Lessons learnt

· We revised and improved on our interview skills, the type of questions we should ask. For example, it is better to ask more open-ended questions and we could use some questions as a lead into other topic like their opinion of modern china and how it relates to their identity.

· For example, through interviewing a few people in the past 2 days we realized that perhaps for different generation the style adopted and the questions posed should differ slightly. When asked about the ‘model minority’ question (an academic term which describes the Chinese as being a model minority because of their industrious nature and how they are so self-reliant and have a strong community of support.) not many of them could identify with it. Hence, we had to elaborate on the concept and put it in layman terms so that our participants could relate to it. I suppose this is a good learning point to share with people trying to conduct interviews of a more academic nature. Always be aware of your audience and tailor your questions according to their needs

· Through our discussion we also realized that instead of asking questions like when would one emphasize his/her Chinese identity (associated with the rise of China) we could also tie in this question with that when an individual might choose to play down his/ her Chinese identity and why.

· Originally we meant to post the interviews on our blog but on hindsight we realized that our participants might not be comfortable. Other considerations we had were also the worry that we might have misunderstood some of their answers. However, part of this project is also about us making inferences from their interviews. Hence, the lesson learnt is that we should clarify from the beginning to our participants that what they said would be published and get their approval. In the end, we decided to email them the report to check if they were agreeable with the content before actually posting it.

· Be daring in approaching people. Everybody is interesting and has a unique story to share. You’ll never know what you’ll find until you’ve tried.

· On interview skills: Bring out the baby in everyone…let them talk…Listen aggressively…

· Be very specific on target interviewees…sometimes it’s tempting to fit the project according to the type of sample we get…for example, today (6/9) we interviewd Tong Zhao who came over to America when he was 13 and is planning on applying for a green card. He provided many interesting and valuable insights into the issue of identity but after the interview we debated if we could actually use Tong’s interview. Hence our advice would be to always refer back to initial definitions. While it is good to gather myriad opinions, it is important not to lose focus.