Northern New Mexico Virtual Archive

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Family Interview Questions
from Material World
interviews with families around the world.

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These questions may or may not fit your specific interview. Choose the ones you like and that your interviewee will feel comfortable answering and add them to your own.

Family Life
• List the members of your family (include name, age, occupation, and grade/level of education):

• How large a family did each parent come from?

• How much time does your family spend together at work and play?
  • Work:
    
  • Play:

• How far do you commute to work or school?

• What kinds of transportation do you use? How much time is spent in transport?

• Do you actively practice your religion? How does it affect your daily life and community?

  Family Economics

• Does your family consider itself rich or poor, comfortable or struggling?

• How many hours/week does each family member work?

• Are you satisfied with your jobs? What do you like/dislike about them?

• How much money does each family member earn/month?

• What are your monthly household expenses for:
  • Food:
  • Clothing:
  • Household goods:
  • Luxury items:
  • School:
  • Other:
  • Total expenses/month:

• What is your family's energy consumption and cost?
  • Electricity:
  • Water:
  • Wood:

• How much waste do you generate; and how does your family dispose of its waste?

• Does your family buy, produce, or sell foreign goods?

  Family Possessions

• What is each family member's most valued possession? Why?

• What other possessions would you like to acquire?

• What do you perceive as the signs of success?

• What decorative or heirloom objects do you own? What types of objects are decorative or heirloom?

• Do you value new things or old things more? Why?

• What types of sacred objects are around the house?

• Describe the kinds of clothing each family member owns?

• Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms: Are they available and what family members use them?

  Family Food & Shelter

• A typical breakfast consists of:

• A typical lunch consists of:

• A typical dinner consists of:

• Are you satisfied with your food?

• Does your family rent or own your house?

• How much does it cost/month?

• Did you buy the house or inherit it?

• Is it government subsidized?

• How much did it cost to buy? How did you do it?

• How many rooms and how many square feet is it?

• Do you own any other property outside of your dwelling?

  Family Education & Well-Being

• Are your family members literate, and if so, which ones?

• How many hours/day and what months do the children attend school? Describe the school environment.

• What type of health care do you receive?

• What form of birth control do you use?

• Does your family feel safe?

• Do you lock your door at night?

• Have you ever been robbed?

• Do you do anything to protect yourselves?

  Family Leisure

• Describe what you do during your leisure time.

• What does your family do for fun? Hours/week?
  • Visit friends:
  • Music:
  • Sports:
  • TV:
  • Arts:
  • Other:

• Does your family take vacations? When and where?

• What other places have you visited within your country?

• Where have you visited outside the country?

  Communication

• What types of media are you exposed to? How do you get local and world news? Does it matter to you?

• How many radios, TVs, stereos, and VCRs do you own?

• What do you watch on TV, and for how many hours each day?

• How many telephones do you own?

• If you read, what do you read?

• Are you politically active?

• What are your perceptions of the rest of the world?

  Family Dreams

• Are you satisfied with your lifestyle?

• Do you consider yourselves better off than your parents and grandparents?

• What would your family like to own that you think would make your lives better?

• Do you have any savings or security?

• When and how are you planning for retirement?

• How would you make your children's lives better?

• What kind of future do you see for your children?

• What are the children's ambitions?

• Is there anything you would like to share about your family or life with the rest of the world?
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