Cops, Teachers, Counselors: Stories from the Front Lines of Public Service

Appendix B. Entry Interview

Appendix B: Entry Interview These interviews should, if possible, be tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Introduction: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Before we begin, let me explain a little about our research project: This is academic research funded by the National Science Foundation. Although we have permission from [the director ’s name] to do the research, we are not reporting to him [or her] or anyone else in the government. What you tell us is con‹dential and anonymous. We will use what we learn for scholarly writing but will not link speci‹c observations with individuals. We will, however, identify the type of agency and the city. Our purpose is to gain a greater understanding of decision making of front-line public employees, such as yourself. The study focuses on police of‹cers, schoolteachers and disability-claims processors working in two metropolitan areas. Our research involves ‹eld observation, interviews, and the collection of stories from front-line staff about work experiences . The stories will be our primary source of information about decision making, but today I’m not asking for stories My purpose today is to get to know a little more about the nature of [name of organization] and about you. Do you have any questions? May I proceed? 179 First, can you tell me a little about yourself? Why are you in this job? What made you decide to become a [police of‹cer, teacher, or disability-claims worker]? How long have you been working at [name of organization]? Can you tell me a little about other jobs that you have had? What’s it like working here? Probe: feelings about the work (e.g., scary, boring, overwhelming , etc.) Probe: relations with other workers (e.g., cooperative, contentious , friendly, cold, etc.) Probe: relations with supervisors (e.g., cooperative, “bossy,” appreciated, unappreciated, etc.) Probe: relations with clients [or citizens or whatever is appropriate to the setting] (e.g., friendly, unpleasant, scary, rewarding, matter-of-fact or businesslike, etc.) Can you describe the typical client [or citizen] you serve? How are they similar to you? How are they different? Who are the easiest to serve? Who are the most dif‹cult? Are their any complaints from particular groups of clients [or citizens]? Social identities assessment We are all members of different groups or social af‹liations. Some of these groups pertain to your sex, race, ethnicity, or social class. We are also members of different occupational groups. Describe the social or occupational group that is most important to your sense of what kind of person you are. Identify critical incidents Thinking back over the history of your agency, are there any speci‹c events that changed the way you do things? These events could be anything: a court case, an investigation, a well-publicized success, or whatever. When did these things happen? How did they change how you do things? Thank you very much. We will be in your of‹ce from time to time for the next six months. If you think of anything else or just want to talk, just let me or [other member of the team] know. Thanks again. Cops, Teachers, Counselors 180 ...