REYNA GRANDE’S “DISTANCE BETWEEN US” AND MY FAMILY’S IMMIGRATION HISTORY

Read Reyna Grande’s “Distance between Us”. Then conduct an in-depth interview with at least one
of your family members and inquire about your family’s immigration history. Write a paper answering the
questions below. Please note that the method you’re being asked to use (interviewing a person in-depth
about their immigration history), is sometimes also called oral history or life history.
Collect detailed information about a person or a group.
Get to know the interviewee and their context better. For example, if the interview is conducted at the
interviewee’s home, researcher gains access to data such as the neighborhood the respondent’s home is
located (indicating their social class), how the home is decorated, whether or not family pictures or art is
displayed, etc. (If you conduct your interview in your family member’s home, pay attention to that: Are they
displaying art work having to do with their ancestry, which family photos are displayed etc.?).
Establish a strong rapport with the interviewee, which can reduce dishonesty.
In prestructured interviews, the face-to-face delivery of questions leaves room for clarifications and probing
(unlike self-administered questionnaires)