Post Assessment

1. How did I choose the person to be interviewed? What biographical information is relevant to present with this interview?  I chose Shawn because he is my personal friend and also a horror author/fan. I knew that he had a vast knowledge of the community. 
2. How did I prepare for the interview? Did I prepare enough? I prepared for this interview by writing down my interview questions and ensuring I had time to ask them. I do feel as if I prepared enough. 
3. What did I use for equipment? Did it work satisfactorily? What changes should I make? I used my phone and laptop to record and piece together this interview. I do think some things could have been better such as if I used a microphone or other software to boost the quality of the sound. 
4. What kinds of questions did I ask? What kinds of questions worked well? Not so well? I asked questions that I would feel able to fully answer myself. I think the questions I asked worked well overall. I do think the more specific the question could be narrowed down, the better. 
5. Where did I conduct the interview? What in the environment affected my interview? How? I conducted this interview in my room when it was calm and quiet. My kids are always a big distraction during anything that requires calm so I made sure they were occupied beforehand as best as I could. 
6. Did my subject want to talk? How did I encourage my subject to talk? What "masks" did my subject wear? Did my subject drop the masks? Shawn was very willing to talk with me. He was talkative and gracious so that made the process seamless. I don't feel as if he wore any "masks" of any sort. This can be because we are already so close. 
7. When did I tell my subject the purpose of the interview and how it would be used? Did my plans to use the interview seem to matter to the subject?  To be fair I only told him about the interview the day of but thankfully he took that in stride. He knew I was working on final projects for class and had no concerns about helping me out. I feel that he probably tried to make him answers more thorough because he knew I was using them for a big project. 
8. How accurate were my subject's memories? The questions requiring memory recollection came through as strong and clear. 
9. How accurate was my subject's reporting of her memories? How do I know? Does it matter? I do not know how accurate the memories were in this case. I can say because I know his passion about the topic that they were likely strongly felt and as accurate as possible.
10. Who controlled the interview? How? I think we were on equal ground during the interview. I tried to lead a bit but overall, it was equally paced. 
11. How did I feel while interviewing? I felt happy to be there and excited to hear Shawn's answers. 
12. How did my subject feel while being interviewed? He seemed to feel equally relaced and positive during the interview. 
13. Would it be useful and possible to return for another interview? I don't know that it is necessarily a must for a follow up interview, but I would absolutely love to interview Shawn in the future if the need arises. 
14. How can I ensure that the transcription is accurate? How can I ensure that the transcription reports what the subject wanted to say? I can ensure accuracy by taking my time with the transcription and asking for clarification if needed. 
15. Next time, what would I do the same? What would I do differently? I don't think I have many self-criticisms for this project other than adding some better technology to record and edit with. It went smoothly and I am happy with the results.