14 Notes from Interviews with Students (2018)

The following are notes taken when Emily interviewed students following the first use of the citations guidelines in the class “International Justice on Trial” taught in Autumn Quarter of 2018. The interviews were conducted via telephone in January of 2019 after the end of the quarter and after grades had been turned in and distributed to students. Emily obtained informed consent from all of the participants for her to take notes and use the information shared in this ongoing project to improve the guidelines. Emily also obtained consent to anonymously use excerpts of the students’ papers in future publications or presentations. The notes have been anonymized to protect student privacy. These notes include both questions asked and responses.

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Interview Questions with Selected Students

Summary:

Number of students Interviewed: 10
Number of students who used personal or family experience: 2
Number of students who used personal interviews: 3
Students who used neither: 5

I spoke to all of the students who used personal interviews/experiences. I selected the students who did not use the guidelines by those with whom I had more of personal relationship, i.e. those that came to officer hours, that spoke to me at length about their papers during the course, and engaged readily in class discussion. A limitation of this is that it would also be important to talk to the students who were less engaged to try to better understand why.

Who used the citation:

Student #1 (personal experience)

• What was your family experience, why did you choose to cite it? Why did you not cite it more specifically? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Student #2 (personal family experience)

• Why did you choose to cite your family experience? How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Student #3 (personal interview)

• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Student #4 (personal interview)

• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Student #5 (personal interview)

• Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Who didn’t use the citation but could have (known personal experience based on student sharing):

Student #6

• Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
• Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Who did not use the citation and didn’t (to my knowledge) have personal experience related to their paper topic:

Student #7
Student #8
Student #9
Student #10

• Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?
• Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?
• Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?
• Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?
• If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?
• Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Interview notes with the students:

Student #2

Why did you choose to cite your family experience?:  “don’t want to make broad statements without evidence unless you back it up. People don’t have personal experience in the articles we read – reference through my eyes, and how i interpret it, i can make the case in my paper.” The stuff I did cite through family experience is not what you would find in academic papers, important to represent how I experience the world because of my background.”

It was really helpful – creating a dialogue, but then this is my own voice if I didn’t have source. Would have had to cut out a lot of my paper because I didn’t have source. Went on trip and family told me thinks

Times in life you learn a lot of things, some of the best perspectives you’ve ever heard, you don’t always remember, not always learn through academia.

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?  Made my work more my own. Instead of reiterating everything I’m reading in the articles. Instead of just retelling, making my own point. No one else could be credited with portions of my paper because it came from me. Could use own voice. Not worried about personal – seeing the world.

How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper? Yes- the topic I chose is related to what I care about

If i couldn’t use my own personal experience I could have chosen any topic and it didn’t make any difference.

Did you research differently? – no still had to find unbiased research to make my points, in discussion I was able to look at the research I had found, but then in discussion I was able to use my own points.

How to make better? Sheet was helpful, between confused own personal interpretation versus event that occurred. Directly cite I had gone somewhere, learned info from people on a trip. How interpreted world because of who I am and my experiences – broad how interpreted the world through my own personal experience.  Because of my family – should have shortened it – personal experience. In-text citations – confusing?? Event vs. outlook on the world.

Student #1

Why did you choose to cite your family experience?

I chose to cite it because I could convey – it felt better that i could cite what I know and personally instead of someone else’s source to back it up. Validation for own experience. Liberating to cite something and be your own.

How I know about it – more my family exprience not personal experience, didnt feel comfortable going into detail about something I didnt know as well. Part of who I am and how i grew up but didnt feel comfrotable sharing details.

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?

It felt really weird at first because you’re not supposed to do that. It was satisfying to be able to use that. Not just “oh you made that up.” valid in using it.

How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

No – if i didnt have that option, I would have gone and looked for another source – a good example that I understood well. Easier and nice to use my own rather than have someone else validate it.

Did you research differently?

I still wanted to keep my research as much as possible by using academic sources, and original people’s experience, and outside sources, it helped balance things out by being purely academic versus purely bibliography (own experience). I read a book a book about a guy who was there who lived it.  Way to bring the two together.

How to make better?

