Personal Interview Questions

1. How are you personally involved in the National Mall?
2. Do you visit the area on a daily basis?
3. How many people would you say tend to visit this area on a daily basis for work and vacation?
4. How has the 21^st century changed this area of D.C.? Do you think this is for the better or worse?
5. If you were not involved with the Mall would you still want to visit it?
6. If you were not from this area, would you want to travel to D.C.? Would the National Mall be on your list of tourist destinations?
7. What was your first thought when you were on the National Mall? If you do not remember what do you think it would be?
8. If the National Mall didn’t exist what do you think would be there?
9. If the National Mall didn’t exist how do you think it would have changed Washington, D.C.’s image?
10. If you could change something about the National Mall and the surrounding area what would it be? Why?
11. How do the buildings around the Mall shape the area and public behavior?
12. What makes this area exceptionally unique?

Primary Research Questions

·       What do I want to discover?

           I want to discover how personal behavior is affected by the surrounding area of the National Mall. I want to look at why certain things are placed in the orientation that they are. This style can change the overall feeling and look of a location.

·       How do I plan on discovering it? (This is called your research methods or methodology)

I plan to discover this by researching architecture and how it can influence mood and thought. I want to try and interview someone that is personally involved with developing and maintaining the National Mall and its surrounding areas.

·       Who am I going to talk to/observe/survey? (These people are called your subjects or participants)

I want to talk with someone that is personally involved with the development of Washington, D.C and how the national monuments can influence behavior.

·       How am I going to be able gain access to these groups or individuals?

I am going to gain access by looking though public documents and networking with potential people. Living within a short distance to Washington, D.C. means that a lot of these potential people could possibly live close to me. I will look online and try and circulate my questions around to possibly find the right person/people.

·       What are my biases about this topic?

I feel that I do not have many biases. I live in the D.C. area so having the ‘tourist’ feeling that everything is great because I saw it once is gone. I have been there multiple times and have had a wide array of feelings about this area. I also would not personally feel offended if someone was to critique the area poorly because I do not have a great personal tie to the mall.

·       How can I make sure my biases are not reflected in my research methods?

I will make sure that I word my questions in a fair manner as to not sway a response in a certain direction. I also plan to use more open ended responses to allow the interviewee to respond how they feel comfortable.

·       What do I expect to discover?

I expect to discover a personal connection to the area. I plan to get a deeper understanding to the why of why things were laid out in a certain manner.