Assignment:
Speaking of responses: The intent of this assignment (RPO peer feedback in weeks 2, 4 and 6) is not simply to affirm and/or encourage your classmates but to provide substantive critique that will hopefully help your peers do a better job with that particular stage of the RPO. I thought, as a class, you all did a good job, not only with your responses to your colleagues' initial posts, but your responses TO the responses (that sounds confusing but not sure how else to say it)! Need Assignment Help?
Lori Wramp
Reply from Lori Wramp
Interviewer: Lori Wramp
Interview with Dr. Alan Butler, Clinical Psychologist. Currently employed full-time at Todu Guam.
Interview conducted on June 15th at 6:30pm.
Location: Port of Mocha, Guam Premier Outlets
History/Relationship: Dr. Butler was my Supervisor during my Practicum and Internship for the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. After completion of my master's program, I was hired as a Counselor Intern at his place of employment, which is where I completed the Practicum and Internships. He could not continue as my supervisor due to licensing restrictions but continued to be a coworker, a mentor, and a friend. He continues to play a significant role in my educational and professional journey.
Dr. Butler was one of the individuals that encouraged me to consider pursuing my doctorate and we have had many conversations about doctoral programs and the dissertation. He knew that I had not considered going for a doctorate degree because of my fear of the dissertation and statistics. However, his encouragement and explanation helped me to face my fears head on by enrolling into the doctoral program through Liberty University.
- What did you enjoy about the experience?
I enjoyed talking to Dr. Butler about his dissertation experience and the challenges that he faced throughout the process. Due to previous conversations, I knew that his dissertation topic was focused on Guam. Hearing about how he managed the geographical difficulties gave me hope that I could continue to work on the dissertation while I am living in the states. His explanation of how he found his Chair and committee will help me in the future, as I prepare to start the dissertation process as an online student.
- What challenges (technical, personal, or otherwise) did you encounter?
The one challenge that we had was finding a quiet space where we could talk without background noise or interruptions. We chose to meet at 6pm, immediately after Dr. Butler left his place of employment, at a local coffee shop in the mall nearest his office. The mall is a tourist spot, so there is plenty of foot traffic, leaving very little privacy. Even though we chose to sit at a table upstairs away from most of the public, there was a small meeting being held upstairs that contributed to the background noise on the recording. In addition, there was an individual being measured for a special fitting and was conversing with someone on speakerphone. That also contributed to the noise that is heard on the recording.
- How, if at all, was it different from what you expected, based on your course readings and your assumptions?
My assumptions on the dissertation have changed since starting the doctoral program last August. Initially, I was concerned and scared mainly due to my lack of understanding of statistics and what was required for the dissertation. I immediately knew that I did not want to focus on quantitative, due to my fear of statistics. I was intrigued and excited to know that I could explore experiences from others, so my first thought was to choose a topic that would be significant for Guam. After conversations with Dr. Butler, he encouraged me to pick a topic that I was passionate about and would be able to focus on for extended periods of time. After hearing Dr. Butler's dissertation experience this evening, it added to the context of our previous conversations providing more of an understanding on the process.
- Based on your experience(s), how would you approach any subsequent qualitative interviewing?
Although the questions for the interview were provided, I found that I needed to ask additional questions that would provide more meaning to what we were discussing. For example, I asked whether Dr. Butler had dissertation classes, such as those that we have in our doctoral program. Since he attended a different college and was enrolled in a different degree program, I did not know if his institution included dissertation classes in the doctoral programs.
In addition, the interview that I had with Dr. Butler is different than what I will experience with participants for my dissertation research. Dr. Butler was my supervisor and coworker; he is also my friend and mentor so interviewing him was more relaxed and open. There was more laughing and comfort due to our existing relationship. Interviewing participants will be different because of the dynamics between myself, as the researcher, and the participant. They will not be familiar with me professionally or personally, so the interview could be more tense and less open. The culture here will also play a significant role in how participant's view the topic and their opinions of the researcher. I will need to be considerate of time for the participant to answer the questions, without interjection or giving them ample time to answer the questions.
- What did you learn about qualitative data collection from this experience?
I have learned that I will have to be prepared for the transcription portion of the data collection phase. Even as Dr. Butler mentioned, there is a lot of time that must be invested into transcribing the interviews. His suggestion of purchasing the pedal through Amazon is something that I will do to try to make the process easier and quicker.
He only interviewed six individuals for his research, and I will have approximately 20 interviews that I will have to transcribe, consisting of US veterans from different pacific island nations. I will need to be prepared for a language and cultural barrier. I will also prepare myself for the interviews by researching the various cultures of the different island nations, possibly reviewing videos and listening to audio recordings of the language variants that could be present. I will also look to others from those island nations to help with translation or understanding, if needed.
Lorelei Copper
Reply from Lorelei Copper
Discussion Thread: Field Notes Interviews
What did you enjoy about the experience?
I really enjoyed how the person I interviewed was easy to ask questions and talk to. They had some good advice to give and how to go about picking a topic and what to expect during the dissertation process. Both of us had a distraction-free place for conducting the interview. We both were in physical setting where a private conversation could be held that lends itself to audiotaping (Creswell & Poth, 2025, p. 199).
What challenges (technical, personal, or otherwise) did you encounter?
For me, since I am not experienced with a videoconference interview, I was nervous and scared, and I thought I would not be able to get my first interview done. My interview was done on my phone since I was having such a challenging time getting it on my computer. I am glad that I had help on the other side of this interview; she set it up for me where it came out good.
How, if at all, was it different from what you expected, based on your course readings and your assumptions?
It was different from what I expected, based on my course readings and assumptions because of the understanding of how everything goes into the dissertation process, picking a chair, and committee.
Based on your experience(s), how would you approach any subsequent qualitative interview?
Based on my experience, I would approach any subsequent qualitative interviewing knowing that I will learn something more from someone who has completed their dissertation and chair and committee process.
Qualitative interviewing is where "knowledge is constructed in the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee" (Creswell & Poth, 2025, p. 198). The qualitative research interview is further described as "attempts to understand the world from the subjects' point of view, to unfold the meaning of their experience, to uncover their lived world" (Creswell & Poth, 2025, p. 198).
What did you learn about qualitative data collection from this experience?
I learned that qualitative data collection from this experience was not difficult at all. This experience showed how qualitative interviewing is as much an interpersonal skill as a methodological one. Data quality totally depends on the interviewer's ability to listen actively, rather than rigidly following a script (Creswell & Poth, 2025, p. 201). You need the right questions for your interviewee to get a real understanding of what is ahead of your studies. This first interview boosted my confidence while highlighting areas for growth. I'm looking forward to the next one with these lessons in mind(Creswell & Poth, 2025, p. 201).
References:
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2025). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications.