Interviews

There were three interviews planned for the Green Man project that were outlined in the ethics form submitted in the first term. Unfortunately, one of the interviewees dropped out due to unforeseen circumstances, so only two interviewed were conducted – one in writing and one via video call. The first interview was conducted with a specialist from the prosthetic industry, so a specific set of questions tailored to their professional knowledge was given (appendix 1,2). The aim of this interview was to gather information on the production and application of prosthetic pieces, and the best products and techniques to use. The information given was useful and helped with application in the final images, as the designs involved casting and sculpting various pieces for each image. The interview was originally supposed to be held online on a video call, however, due to the interviewee having a busy schedule they wrote down and sent across their responses instead, with helpful links to podcasts and leaflets that would produce further advice.

The second interview was held on Microsoft Teams, and the aim was to gather information on the Green Man to find out how people know about him and whether they believe in the figure. The response gathered was that the interviewee had come across the Green Man in research on English folklore, as well as images in festivals and garden sculptures. The interview was helpful in discovering what the Green Man means to other people, which is important to how beliefs had evolved over the centuries. The interviewee and I shared a lot of the same opinions on the Green Man in that we share a belief in the figure, and that despite there being different versions throughout history there are recurring features that make him a powerful symbol.

The interviews are an important element of the major project as they provide deeper information on the topic through primary research. Although secondary research through books and articles provides good context for the project and references for photos, primary research through interviews, focus groups or questionnaires can provide more valuable information directly from the source. The research gathered provided qualitative data rather than quantitive, due to the interview technique asking open questions instead of getting data input from surveys and research groups.

The interviews provided two completely different sets of qualitative data due to the fact that there was a set of specialised questions for each interviewee to make it relevant to their specialism. The prosthetic artist responded that they hadn’t heard of the Green Man before, whereas the student interviewee had and had done previous research into the topic. Although gathering different types of information was useful due to the scale of the project, if this research was to be done again a different type of task would be given to a larger number of participants. A focus group or an online survey would give a more consistent input of data on the Green Man if a greater amount of information was needed to inform the project.

Appendix

Appendix 1: interview questions 1

Appendix 2: Interview question 2