It felt a little weird ethically to cite something that I had no way to backup – since high school and middle school, you are taught to always have a source for something. I feel like I have to be really careful – it could be something very easily abused – Why I chose to not use too much.

Did you think about doing interviews with family members? No – Sensitive subject. If you can’t interview, because people have passed away or sensitive. Events – intergenerational impact, not just the generation who directly experienced it, but generations after.  Physical impact research [family experience can be good way to represent if people passed away or you can’t do interviews]

Suggestions: addressing ethical dilemma (too strong) recognizing fine line between legitimate personal experience and pushing the envelope

I’m a big believer in citations, and backing it up, it was difficult. Just knowing how much we can push and where to stop. Chose to be more conservative, concern about pushing too far.

At this point people are here because they care and they understand – we need a good foundation for it, it could be really productive.

Student #3

Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  

Had done the interview for a previous class, revisited the relationship, in put on paper. Original assignment for immigration class, interview someone and write report. Wanted to use it in this paper, doing that first interview really sparked interest, done a few things related, wanted to incorporate it again. Picked paper topic based on interest sparked by interview.

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? 

Made it more personal, made me more interested in the subject matter because I knew someone who it was directly affecting.

How know – dad worked with him, coworker, Dad had told me stories of this person. I was talking my project, then you have to – larger network of community.

[maintain relationship over time] – He was a leader in co-ethnic community in seattle community – he put me into contact with larger seattle community, introduced to whole other world with one project.

How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

It made me feel like i needed to be more careful, didn’t want to misrepresent the person and the situation. Because i decided my paper topic on this previous interview. Wrote my paper around his input, based it off on his opinion and viewpoints – using interview as foundation for paper and developing arguments out of it.

Did you research differently?

No – only maybe driven by interview, as opposed by a research question. Topic or a region – broadly all kinds of things about that topic and region, see how project question fits in with the research I do.

Family:  Don’t have interesting story – lots of travel interested in history and culture – interact with lots of culture and people from different places, I could integrate experience or interactions. In order to make research more full.

Internship class for LSJ we had to write issue topic paper about our internship, I picked writing about domestic violence advocate. People who I worked with. Cited the same way – not something they said explicitly, but cited in the same way.

Suggestions/improvements:

Required thing for another class. – some problems of accessibility – more guidance, provide people.

It made the project more personal, more interested, taking the original class – really sparked my interest, developing relationships with other people. Opened me up.

If not able to use? – I wouldn’t have selected South Sudan as the topic. But would have found a way to make it personal.

Student #4

Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  

At some point I could write about the Kurdish, excited to have the opportunity to do interview. Grew up with Kurdish friends from where I grew up.

Academia likes to take responsibility – deconstruct colonial inequalities, historically done a big part of upholding it – diminish people who experienced it – doesn’t value the voices of people who lived it, puts more value

Interviews by western authors, studied extensively – got most fruitful and well-round opinions from the people who lived it, versus

First hand experience most biased = least biased – turkey is a group a variety of different peoples, complex and nuanced problems – why Turkish government would have done these things

Dismissing country as nationalist, Orientalizing “they are just backwards”, flattened this whole huge country – really is much more nuanced and historical. genocide, Armenian genocide. Far enough removed – 40 years ago, degree from country halfway around the world. If scholars are serious about breaking down colonial barriers, include, uplift, and trust the voices of people who have experienced this first hand.

Had a hard time writing this until I had a second more in-depth interview

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?

I felt like it made my paper stronger, it pushed me past the point of being far removed, got me closer to the subject.

How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Would have been less interested. Not as strong. He did say something crazy, not sure if take it as a fact. International business collude with Turkish government – profit off of this conflict. Everyone else is suffering, actual Turkish government is suffering. Outsourcing labor, drives down dollar – I couldn’t find that anywhere online.

Looked for other Kurdish authors – kurdishproject.org, found similar things – scholarly articles from Kurdish Turkish articles, people are still being marginalized, not access to higher education, can’t share their voices.

This one woman took the oath for parliament, added sentence in Kurdish, and almost put her in jail. Esteemed politicians cant actively engage in culture – why can’t find good scholarly articles, why didn’t find academic articles because people are afraid to write about it.

