The document provides best practices for conducting interviews including taking notes, recording with permission, preparing questions, and paying close attention. It discusses open-ended questions to avoid yes or no questions. For citations, it explains that personal interviews are cited with the interviewee's name, descriptor, and date in MLA but only with a parenthetical citation in APA. It also discusses elements to include when writing an observation essay such as establishing details through procedures, descriptions, quantities, and communication methods used.

1. INTERVIEWING – BEST
PRACTICES
Take Notes
Record the Interview (Ask Permission)
Prepare a List of Questions
Pay Close Attention
Empathize

2. TYPES OF INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
Ask Open-Ended Questions
(e.g. – What was it like? How do you feel about it?
Why do you think this?
Avoid:
Questions About Facts and Figures
Cliché Questions
Yes or No Questions

3. Personal Interviews in MLA citation
Personal interviews refer to those interviews that
you conduct yourself. List the interview by the
name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor
“Interview,” “Conducted by [your name],” and the
date of the interview.
Ex.: Smith, Jane. Interview. Conducted by John Smith, 19 May 2014.
For the in-text citation, simply include the
Interview subject’s last name in parenthesis:
(Smith)

4. Personal Interviews in APA citation
As a personal interview is not published
or “findable,” it should not be included
in an APA reference list. Instead, a
personal interview should be
referenced as a parenthetical citation.
For example: (J. Smith, personal
communication, May 17, 2008).

5. OBSERVATION ESSAY
SYNTHESIZING YOUR OBSERVATIONS

6. ESTABLISH
DETAILS

7. Procedural Details

8. Physical Descriptions

9. QUANTITATIVE
DETAILS

10. Entering the Environment

11. Verbal Communication

12. PHYSICAL
COMMUNICATION

13. WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION

14. VISUAL
COMMUNICATION

15. ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATION

16. Interaction

17. OUTREACH

18. Interpretation

19. EVALUATING
COMMUNICATION

20. Comparisons

21. Challenges to Communication

22. from The
Elements of
Eloquence
by Mark
Forsyth
“Adjectives in English absolutely have
to be in this order: opinion-size-age-
shape-colour-origin-material-purpose
noun. So you can have a lovely little old
rectangular green French silver
whittling knife. But if you mess with
that word order in the slightest, you’ll
sound like a maniac. It’s an odd thing
that every English speaker uses that
list, but almost none of us could write it
out. And as size comes before colour,
green great dragons can’t exist.”

23. Opinion Size Age Shape Color Origin
Material Purpose (Noun)
Stupid Big Old Ovular Green American Wooden
Shearing Scissors

24. Opinion Size Age Shape Color Origin
Material Purpose (Noun)
Gigantic Pointed Norwegian Rolling Pin

25. SENSORY
LANGUAGE

26. Senses
 Sight: color, shape, objects involved, people involved, tone,
design, style, buildings, hairstyles, plant life, actions
 Sound: soft, loud, plop, crackling, popping, sizzling,
banging, buzzing, clanking, squeaking, faint, bellowing,
thundering, boom, high-pitched, low-pitches, chirping,
static, beats, wailing, shouting, singing, animal sounds, car
horns, construction, gunshots, alarm