You might also consider questionaires, if you think it would be appropriate. You could ask them to rank plants in importance based on several criteria, food plant, construction, medicinal. You could work off a checklist and have informants list all the uses they can think of for each plant (assuming you know local names). You could ask about all the plant products you see within a household and ask what the name of the plants are and how they were made or if they were purchased and where do they grow...etc..
Good luck.
Tim
On 6/9/06, julia parish <farnaby719@...> wrote:
Aloha Tim,
I am gathering background uses of plants used in the surrounding
rural/small village area. I will be interviewing people surrounding
the research station ranging in age from 25-50. I am unclear about
the style yet, because i just arrived to Costa Rica. I know very
little so far, and really starting from scratch. No one in my group
nor my mentor have conducted interviews before, though a few people
have vast knowledge of the species found here and their natural
history. I am asking aound still though, and someone may show up
later in the season.
Mahalo, Julia
--- In ethnobiologyHI@yahoogroups.com, "Timothy J Gallaher"
<tjgallaher@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Julia,
> Sounds like fun. What are you trying to find out. What do you
know about
> the style of the people, are they very direct? Are the people
urban or
> rural? Who will you be interviewing, old men/women, adults or
children?
> What do you know already?
> Perhaps someone on the group has experience in the area and could
help you
> more directly. Or if not, the answers to the above questions
might give
> some clues to the best techniques.
>
> Tim Gallaher
>> On 6/9/06, julia parish <farnaby719@...> wrote:
> >
> > Aloha,
> > I am in Costa Rica doing research at La Selva with OTS and I am
hoping
> > to conduct interviews with local people about their knowledge of
> > plants usage in the area. I was wondering if anyone could help me
> > find an interview format, or give suggestions?
> > Mahalo, Julia
> >
> >
> >
>