Overview

Topic: Climate Change

One of the best ways to gain valuable research is to interview an expert on a given topic. Interviews are excellent resources because you can ask the specific questions you want answers to, and you can follow up and get more information on the answers you find most interesting or confusing. You can’t do that with a printed text!

Who is an expert? An expert is not your friend or relative who has experienced your topic. An expert is someone who works in the field you are researching or who studies and analyzes the topic you are researching. An expert might be a teacher or instructor, a business owner, a doctor/nurse/counselor, a police officer, a lawyer or paralegal, or a published researcher. Asking clear, specific questions of an expert will help you gain valuable perspective on your topic.

Instructions

1. Research: Conduct a brief interview with an expert on your topic. Use the resources in your Exploration page to help you prepare your interview. This interview can be in person or via telephone or email. An in-person interview is always most valuable, but is not always feasible. Be sure to contact your expert right away to get your interview time scheduled! Prepare your questions before the interview, but also be ready to go in a different direction if your interview takes an interesting turn. Be sure to take careful notes as you interview. You might want to record it (be sure to get permission first, though).

2. Think: What did you learn from your interview? What interesting perspective did this expert offer that you hadn’t gained from a printed source?

3. Write: In your discussion post, include the name, title, and organization of your expert. Interpret the interview results and write a summary paragraph of the most important aspects. In a second paragraph, evaluate the information you gained from the interview. How has it changed or added to your understanding of the topic?