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Iowa Narratives Project: Crafting Questions

For students working on the Iowa Narratives Project: http://ideal.uiowa.edu/projects/iowa-narratives-project-inp

So you're interviewing people about a particular place...

Then you'll want to develop some questions.

While broad, open-ended questions (e.g., 'what is your experience as a bicyclist riding in Iowa City?') can elicit rich stories from interview participants, you'll also want to take focused questions along with you to your interview. Focused questions - that is, questions that are more specific in topic -- can help guide your interviewee back if they've strayed off course, can help quiet interviewees open up, and can lend credibility to your work as it shows you've put effort into preparing for the interview.

See the example below of how you might go about finding more information and crafting focused questions about your chosen place.

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