Pretty sure he was saying what was true, hard to corroborate, could have done more interviews. How do you credit it? What is credible.

In college assigned a topic – grown up with family friends, having conversations, ever since high school – started to get a more academic view – helped choose what kinds of questions to ask. Build on existing community relationships.

Did you research differently?

Would have talked more about nationalism and more about the historical implications falling of ottoman empire. After interview more modern, global economy. Shifted how wrote paper.

Learned a lot of interesting things how conflict with ISIS is affecting Turkey problem. ISIS only cohesive group in the ISIS area were Kurds – US general admiring Kurds in fighting ISIS, were able to collect as an adhesive group across this region. Turkey then bombed Kurds – cared more about Kurds gaining support instead of ISIS.

Would have only done Turkish nationalism.

Good using grassroots website, leader of PKK, writing from prison for 50 years, head of the movement.

I could write 10 more papers – there is so much! International relations, global economy. Undergraduate research symposium ?? could keep using this topic in future papers.

If not able to use? What would you have done?

Own personal or family experience? What would that be like?

I would write about my family or community. What should write recommendation about for study abroad – women’s rights, eastern Europe – can relate more to that regional area. Think about how I want to bring this into my career, see if I want to live abroad, international legal education. All of college, human rights issues.

Suggestions/improvements:

Problem – imposter syndrome – how to do it. Never done before nervous. Favorite examples of good interviews. Documentaries, read essays with personal interviews, how to incorporate into paper – how someone wrote it into the paper. Writing examples – more from college people.

Student #6

Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?

I felt like after researching a lot and knowing a lot more about the entirety of South Africa in the Western Cape was not legitimate enough, not feel confident. Even the time I spent there, it was immersive but I didn’t travel outside.

Didn’t want to make sweeping generalizations,

Specific conversations? Spent time in prisons and communities – very impactful – would have wanted when data is coming up about townships – doesn’t represent what is going on in townships.

Conversations that I had were so specific, would be hard to weave in – had a problem being a white woman going in the places, didn’t have peoples’ words in my mind – way i was treated was different.

Own experience? – one thing now I’m thinking about – one on one with strangers – they were acting a different way around me, even strangers from with a different country.

People I was friends with – could actually explain how people would view you. Some way could give experience.

Don’t want to make this about me – or misrepresent people’s ideas.

Different in upcoming visit to prepare for future papers? 

Makes me hesitant, here is “truth” report back – South Africa was a land of complete contrasts, 5 min drive and experience totally different land, – so many different worlds in this tiny place, I would like to go and notice, more geographically aware. More observant, would be more confident of visual contrasts, further travels, geographical lines, racial segregation, know where I am better observe.

Now that I have pretty substantial relationships, solidify relationships, deeper, more comfortable around me, more honest. Cool to have this more of a foundation – I know these people. Talking in prisons. Importance of building relationships.

How to address own authority – more examples of possible ways that experience could be cited – initially thought one-on-one, at events, in rooms, uncomfortable, making it about me – other ways examples, alternative observations.  And that people want to hear – where people from that country could read it – glad that the person said this, as opposed to people being like – what’s this person making a commentary about this land.

I genuinely – with it could be a 30 page paper – so much research so much knowledge and so much to say – to best represent I wanted it to be all encompassing – I would feel more comfortable adding own personal experience – ton of scholarly research, court cases, after doing all of that, then weave in interview and personal experience.

Place them pretty well in the paper – would have to make sense with whatever scholarly pieces either supplement academic or counter it.

Frustrations I had – searching very specific places – if this was happening in the US, there would be an activist pursuing this area and bringing attention – still there is a clear division of people, not a lot of mixing. Researching prisons -largest cases attention is given to crazy white people, but white people make up 3% of the prison – 6 murders, nothing to sensationalize 10 murders, not newsworthy.

Lack of access to information of alternative narratives because of ongoing systemic oppression.

Never wanted to research before, but this quarter was the first time – there isn’t enough – wrote three papers.

Suggestions/Improvements: 

Examples, on how to give your information but be able to frame things in a way that is most sensitive, as a white person from US, I would always from refrain from saying “in my experience” – my experience is not worth talking about over someone’s experience who lived it – if I did have something, what it looks like adding into a paper, wording it – let the reader know, I had this experience, also, it is different.

