Assignment Paper: Personal Interview with an Older Adult

Arrange a 30-minute (approximate) interview with an adult at least 65 years of age, but preferably older. After introducing yourself (if necessary) and briefly describing your reason for conducting the interview, ask them to respond to the following questions:
Personal History: Ask your interviewee about themselves; their age, where and when they were born, where they lived, their family, education, occupation and other general biographical information. Ask them to identify a few very meaningful/memorable events in their lives…these could be personal (their wedding, death of a spouse) or historical (a war, moon landing).
What is old? Ask them to define what the word “old” means to them. Ask them to identify what they believe are the best years of a person’s life and to explain their answer. Next, ask them what they believe are the best things about being their age. What are the worse things about being their age? (Have them explain their answer). Ask them to identify any problems or concerns they have now that they did not have when they were younger. Again, have them explain their answer.
Attitudes: It is often said that America is a youth-oriented society. What does your interviewee think about this statement? Ask them if they think people treat them differently now than when they were younger. (Explain, give examples). Do they think that older people are fairly represented by the popular media like TV or movies? (Have them explain their answer).
Use of Time: How do they use their time? Have them describe a “typical” day. What activities are they involved in? Have their leisure activities changed over the course of their lives? Again, have them explain.
Retirement: If they continue to hold a job ask them why? If retired, ask them about their level of satisfaction with retirement. Do they miss work at all? Was the transition/adjustment to retirement difficult for them? Ask them to explain.
Younger Generations: Ask them to describe some of the differences and similarities between their generation and your generation.
Meaningful Later Life: Ask them to describe some of the things that give their life meaning (things that are important to them). If they were willing to offer you some advice about growing older, what would it be? (Again, have them explain their response).
After you have completed the interview, fulfill the requirements for the written portion of this assignment in the following manner. 
First, provide some basic demographic information…identify your interviewee by name (FIRST NAME ONLY), by gender, by age (if known), the location of the interview, and any other potentially relevant information (if they are related to you, their level of education, their occupation, etc.). Limit this to 1 or 2 paragraphs.
Second, highlight your interviewee’s responses to the questions asked. Try to limit this to 2 pages.
Third, provide a subjective analysis of the interview. In no more than 2 pages I would like you to describe your reaction to your “subject’s” responses. Did they say things that surprised you? What did you learn about later life as your interviewee has experienced it? Which of the social theories of aging described in your text best describes your interviewee? Explain why you chose the theory that you did. Finally, what was your overall reaction to this assignment? Did you learn anything that helped you to better understand/appreciate the subject matter of this course?
Length: Five full typed pages (in addition to the cover and bibliography). 
Rules: Double-space text; use one-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right); use 12-point font type – Times New Roman only; attach a cover sheet, mentioning the topic you have chosen (see above) and your name; let your surname appear on the upper right hand corner of each sheet of paper except the cover; grammar, style, and spelling are all important; and follow proper citation procedures. 
All word-for-word, direct quotes should be put in quotation marks and followed by the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number in parentheses. Quotes of more than three lines do not need quotation marks, but must be indented and single-spaced, also followed by the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number in parentheses. If you summarize, in your own words, the phrases or ideas of another person, you do not have to use quotation marks, but you still have to cite the source, by indicating the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number in parentheses. 
Make sure you save your work and submit it in the correct APA format. 
Plagiarism includes the act of paraphrasing, repeating in one’s own words, or copying the work of another author without crediting the sources. Any cases of academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to the rules outlined in the Georgia Southern University “Student Guide: Code of Student Conduct, Guide to Student Services, University Policies & Procedures” and “Faculty Guide for Adjudicating Academic Misconduct.”