Interview Question
Diversity in Sexuality Interview Questions
Due: 11:00 am on the due date on Canvas. You must submit an electronic copy to the TurnItIn dropbox on Canvas. (Ten percentage points will be deducted for each day that papers are late, starting at 11 am on the due date.)
Length: About 2-4 typed pages (12 point Times New Roman font), and electronic copy of full-text of 2 scholarly articles
Credit: This assignment is worth 25 points
As you study the material in this course, it is important to learn about diversity in human sexual behavior. For this paper, you will interview someone who is different from you in at least one way (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, sexual behaviors, sexual attraction, values/religion, age, gender identity). You will develop interview questions based on psychological research studies. Then, you will compare and contrast the attitudes, values, identity, and/or preferences between yourself and your interviewee. Make sure you choose a specific topic, informed by research. Your paper should develop a central thesis/main idea and provide support for the thesis. (If you are concerned that your topic may not be relevant please talk to me before you do too much work on it!)
After you choose a topic, find a minimum of two articles in the psychology literature that relate to your topic of interest. For this assignment the articles may be review articles or empirical articles, but they must be SCHOLARLY (i.e., written by an expert in human sexual behavior, not a journalist or layperson). Based on the information that you have read, design an interview consisting of 10 prepared questions that you would like to ask of your interviewee. You will turn these questions in to me (along with pdfs of your articles) by the due date.
I encourage you to interview someone in person, but you can also interview the person over the phone or Skype/Zoom/Facetime if necessary.
Post-interview, reflect on the interview and write a 3-5 page paper about the experience. In this paper you should briefly summarize the literature findings on your topic of interest. Describe the rationale for how you designed your interview and why you asked the questions that you did. Then summarize the responses of your interviewee and synthesize how their responses were typical or atypical compared to the research that you reviewed. Be sure to describe why you think the responses either matched or deviated from what you expected. You also need to incorporate how the interviewee is similar to and different from you. Your paper must have a central thesis and evidence to support that thesis. Be sure to properly cite any references that you use (in APA style). Provide the journal abstracts of the references you cite and your list of interview questions in an Appendix.
Ten percentage points will be deducted for each calendar day that papers are late, starting at the beginning of class on the due date. Papers must be submitted to a TurnItIn dropbox. TurnItIn is an anti-plagiarism tool, and I will not grade any paper unless it has been submitted to TurnItIn.
I will not accept your paper if the sources or topic do not meet these requirements. In choosing a topic, you might want to consider topics for your final research paper also. If you choose similar topics, you can use some of the same articles for both assignments. You are also welcome to choose different topics if you’d prefer.
Briefly describe your topic at the beginning of your list of questions. Then, list your 10 questions. After each question, include a brief explanation of why you want to ask each question (making sure your reasons are based on what you’ve read). Finally, type a reference list in APA style. I would also like you mention who you plan to interview.
To help you locate sources, I have included suggested databases that are available through the Westminster library web page below. You might also consider using Interlibrary Loan through the Westminster library to access articles that we do not have in full-text.
PsycARTICLES (this is a subset of PsycINFO that contains full-text journals)
Google Scholar
Here is an example of an APA-style citation from the references page:
Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitation conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 768-777.
Here is an example of an APA-style in-text citation: (Strack, Martin, & Stepper, 1988). After the first in-text citation, use (Strack et al., 1998) if there are 3 or more authors.
Papers will be graded on the following criteria:
- Topic is relevant to diversity in human sexual behavior, has a thesis that can be supported with evidence, and has appropriate breadth (not too broad, not too narrow) (7 points).
- Justification of questions is logical and based on research (6 points).
- Sources are scholarly and appropriate for the topic (6 points).
- Reference list in APA style; full-text of articles included with paper (3 points).
- Properly proofed (3 points).