I think this is really cool, for people who have come from historically oppressed or disenfranchised, reclaim knowledge production, ability that maybe haven’t always been the leading voice, in own people’s history or history in general, for them to be able to talk about their experience and validated in a really legitimate way, really cool for production of knowledge. Changing power dynamics.

Student #10

Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?

FaceTime we used in class call – check – yes – didn’t think – was using documentaries, you hear people’s personal stories, I’m not interviewing, rather than personal interviews. Access to resources, reaching out to people, I didn’t think of reaching out. Besides the class, the only time you are encouraged to use personal experience is in a personal reflection paper. Discouraged from using it, depends on course and what professor requires. General experience – writing papers within argumentative and research – you say “I” – factual evidence (personal experience) versus personal opinion – if you are using your own personal experience it can be factual, can be impacted own opinion/perspective. How i am interpreting it – can make that fact. Depends in academia, if we lose sight of personal stories because you want things that are factual based – you are weary of what you are using – good sources of evidence – personal stories are so powerful, I’ve never thought i should interview a person. What makes the guidelines important, never had someone cite personal interviews and experience – it depends who you’re writing to.  Makes a paper much more powerful. More passionate.

Context of perspective. Important to ground

Access to documentaries are much easier, lack of efforts.

Apartheid – been to South Africa – effects if you have directly have a personal understanding. I’ve been there. Spoken about after effects – how the public feels about the effects of apartheid. Talked to a lot of people.

With family – topic  – my grandparents – fought in WW2 – their experience, a subject – happening in the US. generational perspective from a bystander who doesn’t have background information, if you could interview different generations. Are all they all seeing it the same way or differently.

Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?

Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?

Is there a way to make you more likely to do it? 

If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?

Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Acceptable versus not acceptable – where knowledge production is coming from – giving context

How you can do it, what makes it not acceptable – clarify what this is more – could be deterred if not clear. This is not acceptable (include why it’s not) even with just one. ….. What to know why each one is not acceptable to be more clear.

Lots of examples are good.

Student #5

Why did you choose to do the interview? (had you already done it or did you do it for the paper?)  

Conversation, not as much an interview. Interview did – with roommate, a year and a half – told life experiences, really interested. Would just tell anecdotes, roommate knew about paper, roommate offered, thought it was cool chose paper topic. Had some questions, asked roommate for permission, became into conversation.

What made you pick paper topic?

Personally have taken classes in HR, didnt know much of what was going on in middle east, why, why had never heard about it, wanted to learn academically. Easier for me personally to understand, we just read harvard articles, scholarship so impersonal. Saw that i had a personal connection. In media, hear about seria and yemen, dont hear about region.

When asked to use scholarly sources, asked to focus on is the abstract, the author’s thesis, they are trying to answer some question about some particular topic. When i was thinking about researching looking at articles in library databases, why are we focusing on one specific argument when there are so many other factors going on in the situation. When focus on question or answer, hard to find useful information. A lot of classes, forced to sift through all these questions and theories, very specific to authors own field of study – difficult for me, didn’t really find academic articles useful, not focused on broader context including personal experiences.

Really stuck with me admittance of testimonies in court, personal experiences typically taken with a grain of salt, instead of “expert witness” – great some of the time, but a dynamic of expert testimony taken much more heavily, more significance from people who

Why reading all of these articles while someone is personally willing to talk about these experiences, more qualified.

Another problem doing scholarly articles, they weren’t focused on specific group – tried to lump Yazidis compared with Syria, not individual experiences of people who had faced that type of oppression. Different political interests, layers, – but roommate just talked about her experience, wasn’t aware of different groups, we needed to get out.

Scholarly articles too analytical, more impersonal. Missing human impact. It is exclusive, articles had never done interviews with people. Had zero connection with people, never travelled.

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper? 

By using the guidelines made me feel compelled to do a better job. It made me feel bad reading about it, after i finished interview, who am i to write about this – own positionality. Made me feel weird to write about someone else’s experiences. If i had never done the interview, i would have taken political analytical take. After interview, made me feel a little lost, what am I actually write about. If i wasn’t able to use interview, i wouldn’t have had a deeper understanding. I wouldn’t have sought out for other sources.

