Students will employ the skills of a Cultural Psychologist, with a goal of learning as much as possible about implicit culture and how experiences with intersectionality influence identity by conducting an Ethnographic Interview and analyzing their findings. Select a participant (someone with whom you do not have a direct relationship) and conduct an interview with this participant using questions from your ethnographic proposal. Write a qualitative research paper with the following components of your study:
Abstract – A brief overview of the study in 250 words or less, including topic, methodology, kind of analysis and findings.
Introduction – Describe and introduce the topic you are studying. State why it is important to study. State the research questions you sought to investigate in your study.
Literature review – Review literature specific to topics of your study and literature related to the specific culture. State if you cannot. Discuss gaps in the literature that you are seeking to fill with this study. Briefly introduce your present study.
The Present Study
Methods & Procedures: Participants & Procedure Sections
Participant – Include a description of who you interviewed. Include participant descriptors such as age, race, SES, religion, as well as anything else that may be relevant to your study.
Procedure – Describe where the interview took place, how long it took, and whether it was structured or semi-structured. Include a brief synopsis of topics covered in the interview, which would be a short summary of the interview questions you asked.
Results – State 2-3 themes that emerged from the interview. A theme is defined by the participant and interpreted by you. Discuss why you chose the themes. include excerpts or paraphrases of what was said that support the existence of these themes and your choice of choosing them. Cite direct quotes from the participant using APA formatting guidelines when appropriate.
Critical Reflexivity – State your own social identities, and describe how they might have impacted your interview process and interpretation of findings. State the assumptions you might have had about what you expected to find based on your knowledge of the culture or your own culture.
Discussion – Restate what you were studying and the importance of it. Discuss your findings, grounded in the extant literature and course content. Interpret what the themes may mean in relation to previous findings from the studies you described in your literature review and information learned from course readings. Explain how the themes answered your original research question and what it means. Identify the limitations of the study, and potential implications for future research, practice or policy. Last, state suggestions for future research to better explore or further explore this topic and/or culture.
Your final paper should be 8-10 pages in length, not including cover page, reference page(s), and any appendices. In addition to content, papers will also be graded for proper use of APA style.
