Oral History Research Guide

Introduction

Oral history is both a method of recording and retaining oral testimony and the product of that process. Oral history stems from the tradition of transmitting important information to families and tribes from one generation to the next. It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an interviewer with an interviewee (also referred to as narrator), both of whom have the conscious intention of creating a permanent record to contribute to an understanding of the past. A verbal document, the oral history, results from this process and is preserved and made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and the public.

Oral history interviews are intended to obtain a detailed account of the experience and personal reflections, with sufficient time to allow storytellers to give their story the fullness they desire. The content of oral history interviews is based on reflections on the past rather than on observations of purely contemporary events.

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Oral historians ensure that storytellers voluntarily agree to be interviewed and understand that they may withdraw from the interview or decline to answer a question at any time.

IInterviewers must insure that narrators understand the extent of their rights to the interview and the request that those rights be yielded to a repository or other party, as well as their right to put restrictions on the use of the material. The use and distribution of the interview content must comply with the narrator's restrictions.

There may be some exceptional circumstances when anonymity is appropriate, and this should be negotiated in advance with the narrator as part of the informed consent process.

This preservation and access may take a variety of forms, reflecting changes in technology. But, in choosing a repository or form, oral historians consider how best to preserve the original recording and any transcripts made of it and to protect the accessibility and usability of the interview. The plan for preservation and access, including any possible dissemination through the web or other media, is stated in the informed consent process and on release forms.

Interviewers must take care to avoid making promises that cannot be met, such as guarantees of control over interpretation and presentation of the interviews beyond the scope of restrictions stated in informed consent/release forms, suggestions of material benefit outside the control of the interviewer, or assurances of an open ended relationship between the narrator and oral historian.

• First time interviewers and others involved in oral history projects should seek training to prepare themselves for all stages of the oral history process.
• In the early stages of preparation, interviewers should make sure that they have the capacity to preserve the oral histories and make them accessible to the public.
• Oral historians or others responsible for planning the oral history project should choose potential narrators (interviewee) based on the relevance of their experiences to the subject at hand.
• To prepare to ask informed questions, interviewers should conduct background research on the person, topic, and larger context in both primary and secondary sources.
• When ready to contact a possible narrator (interviewee), oral historians should send call them and outline the general focus and purpose of the interview.
• After securing the narrator’s agreement to be interviewed, the interviewer should schedule a non-recorded meeting or call. This pre-interview session will allow an exchange of information between interviewer and narrator on possible questions/topics, reasons for conducting the interview, the process that will be involved, and the need for informed consent and legal release forms. During pre-interview discussion the interviewer should make sure that the narrator understands:
oral history’s purposes and procedures in general and of the proposed interview’s aims and anticipated uses. his or her rights to the interviews including editing, access restrictions, copyrights, prior use, royalties, and the expected disposition and dissemination of all forms of the record, including the potential distribution electronically or on-line.
• Oral historians should use the best digital recording equipment within their means to reproduce the narrator’s voice accurately and, if appropriate, other sounds as well as visual images. Before the interview, interviewers should become familiar with the equipment and be knowledgeable about its function.
• Interviewers should prepare an outline of interview topics and questions to use as a guide to the recorded dialogue.

• The interview should be conducted in a quiet room with minimal background noises and possible distractions.
• The interviewer should record a “lead” at the beginning of each session to help focus his or her and the narrator’s thoughts to each session’s goals. The “lead” should consist of, at least, the names of narrator and interviewer, day and year of session, interview’s location, and proposed subject of the recording
• Both parties should agree to the approximate length of the interview in advance. The Interviewer is responsible for assessing whether the narrator is becoming tired and at that point should ask if the latter wishes to continue. Although most interviews last about two hours, if the narrator wishes to continue those wishes should be honored, if possible.
• Interviewers should work to achieve a balance between the objectives of the project and the perspectives of the interviewees. Interviewers should fully explore all appropriate areas of inquiry with interviewees and not be satisfied with superficial responses. At the same time, they should encourage narrators to respond to questions in their own style and language and to address issues that reflect their concerns.
• Interviewers must respect the rights of interviewees to refuse to discuss certain subjects, to restrict access to the interview, or, under certain circumstances, to choose anonymity. Interviewers should clearly explain these options to all interviewees
• Interviewers should attempt to extend the inquiry beyond the specific focus of the project to create as complete a record as possible for the benefit of others.
• In recognition of the importance of oral history to an understanding of the past and of the cost and effort involved, interviewers and interviewees should mutually strive to record candid information of lasting value.
• The interviewer should secure a release form, by which the narrator transfers his or her rights to the interview to the repository or designated body, signed after each recording session or at the end of the last interview with the narrator.

