Note: There are multiple ways and programs out there to record one’s own voice. If you have a preferred method, please feel free to use it! Please save your file as a .mp3, .m4a or a .wav. Then, skip down to the “How to Submit” section below.

 

General Tips

• Before beginning to record, you’ll want to open up and read through the archive questionnaire so that you’re familiar with the questions before you begin. Have these ready to go as you begin to record.
• It’s best to find a quiet room where you won’t be interrupted for approximately 20 – 30 minutes, which is the typical amount of time the questionnaire takes to answer.
• Most people have a tendency to speak quickly when they are being recorded. Try to speak slowly and as clearly as possible.
• Once you are recording, please be sure to read aloud each interview question exactly as it appears on the questionnaire <link> before answering it. Remember, you are acting as both the interviewer and the interviewee!

 

How to Record Yourself on a Mac  

1. QuickTime is an easy recording program that’s included on most Macs. To open it, go to Finder > Applications, and then choose QuickTime.
2. Once you’ve opened the program, go to File, and choose “New Audio Recording.”
3. When you are ready to begin, click the red “Record” circle button.
4. Once you are recording, please be sure to read aloud each interview question exactly as it appears on the questionnaire before answering it. Remember, you are acting as both the interviewer and the interviewee!
5. When you have completed the last question, click the red “Record” circle button again to stop recording.
6. Go to “File,” and then “Save.”
7. Save the file as “YourLastName_Date.” Be sure to save it somewhere convenient for you to attach and send.

All finished? Jump down to the “How to Submit Your File” section below for final instructions.

 

How to Record Yourself on an iPhone

Recording your interview on an iPhone is also an option, and it’s relatively straightforward. But it’s important to note that audio files take up a lot of space. If you’d like to use an iPhone for your interview and you have the space to spare, you can find very helpful instructions here. When it’s time to send us your file, note that you will tap the “share” button, which looks like a box with an arrow shooting out of the top.

 

How to Submit Your File

Please attach and email your file to brian@workplace-writing.org and jessica@workplace-writing.org. Please be aware that audio files are often quite large, and so your email might ask you, if you are using a form of Gmail, if you’d like to attach the file using Google Drive and share it. This works just fine! If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at the addresses above.

You are being asked to take part in a research study about how transfer writing skills and knowledge from college into the workplace.

What the study is about: The purpose of this study is to learn how individuals in different fields perceive the ways they’ve learned to write in both the academe and the workplace, and the ways in which skills from the former inform the latter. In addition to being used as “data” for research on this transfer of skills, the interviews conducted during this project will also be made publically available here, on the archive, as a disciplinary resource for students, faculty, and other workplace writers.

How will the interviews be used: Interviews collected here will primarily be used within this archive, but may also be used in future publications about this project and its results.

What we will ask you to do: If you agree to participate, you will be asked to talk about your job, the tasks you perform that relate to writing, and how you understand your acquisition of your writing skills. (If you would like to participate, you will be given both technical guidance and a guide of questions.)

Rights: Your participation in this archive collection is entirely voluntary. You may withdraw your consent and discontinue at any time.

Risks and benefits: We do not anticipate any risks to you participating in this study other than those encountered in day-to-day life. There may be no benefits to you personally, but the information we collect will, we hope, benefit future college students and new workplace writers.

Confidentiality: Because of the nature of this project, which involves building an audio archive of interviews with writers in different fields, your answers will not be confidential. You may choose to use only your full name, only your first name, or a pseudonym, but the details of your work or your voice may make it possible for listeners to identify you; therefore, if you are not comfortable with being publically attached to these answers, please do not participate.

Taking part is voluntary: Taking part in this study is completely voluntary, and you are entitled to skip any questions that you are not comfortable answering. You may also decide to cancel and negate your participation at any time during or after the interview. If you submit an interview but then later decide that you would like to withdraw it, you can contact us (contact information below) at any time and we will remove it.

If you have questions: This study is being conducted by Jessica McCaughey (George Washington University) and Brian Fitzpatrick (George Mason University). If you have questions prior to submitting or after, you may contact Professor Fitzpatrick at bfitzpa2@gmu.edu or Professor McCaughey at jessmcc@gwu.edu. You may contact the George Mason University Office of Research Integrity & Assurance at 703-993-4121 and/or the George Washington University Office of Human Research at 202-994-2715 if you have questions or comments regarding your rights as a participant in the research.

 

Your willingness to participate in this research study is implied if you proceed.   

Title of Study: Archive of Workplace Writing Experiences

IRB #:   081638 (GWU)

Principal Investigator Names: Jessica McCaughey and Brian Fitzpatrick

 

Click here for easy instructions on recording and submitting your experience.

Information About YOU is Desperately Needed
Whether you consider yourself a strong writer or you often find yourself struggling to compose what might seem like a simple email, we invite you to take part in the Archive of Workplace Writing Experiences. The truth is, there’s not much research out there about how people learn to write in the workplace, and we hope to change that. Through this project, we are collecting interviews from people all around the world about the writing they do at work and how they learned (or are still learning!) to do it. We’ll learn from these experiences, and we’ll share this knowledge. And perhaps more importantly, these interviews will be a resource for teachers, students, and employers to learn from too.

You’re Probably Eligible
Who is eligible? Adults (over 18 years of age) with an undergraduate degree in any major who write—even a little!—in their current job. Whether you’re a zoologist or an accountant, a museum curator or an executive assistant–or anything in between—we’d love to hear about your experiences learning to write in the workplace.

Interviews Can Be (Somewhat) Anonymous
Although your voice will be heard, you need not state your name or your exact company’s name.

Contributing is Easy
To contribute, you simply record yourself answering the interview questionnaire and send it in to us. After we’ve transcribed your interview for accessibility, we’ll post it on the Archive site.

 

Click through to Waiver of Consent.