Description:

Interview two males and two females on the following topic: What are some guidelines for successful long-term, committed relationships such as marriage or a committed unmarried relationship? Your interviews may be informal. They do not need to be very long: 5 or 10 minutes of good thoughtful discussion is adequate for each interview, although of course you may talk longer if you like. One possibility is to begin each interview with the general question above, and then have some other specific questions you might like to explore.

Throughout the interview, it might be useful to (a) repeat back what the person says in order to clarify and be sure you understand; and (b) ask for specific examples to clarify and expand what is being said.

It is not a requirement, but it would be interesting if you could interview a male and a female of about your own age, and a second male and female of an older generation.

Make brief handwritten notes on each interview. (These are for your own use and are not to be submitted to me.)

When you are done with the interviews, submit a paper that describes:

- a brief summary of what you did

- a very brief summary of what the interviewees said. DO NOT give me long verbatim quotes. All I am asking is that you summarize a few key points. You may describe any comments you thought were particularly interesting, and MAY wish to include one or two brief quotes if you thought they were particularly powerful or interesting.

- a brief description of your own top 3 guidelines for successful communication.

DO NOT exceed the two-page limit for this homework assignment. One page is acceptable; two pages is maximum.

9/22/04