Writing Response 8: Drafting the interview/survey - Essay Example

Drafting the interview/survey Interview What is your main impression of the person interviewed?The person interviewed was open-minded to changes and possibilities of positive outcome in everything that he does. These has made him very successful in living with everyone around him in peace and harmony and helped shape his character and personality from what it was in the past.2. What interesting evidence came from the interview?The interview revealed that the community under study did not adopt the changes that have taken place in their community as smoothly as earlier thought.

It was through a lot of struggle, hard work and the unending personal efforts of a few heroic individual members of that community.3. What one detail – a fact, observation, description, or quotation – struck you as most revealing?Based on the observations made from the people interviewed, it was revealed that the community had more going on within them than meets the eye. All these I got to know from observing their non-verbal cues which when pressed further about certain information concerning the community; they seemed nervous (biting their nail, hands shaking involuntarily, consistent eye twitching and rapid opening and closing of their mouths without uttering a word) and even tried changing the subject while others just abruptly ended the interview. 4. What would you like to know more about?

I would like to know more about the secrets being hidden in that community that makes the community members nervous and which they are refusing to discuss but which is an integral part of the study as it will shed more light on the research problem.5. What do you understand better that you didn’t know before?I did not know before the value of non-verbal cues during interviews and always assumed that they are non-existent, not important and had no impact on the study. Based on this interview however, I now understand their importance better and plan to use them more frequently in future even in non-formal settings.Survey1. How do the survey results support the topic’s relevance?

The results got from the survey shed more light on the research topic and hence answers the research questions posed at the beginning of the research about the topic in discussion. The results will also assist in the analysis and making of conclusion about the topic’s relevance.2. What was the most interesting result of the survey? Why?The most interesting result was the discovery that the participants of the survey had almost similar results despite the differences in their background. This was also interesting because it confirmed the hypothesis posed earlier on in the study and it also agreed with all the research questions. 3. Identify patterns in the results – what do these patterns seem to indicate? Why? What do the similarities and differences in the responses mean?

There was linear pattern of responses, that is most of the responses were similar unlike what is found in most survey responses. This therefore seemed to indicate a level of truthfulness in the responses and hence reliability of the results. The lack of much difference in the responses also indicates that the participants had paid more attention to the survey than is usually the case and showed willingness to participate in the study.4. What was surprising/ unexpected about the results of the survey?

(If nothing.why?)The most surprising thing as mentioned earlier was the fact the participants had answered all the questions asked in the survey and there lacked errors. This is surprising because most survey results are marked with problems due to the fact that most of the questions were not answered or the answers provided were ambiguous and irrelevant hence rendering the whole results unreliable and even questioning the credibility of the participants of the study (Marsden and Wright, 602).

This however was not the case with these survey results.5. As a result of this survey, how has your perspective changed? How has the survey influenced your thinking about your topic or affected you argument?Based on the results of the survey and the participation of the respondents that were willing wholeheartedly to help with the study, I have changed my perspective of thinking that survey are not the most reliable way of collecting data in a study. I now realize that the difference lies with the willingness of the participants.

The survey results have also made me agree with the topic in discussion due to the fact that the data results are reliable and they answer the research questions affirmatively. Work CitedMarsden, Peter and Wright, James. Handbook of Survey Research. West Yorkshire: Emerald Group Publishing, 2010.