Finding an "expert" interviewee for your controversial topic

(Parent help is encouraged this week):

Due Wednesday -

Students should find an expert adult to interview for their Isearch topic. Students should ask parents, family friends, teachers and other community members they know if they know a person who would be interviewed. We started this process last week, and spent a considerable amount of time discussing how to find an "expert." 

Explanation - An expert can be someone who deals directly or indirectly with the issue in their career or professional field.

Example One - On the issue of a controversial topic like the death penalty, speaking with a police officer would suffice since they may have worked a murder crime scene or know people who have. Obviously, the warden of San Quentin would have some professional positions about the death penalty, but it may hard to get an interview with him.

Example Two - On the issue of animal testing, a person who works at the makeup counter at Macy's or at a beauty salon or beauty supply store may not have done the research, but have dealt with this issue in various product lines for years, or have been asked for products that do not involve animal testing on occasion. 

Once a person has been found, students should call or email the person to introduce themselves, and set up a SEPARATE interview time to ask their first set of questions. This allow the interviewee to think about what they might say, and most likely remind themselves of specific anecdotes that will help the student understand the issue better.

After the interview is set up, the student should make sure that they have at least five sets of questions that start with simple career choice type questions, and move up slowly, towards the most controversial elements of the issue. Students should draw on their research and Isearch papers to develop some of these questions. They should try to find the interviewee's best arguments and pieces of evidence or personal experiences that support their opinions.

The interview should take place by the end of this week, and is due March 20th, with a double spaced typed copy brought to class and also saved in Google Docs and placed in a new collection: Controversial topic. The documents should be saved as "Interview (Topic - profession)." Example: Interview (Animal Testing - Oncologist).