Research Interview Guide Prompt Templates

INTERVIEW GUIDE: First-Generation Student Experiences

Opening (5 min):
1. Tell me a little about yourself and your path to college.
 - Probe: What was the decision to attend college like for you?
 - Probe: How did your family react?

(Purpose: Builds rapport, establishes background, eases into identity topics)

Section 1: Belonging and Identity (15 min):
2. Can you describe a time when you felt like you really belonged at [university]?
 - Probe: What made that moment stand out?
 - Probe: How common are moments like that?

3. Now can you describe a time when you felt like you didn't quite fit in?
 - Probe: What was happening? Who was involved?
 - Probe: How did you feel in that moment?
 - Probe: What did you do?

(Transition: 'You've described some experiences of fitting in and not fitting in. I want to ask about something related...')

Section 2: Imposter Experiences (20 min):
4. Some students describe feeling like they don't deserve to be here, or like they'll be found out as not really belonging. Have you ever felt anything like that?
 - Probe: Can you walk me through a specific time?
 - Probe: What triggers those feelings for you?
 - Probe: How do those feelings affect what you do in class or on campus?...

Brief Answer Probes (if they say 'It's fine' or give one sentence):
- Can you say more about what you mean by 'fine'?
- What's different now compared to before?
- Walk me through a typical week of interactions with your manager.

Deepening Probes (to get more detail):
- You mentioned [specific thing]. Can you give me an example of that?
- What does that look like in practice?
- How did you feel when that happened?
- What did you do next?

Clarifying Probes (when something is vague):
- When you say 'less connected,' what do you mean exactly?
- Can you tell me more about what 'support' looks like for you?
- You said things are 'harder now.' Harder in what way?

Elaboration Probes (to explore related topics):
- Has that affected how you think about your career here?
- How does that compare to relationships with coworkers?
- What would have to change for that relationship to improve?

Contrast Probes (to compare experiences):
- How is that different from when you worked in the office?
- Is that the same with all your managers, or specific to this one?
- How does your experience compare to what you hear from colleagues?

Framing the Topic:
Before asking, acknowledge the weight of what you're asking. Something like: 'I want to ask about some experiences that might be difficult to talk about. I'm asking because your perspective is valuable for understanding what actually happens in these workplaces. Please share only what you're comfortable with, and we can skip anything or take a break whenever you need.'

Question Options (indirect to direct):

Least direct (allows them to choose what to share):
- 'What's it been like for you working in environments where you might be one of few Black employees?'
- 'How would you describe the culture around diversity at your company?'

More direct (opens door but doesn't assume):
- 'Have there been times when you felt your race affected how you were treated at work?'
- 'Can you tell me about any experiences where you felt you were treated differently than your white colleagues?'

Most direct (when they've already indicated they have experiences):
- 'You mentioned [thing they said]. Can you walk me through what happened?'
- 'What's the most difficult race-related situation you've handled at work?'

Giving an Out:
- 'If you'd rather not go into detail, you can just tell me generally what kind of situation it was.'
- 'We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to.'
- 'Would you like to skip this and come back to it later, or move on entirely?'...

Question 1 - Needs Rewording:
Original: 'Walk me through how you implement the curriculum in your classroom.'
Revised: 'Walk me through how you've supported teachers in implementing the new curriculum.'
Alternative: 'What does curriculum implementation look like from your vantage point?'

Question 2 - Works with Minor Tweak:
Original: 'What challenges have you faced?'
Revised: 'What challenges have you observed or heard about in the implementation process?'
Probe to add: 'What challenges have you faced in your role supporting implementation?'

Question 3 - Drop or Substantially Revise:
Original: 'How do you adapt it for your students?'
This assumes classroom-level adaptation. For admins, consider: 'How have you handled requests from teachers to adapt the curriculum?' or 'What flexibility do teachers have in implementation?'

Question 4 - Flip the Perspective:
Original: 'What support have you received?'
Revised: 'What support have you been able to provide to teachers?' and 'What support have you received from the district to help with this?'

New Questions for Admins:
- 'What went into the decision to adopt this curriculum?'
- 'How do you assess whether implementation is going well?'
- 'What pushback, if any, have you encountered?'...