Survey template
This page offers a first stab at questions for semi structured interviews
All contributions greatfully received (either edit this page or make comments at the bottom)
Note that all members are welcome to take the survey and to publish the results. Members are also encouraged to interview other people and to publish the results. In this way we will gather a lot of different points of view which can be subjected to a discourse analysis!!! This might lead to new ways of understanding the world and our place in it.
You can get a printer friendly version of this docoument by clicking on the (print) button at the bottom of the page. This could be handy as a prompt sheet for interviews.
Potential(s)
What potential(s) do you see for yourself at this time in your life?
How can these potential(s) be enabled?
What kind of support would you want and where would you look for it? (eg family, friends, courses, the internet etc)
Significant influences
What do you see as significant influences in your personal growth? – (eg ideas, events, people, contexts etc)
Lonely, bored and helpless
A recent study suggests that the three main diseases of old age are boredom, loneliness and helplessness. What do you think?
How would you cope with them? How do other people cope?
Sickness, old age, death
What is your feeling about sickness, old age and death?
How do you think you would cope with them?
What support would you look for?
Doing, Having or Being
William Davies the vagabond poet asked, "What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?" What do you think ‘standing and staring’ involves and what might be the benefits? How do you understand the idea of 'human being' as opposed to 'human doing' and 'human having'?
Background
The plan is to gather and publish large numbers of these testimonials. Some form of analysis will be done on them. It would help therefore to have the following background information about the people who give their testimonies.
| Name (optional) | ………………………………………………………………………… |
| Date of testimony | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Sex | |
| Marital status and family | eg married (twice), 2 children, 4 grandchildren |
| Parents | eg Mother 94, Father died in 1975 aged 75 |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Hobbies/interests | |
| email/ phone (optional) |
Principle = begin with the 'easy' stuff (ie the more intellectual topics which people are comfortable with). Having mapped the field intellectually you are then ready to move on to the more difficult stuff. Or am I being over sensitive?