://ijds.org/Volume15/IJDSv15p705-736Hudson6552.pdf) (Hudson et al., 2020)
– [Identifying Significant Personal and Program Factors that Predict Online EdD Students’ Program Integration](https://olj.onlinelearningconsortium.org/index.php/olj/article/view/1579/881) (Rockinson-Szapkiw et al., 2019)
– [PhD Imposter Syndrome: Exploring Antecedents, Consequences, and Implications for Doctoral Well-Being](https://ijds.org/Volume15/IJDSv15p737-758Sverdlik6626.pdf) (Sverdlik et al., 2020)
– [The Influence of Family on Doctoral Student Success](https://www.ijds.informingscience.org/Volume14/IJDSv14p761-782Breitenbach5707.pdf) (Breitenbach et al., 2019)
– [Toward a Holistic Understanding of Factors That Support or Inhibit Graduate Student Success](https://ucumberlands.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01UOTC_INST/1ib4vvq/cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_09c00bcc78d540c48d463ca401510dd7) (Collier & Blanchard, 2023)
**4.1_Interview_Protocol_Template.docx**
**Interview Protocol**
After drafting your primary questions, you will use them to develop an interview protocol for a semi-structured interview during which you will seek to understand a peer’s experience pursuing a doctoral degree. You should plan for your interview to last approximately 30 minutes. There is no required minimum or maximum length for the interview protocol; the general expectation is that you will need approximately five double-spaced pages to meet the requirements of the assignment. Please submit your interview protocol as a Microsoft Word file using the template provided.
You should think of your protocol as your guidance for conducting the interview; it tells you what to do and what questions to ask. When conducting an interview for research purposes, you would prepare an interview protocol, field test and refine the protocol, apply for and receive IRB approval, recruit participants, obtain informed consent from participants, and then use the protocol to collect data through interviews. If you were working as part of a research team, you might be given a protocol drafted by the lead researcher that would be used by all members of the team to ensure consistency with data collection methods for the study as a whole.
Remember that an interview is not a questionnaire. A semi-structured interview is an open discussion with questions that guide in a way that ensures responses provide insight into the phenomenon being studied. Interviewers should not ask questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Your questions should be open-ended and invite conversation and explanation. Your interview protocol should include examples of probing questions. As an interviewer, you must be prepared to probe the participant to provide more information by asking follow-up questions, including those that cannot be planned in advance. The ability to ask effective probing questions requires careful listening throughout the interview and is a skill that improves with practice. Your goal as an interviewer is to guide the participant in discussing meaningful aspects of the experience.
While there is no single right way to draft an interview protocol, for this assignment, we will use a phased interview approach with specific requirements. In building your interview protocol, please include the following phases as defined below:
– Welcome
– Opening
– Primary Discussion
– Closing
For each section, describe what will occur during that phase of the interview process and include a script reflecting tentative plans for what you will say and what questions you will ask. Your main questions will be the questions from your mapping table. Explain in your protocol how and where you will use probing questions to guide the discussion.
Please also provide examples of prompts or probing questions but remember that not all probing questions can be planned in advance. Probing questions that are context-specific and asked directly in response to a participant’s comments are an important part of a semi-structured interview. With the exception of your scripted statements, do not use first-person pronouns in your protocol; instead, describe what the interviewer will do during each phase. After the welcome phase, the majority of the talking will be done by the participant. For this assignment, be sure your text refers to the class project as opposed to an actual research study.
**Interview Phases:**
– **Welcome**: The Welcome phase of the interview provides an opportunity to welcome the participant and let the participant know what to expect during the interview. For this section, explain the purpose of this phase and write a script that you will read at the beginning of the interview. Your script should begin by introducing yourself and explaining the purpose of the interview. It should include a statement informing the participant that the interview is being recorded and should address concerns about comfort and confidentiality. It should end with an introduction to the topic that will be discussed during the interview and provide an opportunity for the participant to ask questions.
– **Opening**: In this phase of the interview, your goal is to begin to build rapport with the participant and set up a context for the discussion. In your protocol, explain the purpose of this phase and include two main questions with at least two examples of probing questions for each. Begin the interview with an ice-breaker question to initiate a conversational flow. As examples, you may begin by asking the participant to talk about the degree and specialty area being pursued, progress toward the doctorate, or motivations for beginning the program. Avoid asking personal questions that may not be relevant to the purpose of the interview or that may make a participant feel uncomfortable.
– **Primary Discussion**: During this portion of the interview, the majority of the important information on the participant’s experience will be collected. Your protocol must explain the purpose of this phase and include a script that outlines six to eight guiding questions you will use to keep the conversation going. It should explain how you will listen carefully and formulate probing questions to obtain additional information and clarity. It must also provide at least two examples of probing questions for each main question. The questions you ask in this section will be highly specific to the situation being discussed. As examples, you may include questions that ask about motivations for continuing, challenges faced, benefits realized, sources of encouragement, or aspects enjoyed during the doctoral journey. You may ask about how the participant feels about being a doctoral student, how self-confidence has been impacted, how the program has influenced professional work, and other factors noted in the literature.
– **Closing**: Out of respect for the participant, you should monitor time when conducting an interview to ensure that you begin to close down the interview within the planned timeframe. Having a script is helpful in bringing the interview to closure and guiding the participant to reflect on the meaning of the experience that was discussed. In this final phase of the interview, you may connect the participant’s doctoral journey to future plans or ask the participant to reflect on current or future benefits of earning a doctorate. Begin this section by explaining the purpose of this phase of the interview. This phase must include one or two main questions with at least two examples of probing questions for each. You will end the interview by giving the participant an opportunity to add anything else that may not have been discussed during the interview, thanking the participant, and asking for permission to follow up if needed for clarity while working with the data for remaining assignments.
**For this week’s assignment, you will submit two Microsoft Word files: 1) your interview question mapping table and 2) your interview protocol. You are required to use the templates provided for each component of the assignment and they may be combined into one document for assignment upload.**
**Examples**
_Note: The following are Interview Protocol examples are from other topics. While they are not interviews for doctoral education experience, they may provide guidance for form and structure._
**4.1_Sample_Interview_Protocol_Dissertation_Research.pdf**
**4.1_Sample_Interview_Protocol_Class_Assignment.pdf**
**Reminder: The use of content generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is plagiarism and will result in a failing grade for this assignment. Please be sure that all text in your mapping table and interview protocol is your own original content except as credited to scholarly sources with correct citations and reference entries.**
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4.1_Interview_Protocol_Template.docx](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/4-1-interview-protocol-template-docx-10450895 "4.1_Interview_Protocol_Template.docx")
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university-4.1_Interview_Questions_Mapping_Table_Template.docx](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/university-4-1-interview-questions-mapping-table-template-docx-10450897 "university-4.1_Interview_Questions_Mapping_Table_Template.docx")
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SampleInterviewProtocol_Class_Assignment.docx](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/sampleinterviewprotocol-class-assignment-docx "SampleInterviewProtocol_Class_Assignment.docx")
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SampleInterviewProtocol_Dissertation_Research.docx](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/sampleinterviewprotocol-dissertation-research-docx "SampleInterviewProtocol_Dissertation_Research.docx")
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