Interview Process
In preparing for and conducting the interview, there were many steps and processes to go through. These steps may include but are not limited to:
1. Determine objectives of interview
2. Determine questions for interview
3. Find interviewees to interview
4. Set up time for interview
5. Conduct and record interview
6. Thank interviewee for interview
7. Transcribe interview
8. Research country
9. Write outlines for interview report and country report
10. Write interview report and country report
11. Post to blog and go to class
I prepared for the interview by determining the objectives for the interview and determining the questions for the interview in class. I found my interviewee in my dorm building. I set up a time and conducted the interview by meeting my interviewee in a public, quiet place. I gave him the questions ahead of time so he could look them over before the interview to help the interview run smoothly. We began conversing, only small talk, and then I pulled out my phone and asked if it would be alright if I recorded the conversation. After he agreed to this I started recording and again asked him if I could record the conversation (this time on tape). After conducting the interview, I thanked my interviewee multiple times. Next came the transcribing. I was rushed in this process and ended up doing it all in one sitting which took a very long time. Next came researching for the country report. I checked out some online resources. I then wrote the remaining two parts to my paper I still needed and then I posted it and got ready for class.
Country Report
My interviewee was from Ghana. I’ve never been to Ghana and it seemed like a place very different to where I am from. I learned many things in my research. I learned things about Ghana’s physical characteristics, its people, its government, its economy and other strange facts.
Did you know that Ghana is located in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo? It’s a little smaller in size than the state of Oregon. Bordering countries include Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. Ghana has over 500 kilometers along the Atlantic Ocean. Ghana has three climates. The highest point in Ghana is called Mount Afadjato, which is about 885 meters above sea level. Ghana has lots of natural resources; some of which include: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone. Ghana is a hard place to live in with all the environmental issues it has. Ghana suffers from droughts, deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, poaching, habitat destruction, water pollution, and inadequate supplies of potable water. Ghana is home to the largest artificial lake, Lake Volta.
Ghana doesn’t have anywhere near as many people as larger, more popular countries. It has fewer than 25,000,000 according to a 2011 estimate. That few of people will make it less than the 45th most populated country in the world. Out of all those people, less than four percent will be sixty-five years of age or older. That makes Ghana a pretty young country. According to a 2010 estimate the average age is just over 21 years old. A similar estimate states that over 35 percent of the people are fourteen or younger.
Unfortunately Ghana has a few things working against it. Ghana has a pretty low birth rate. Ghana also has a negative migration rate. The infant mortality rate is estimated to be about 50th out of all the countries in the world. This mean Ghana has quite a few babies that die right after being born. Luckily Ghana doesn’t really have any major issues like a high HIV percentage or anything like that.
I also found out that Ghana has more than quite a few ethnic groups and over 75 languages in use. Luckily English is the national language so one does not have to learn all of these languages to buy and sell goods. Surprisingly, over 80 percent of these people belong in just two religious groups, Muslim and Christian.
I found that Ghana’s Exported products include: “gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture.” (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html) Their industries include: “mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building.” (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html)
I found out some random things which interested me as well. I found out that Ghana has only 11 airports as of last year and 4 of those have unpaved runways. I also calculated that out of Ghana’s 62,221 Kilometers of roads less than 16 percent are paved. I also found out that Ghana is pretty big in the illegal drug trade. I also learned about how the government has kings and queens that rule over cites and how politicians will ask them for advice because they are usually more involved in the region they rule over. I also found out that it is not well documented that these kings and queens rule over cities and regions.
I have learned much about Ghana since I started my research. I’ve used sources from online. I am glad I was able to find another person from Africa to interview because the facts you find from this area are really shocking and interesting.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html Visited on 4/3/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana Visited on 4/3/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akan_Chieftaincy Visited on 4/3/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Ghana Visited on 4/3/11
Transcription (click for transcript)
Interview Personal Review
Looking back at my interview and wondering how things went, starts off with recalling where I wanted them to go. In my interview I wanted to accomplish a few predetermined objectives. These objectives were:
1. During the interview process I would like to learn things from a new culture.
2. I would also like to learn how moving to America has affected their life.
3. I would like to achieve a higher understanding of different perspectives which can in turn open incite to my own life.
4. I would also like the interview to be more informal, so that it seems to be more of a conversation than question and answer session. This way, the person I will be interviewing may answer questions I didn't think of in my brainstorming process.
Looking at my first objective, I would have to say I accomplished this well. I didn’t know very many things about Kwaku or Ghana. I learned about things he likes to do, favorite foods, family ties, and a little about the government and how it works.
Looking at my second objective, I would have to say I also accomplished this well. I learned how his thoughts of America have changed since coming here. I also learned about how his ideals of racism have changed since coming here. I learned how coming here and getting an education is going to help Kwaku return to his people and help them.
My third objective, I feel, wasn’t accomplished very well. I accomplished this goal to a certain extent, but I feel as though I learned more about how understanding different perspectives affected my interviewee’s life and not so much my own. Perhaps with more time I will understand some things which I wouldn’t without this interview.
Looking at my fourth objective, I would have to say I accomplished this very well. We ended up talking about things very fluidly. My interviewee relaxed and opened up very well, which helped very much with this objective.
Overall I would say that this interview much better than the last one. I learned a great deal in this whole process. I learned about a culture that was pretty new to me, and I learned about the personal experiences of another individual. If I had to do it all again, I think I wouldn’t change a thing from my interview.
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