How To Write An Outstanding Dissertation Using Interviews

The quality of your dissertation is based completely on the quality of your sources. If you only use secondary sources, like articles written about people and their work, then you are not getting the entire story for your project. One of the best ways to craft a dissertation is by using the sources themselves and you can do this through interviews.

Research to Develop Good Questions

When you interview a source, you must ask good questions. Therefore, it is important to conduct some preliminary research first. The people you are planning to interview already have done something to get the attention of scholars like you, so there should be some information available that you can use to build questions. Without preliminary research, you might miss an opportunity to ask an amazing question that could be the highlight of your dissertation. You will need to conduct preliminary research before every person you plan to interview.

Prep Your Subject

Another way to glean useful information is to prep your interviewee before the actual event. There is nothing wrong with giving your interviewee the questions you plan to ask prior to actually talking to each other. This way, your interviewee can think about the questions to give you answers that you can use. Your interviewee might also be able to help direct you to places that you can find the answers you need to make your dissertation the best it can be.

Communicate Effectively with Apps

Interviews do not have to be conducted in a face-to-face situation. With the ease of using the Internet for communication, you can conduct interviews through a variety of applications. Email and texting are two useful tools for gathering information. If you do prefer to talk to your interviewee, but you are too far away to meet, you can talk through video conferencing and face-chatting apps, too.

Write in Paragraph Format

To make your dissertation an outstanding piece of writing to read, do not write it like an interview. The only time that interviews are interesting to read in that format is when entertainers are interviewed and their responses are funny. Professional interviews are better captured in paragraphs. The way that you document the information in the paper will show the readers that you conducted an interview. Writing about the findings from the question and answer session in paragraphs gives you the opportunity to include your voice, too.