My First Interview for Research Methods...Failure.

...and so...
I prepared the consent form for my participant to read and sign and for her to understand her role in my research. I printed it out along with my questionnaire. Brought everything together in a folder along with my memo book for the interview at 2pm today at Shidler College of Business. Double-checked the digital voice recorder to see if it was charged and ready to record. I prepared and double checked everything the night before and an hour before the interview.

I walk over to Shidler and proceeded to call my participant and....MY CELL PHONE DIES! In addition, I was at the wrong building--Building D--while my participant was in Building A. We had not a good understanding of where to meet when we had talked--twice and in person--about our meeting to interview. I had no way to find out where she was, nor she in locating where I was at Shidler. So I waited for an hour and thirty minutes in the wrong building.

During the few seconds we were in contact, as the remaining life of my cell phone allowed me to talk to her, at around 2pm, she was saying she'll be late because she was dropping off scholarship papers. PHONE WENT DEAD! I see, on the screen of my phone, the "t-Mobile" scattering then a black screen. I knew then that this would be a difficult introduction to my first interview.

And so We both missed each other, and I proceeded to find a charger so that I can call my respondent. I end up coming home and hour later and called her to apologize. Luckily, she is willing to meet again on the same day, same time next week. This time, we both have an understanding of the location of the meeting. I have another interview tomorrow at Campus Center. I have decided to call my participant an hour early--not during the few minutes before the interview as I had done today--to confirm the actual place of meeting! I hope this second interview goes well. I shall report later! Thank you!