Health Project Week 4
Week 4 - Interviews

Travis DixonHealth Psychology, Teaching Ideas

Now the data for two weeks has been collected, it's time to analyze and report.

Week 4 is time to reflect and try something a little different. We’re going to conduct qualitative interviews on our classmates to learn about their experiences in this project. There are a few reasons I’ve chosen this activity. One reason is to have students keep in touch with other, another is that it can be done without screens (if you use an old fashioned phone call) and it helps to see the difference in approaches to research.

Read more:

Teachers: Feel free to adapt or amend any of this work in any way you like.

Week 4: Qualitative Research 

Interviews

By conducting interviews you’ll be able to reflect on the value of this experiment and learn about research methodology along the way – as well as getting to talk to your friends.

  • Write a summary of your own honest opinions about the effects of healthy habits like the one you’ve just studied.
  • Read this blog post about the purpose and nature of semi-structured interviews.
  • Create an interview schedule (an interview plan) with a few questions you’re going to ask 5 of your classmates. You are conducting interviews to understand how your classmates felt about the project. If possible, use a purposive sample and find people who chose a similar habit to your own. 
  • Conduct your interviews on your classmates. Be sure to record them (and get consent) so you can listen to them again if needed.
  • Write a summary of the common themes you found out. 
  • Reflect: are your conclusions similar to your own opinions? 
  • Extension: Write a comparison of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research. Include differences not just in methods but also in overall aims. 

Final Course Reflection

  • IB Psychology’s Top Ten: Write a summary of the 10 things you’re most likely to remember about this course and why.