• Interviewers should understand that appropriate care and storage of original recordings begins immediately after their creation.
• Interviewers should document their preparation and methods, including the circumstances of the interviews and provide that information to whatever repository will be preserving and providing access to the interview.
• . Information deemed relevant for the interpretation of the oral history by future users, such as photographs, documents, or other records should be collected, and archivists should make clear to users the availability and connection of these materials to the recorded interview.
• The recordings of the interviews should be stored, processed, refreshed and accessed according to established archival standards designated for the media format used. Whenever possible, all efforts should be made to preserve electronic files in formats that are cross platform and nonproprietary. Finally, the obsolescence of all media formats should be assumed and planned for. Oral history also preserves the ENTIRE interview, in its original form, rather than the interviewer’s interpretation of what was said.
• In order to augment the accessibility of the interview, repositories should make transcriptions, indexes, time tags, detailed descriptions or other written guides to the contents.
• All those who use oral history interviews should strive for intellectual honesty and the best application of the skills of their discipline. They should avoid stereotypes, misrepresentations, and manipulations of the narrator’s words. This includes foremost striving to retain the integrity of the narrator’s perspective, recognizing the subjectivity of the interview, and interpreting and contextualizing the narrative according to the professional standards of the applicable scholarly disciplines. Finally, if a project deals with community history, the interviewer should be sensitive to the community, taking care not to reinforce thoughtless stereotypes. Interviewers should strive to make the interviews accessible to the community and where appropriate to include representatives of the community in public programs or presentations of the oral history material.

RESTRAINT: The experienced interviewer maintains rapport by following good interview techniques: being efficient but unobtrusive with equipment, starting at the beginning and proceeding chronologically, asking open-ended questions, listening closely without interrupting, following up on details or unexpected avenues of information, challenging questionable information in a nonthreatening way, and generally maintaining an atmosphere in which the interviewee feels able to respond fully and truthfully.

REVIEW: Interviewers should listen to their interviews soon afterwards to analyze their interviewing techniques and to pick up details to follow up on in subsequent sessions.

Allow the interviewee to do the talking

Ask "open-ended" questions, such as, tell me about, describe, etc., what do you remember about? If the interviewee responds with just a yes or no, ask how, why, when, where, who. What the interviewee chooses to tell you and how they choose to tell it is just as informative/ revealing as the actual answers they give.

Avoid “closed-ended” questions that can end in a yes or not, or single fact. Examples, were you there? What was date of that? Did you like that? If you get a short answer, follow up with tell me more, who, what, when, where, how and why

Do not ask leading questions was it this or that? Or I thought that the most important thing was….. These have been demonstrated to affect interviewee’s answer and will taint your interview.

Try to ask follow-up questions tell me more, who, what, where.

Focus on recording their personal experiences, rather than stories about others or that they have heard. If you’re getting general stories, say tell me about your role, describe how you felt that day or dealt with that crisis, etc.

Don't worry about silences. Let the interviewee think and take time before they answer. Look at your outline and check off topics if the interviewee needs time to think.

Note what types of questions your interviewee responds best to and try to adapt your style to what 4 works best with them.

Let the interviewee suggest topics to you that you might not have thought of

After an hour or less, ask interviewee if they would like to take a break. Write down the last words as you turn the recorder off.

Provide the interviewee with feedback by nodding, smiling, listening attentively. Try to avoid too many verbal responses that will record over the interviewee, such as “Really!’ or “Uh-huh, uhhuh.”

Do allow the interviewee to tell “THE STORY.” Most interviews have a favorite story. They will fit it in somehow, so let it happen! Allow some repetition since additional details may emerge with a second version, but don’t allow your interviewee to keep telling the same story over and over.

Let the interviewee do the talking. Try to avoid telling your own stories, “Yes! When I was there….” or offering your own opinions. If asked for an opinion, explain that the interview is designed to record their point of view, not yours.

End interview gracefully, asking them to assess their lives and the topics you have discussed

There are many recorder options that will record an uncompressed preservation quality audio file. If you do not have access to a recorder, most smartphones have recording software that will record an MP3 audio file.

Test the recorder to check the volume of the interviewer and interviewee and to see if it is picking up any static or surrounding noise.

Begin with an introduction that identifies who is being interviewed, who is conducting the interview, where, when, and the purpose of the interview. Ask if you have permission to record the interview.