Gave you an opportunity to push yourself – crazy after paper – reflected back on other papers, wait a second, why did i never seek out a interview source before. Annoyed at self, why did other professors not consider this? If included a personal account, would not have been accepted, would have asked for an academic source. Made me feel bad. What other papers could I have use this sources.

I never thought I would think about this – it is hard to talk about in class. We talked a lot in class about debriefing struggling with understanding why you are doing human rights work, why studying. Personal interviews, gave the option. One hard for me to deal with personally, but a better understanding of what is happening in the world. Not just purely academic sterile stuff.

How did (?) this affect how and why you wrote your paper?

Own history/community/family?

Just applied to LSJ major, used in my application, a personal experience. Worried about admissions committee, they are going to think I’m being dramatic. But i used personal experience to classwork. Thought about applying in the fall, looking back at old draft, I didn’t use personal experience in fall application. I felt more comfortable, generally, comfortable in personal experiences in formal academic settings. Subconsciously a thing, in applications now, more able to cite personal experience, i know about this because x, y, z.

You have something of value to add. Yes I do have authority to speak on this. Personal experience to talk about other things. Who is to say this isn’t valid. Scared, if I use this does it invalidate other personal experiences.

Gets you to think about your own position. Does have validity, plays into education.

Evaluated on GPA, but what we learn purely in course. If you have something that has changed your life and you learned a lot, don’t think this can be dismissed. Education beyond GPA. Decolonizing, respecting different forms of information.

Suggestions to improve:

Unsure how much to cite. Academic sources you’re supposed to paraphrase or use direct quotations. Not sure how to write this in a paper. How to incorporate direct quotes – examples. Even people we skyped in classes. Giving examples. How literally write that out. We’re not used to writing about personal experiences. Actual writing part. Especially citing, like with last names, how to incorporate interviews. Awkward to write.  Formal vs informal citing personal interview.

Really excited because the conversation we had in class, in courtrooms, how different people’s voices are respected, the formal place of a classroom – dialogue of people’s experiences.

Student #7

Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?

No – didn’t occur to me but when introduced. Didn’t occur to me because it is ingrained in my writing not supposed to use I statements, because it detracts from your argument. First person talk takes away from what you are trying to argue. If i used my own experience would detract from my argument, or not be considered as credible. Academic writing. Feels unnatural. Haven’t done in other classes. Or flat out written to talk about your experience. Never for a research paper. 

Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?

It was a topic i felt invested in because I had been reading in the news. The severity of the situation that I felt i could add to my argument. Not being Filipina, doesn’t touch on people and community you know. Personal experiences in class – felt like I couldn’t add. Too disconnected. No neighbors or friends.

Even if I did have something I could connect to, something Seattle based, would be hard to want to include personal experience. Emotional that makes it hard to = easier that I care about, instead of super connected, it would be hard for me to write objective. Sometimes you do want a bit of distance.

For me personally, I would have a hard time interviewing people. Even though that’s not  = I also don’t really have anything in my life that I could brought into life. Something that people could bring it in personally – there are few avenues where you can use experience to educate people, allowing students to use personal experiences as an opportunity that can rationalize circumstances, way of coping, processing further understanding your own life.

Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?

My mom is the one in my family who is the breadwinner – my dad has been the stay at home dad, cooks etc. could see myself talk about this.

Mental health – being in Seattle experiences – people otherwise not having the outlet – talk about it in an analytical academic way. Interesting outlooks. Full time student. Entering the real world. Value in having an actual experience. More credibility sharing story, connects to narrative of who someone is. When you are trying to make a point. This helped shape my way of viewing the world. Making the point more clear because it is my experience. Own positionality to what you’re writing about.

Is there a way to make you more likely to do it? 

Would you have changed paper topic – may have changed, but it’s hard to say. Would have done research to see what I could relate to. Sister was in peace corps in Tonga. Had been reading a lot 

If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?

Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Intimidation – going back to the beginning of the conversation – knowing how its not common place for me as a writer to bring in personal experiences, to know its an option, unchartered territory, incorporating into other readings, show examples, make a point of showing examples of how a person brought in personal experience. Some books, media and articles, but more explicit connection of how you can do this effectively.

From the get-go, that we can do at the beginning

Struggling with how we are taught to write. If you have something that will benefit your writing that will support your argument.

Start earlier from earlier education

Especially when not comfortable, need a template. Hard because you need to know what to share what not to share. How to connect, cohesive – could be intimidating – how to actually structure it in a way that’s effective.

Student #9

Did you know you could cite personal interviews for your paper?

Irma Alicia – what motivated to use in paper – find another source to support the point I was trying to make. A person who has gone through a direct experience of loss of justice and their own path, it was validating more so than a secondary.

In secondary sources, we put pressure to be void without feelings because we don’t to have bias, but then when you are talking about such as a human rights violation and genocide, how cannot have feelings and not incorporate individual emotions. The paper becomes more biased, it loses a quality that doesn’t seem right.

How did this affect how you felt about your work on your paper?

I was trying to find a good source of evidence – it goes back to who gets to tell the story. I am the one with the pen and the paper, how do represent the marginalized voices and population. Makes you more conscious and aware of your contribution but also the experience people have gone through are real, strips all vulnerability and don’t see human element.

In order for human rights, in order for people to recognize its important, you have to make it relevant, and meaningful, or otherwise its just another UN treaty that people wouldn’t bother to research or make critical evaluations. 

Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?

Don’t know anyone, if I did would be about Thai people perspective. Didn’t know where to reach out.

Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?

Why not do research topic in Thailand. – war on drugs relevant to me at that time, other paper the year before on war on drugs, have conversation with family. This was way of saying what I think.

News watch and conversations you are having.

It would depend on the topic, if I felt I had something to say. I would be more weary about putting myself in than other people. When we write formal and critical papers, it is taboo to write about ourselves. I would try to incorporate more personal voices. More comfortable with neighbors, other people’s voices. 

Is there a way to make you more likely to do it?

If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?

Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Everything was very straightforward and clear

Is it important, it is so lost, something we are not taught at all. We don’t know how. When you are not encouraged to do so, not told the option, you are not given guidelines, it is deterring.

You have to be careful. When it is a mix of secondary and primary. Doesn’t detract from credibility. Important that you are just as critical when choosing the primary sources, looking at the motivations behind the arguments, what institution is representing. Even if a personal experience, you should be weary of same thing. Deep context.

Student #8

Did you know you could cite interviews in your paper?

yes

Why did you not cite your personal experience/interviews for this paper?

Topic I was writing about did not have personal experience, a country that was in Africa, I’ve never been there, or the continent, didn’t come from a place of having personal knowledge. Was going off of testimony that people had formed, didn’t know anyone in immediate surroundings, may have been but none that i knew of.

Also when it comes to interviews, i am going to be conducting a lot of interviews, comfortable with the idea, school system, i came from a high school that was very into writing, all types of formats and properly cite the sources. The opportunity to talk to people about personal experiences was never really an option. We were never assigned something that made us something that made us use those personal connections. Even though i knew i could have, it was a foreign concept because I’ve never done it.

If you had known someone would you have done an interview.

I want to say yes, but I would probably have not done it. If there is a power-play when it comes to interview. You asking someone for their time, you have this power, but I am someone who depending on the situation, if i am in a place of power, I will ask. When it comes to school assignments, who am i to conduct this interview, answer this questions, take time out of their day, when they are doing me a favor. If a neighbor, someone who was a friend or an acquaintance – but during the time doing the paper, I would have reached out and I didn’t have the personal connection feeling comfortable enough to ask, and not in a position of an authority.

In terms of this interview you’re my professor – terms of power. Not a huge deal. Or not my professor. Could have been different. Had I not known you, not feel comfortable.

Example of this interview, since you were professor, you have a position of authority, professor/student. If it had happened during class time, either way wouldn’t have been an issue. If i was conducting an interview and I did not have power, less incentive of the person on the other side for not wanting to do the interview. Student versus student – someone who holds power, professor, legislator, i would feel at their will beck and call, would make me opposed the interview. Even though i am conducting, i feel i am below them, i am a “nuisance.” I dont have the right to conduct, i don’t have power over them. Not legitimate request because of the power differential, a low priority. Or ask about someone’s personal experience and then using them. Don’t have the power to leverage not worth my time, don’t want to impose your power, not obligated, other side of the spectrum, you have no power so you don’t want to even ask.

Personal relationships are key – if interviews were more accepted, that could potentially helped. If they were more common in the education system, if it was common practice, maybe we as a society would feel and understand. It is common. This makes sense as to why you would want to interview.

Personal experiences aren’t always seen as valid as they should be not seen as reliable sources in current societies – catches you off guard, why asking for an interview. Is it worth your time or my time – common practice more acceptable, oh yes, makes sense why you would want to interview me. Worth time and energy.

Research is not based on people, based on scientific reasoning when its face to face contact, so used to getting information from scholarly source, all the stories started with a person. No ones used to. Culture of what is valid knowledge.

Not know how to go about, and not having anyone to interview. 

Can you imagine a situation in which you would cite your personal experience/interviews? What would it look like?

Yes – as I briefly glanced over – I have to write a paper for the internship about legislation – I didn’t have to choose a topic of interviewing.

I can see using my experience and those of other peoples. I have to do it, but i want to because will add a depth to the assignment, will give it a more personal touch. If i were to write a paper on topics that is impersonal it is attached, it is important to.

Is there a way to make you more likely to do it? 

If you had the opportunity again in the future would you consider doing it?

Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the guidelines?

Our class did a good job, others might now – you came in with the idea of other people’s experiences main graded aspect, paper was assigned well in advance, if we were able to choose a topic and take into account our personal experiences, and who we might be able to interview, who use as an academic source, similar assignments, dive deep and get passionate, encompasses it full, and then spring it on you and then you have two weeks.

Would be difficult to get a source to interview. Putting a time restraint would be difficult. They are doing you a favor by doing an interview, and they cant do it for three weeks, you have to turn in the paper missing a really good experience. Interviews highly sought after, professors love when you can get interviews, but they don’t assist you in the process. They don’t tell you how to do conduct an interview, or how to give one, or give you time to do so. No one can utilize.

Knowledge production – talked a lot in class how research starts as a story, all articles books scholarly sources and peer reviewed articles started out as a story somehow, how they are often viewed in a better light than personal experiences because we value what is on paper than what is currently happening or has happened in someone’s life. A teacher might say it doesn’t count as a scholarly source. What we find a lot in universities, we started moving out of using any source, into you have to have 10 source, 7 of them must be be peer reviewed. Odd because there is this gap in people’s minds that an article stems from someone personal experience, but it’s different. How personal experiences don’t count

Creating this power dynamic where students feel like they can’t use certain research because its not valid and it deters them from utilizing other forms of research when a university doesn’t really allow it. Weird because universities will train you to write a certain way that is very impersonal, and detached from reality because it is so based in writing we aren’t taking into account personal aspect. All this big idea that is hard to pinpoint.

Presenting with me – whose project is it? – shared experience – people be part of the project, a very interesting aspect – more personal experience.

See how people at the universities react to it. I do wonder if teachers/professors would think that verbal testimony is that important. Someone lied during an interview. Or  student potentially taking advantage, making up an interview, was midnight and had to turn something in. students would be interested. What people think at national level, certain kind of writing is correct. We write a paper because it’s not how someone else would have written it or gone about researching it, not fair, it is devaluing work we put into it. Asking people how you think about – we don’t think about it, how certain information is prioritized more than others, do studies more on the national studies at the national level, personal experiences in writing and research- acceptability, not peer reviewed if not valid, harming how we see things, there is so much emphasis on checking your sources that is correct, the point that we have lost connection to making sure that what we include, not the whole story. It is off putting from a very statistical point of view, not personal – all research has to be detached, and more important than research that is deeply involved.

Scary and important, takes a lot more work to do an interview, and to tell you story or have someone tell their story.

Prioritizing hierarchy – Harvard, vs local community college – who put more effort into their study, Harvard study was more legitimate, the name of the university, the aspect and prioritize –