People as historical sources

Questions to think about before you do an oral history interview

(adapted from Moher, J. (1993). Step-by- Step Guide to Oral History)

  1. How did I choose the person to be interviewed? Were the people I interviewed the right ones for my research?

  2. How did I prepare for the interview? Did I prepare enough?

  3. What did I use for equipment? Did it work satisfactorily? What changes should I make?

  4. What kinds of questions did I ask? What kinds of questions worked well/not so well?

  5. Where did I conduct the interview? What in the environment affected my interview? How?

  6. Did my subject want to talk? How did I encourage my subject to talk? What "masks" did my subject wear? Did my subject drop the masks?

  7. When did I tell my subject the purpose of the interview and how it would be used? Did my plans to use the interview seem to matter to the subject?

  8. How accurate were my subject's memories?

  9. How accurate was my subject's reporting of her/his memories? How do I know? Does it matter?

  10. Who controlled the interview? How?

  11. How did I feel while interviewing?

  12. How did my subject feel while being interviewed?

  13. Would it be useful and possible to return for another interview?

  14. How do these results affect my original goals? Do I need to adjust my research design?

  15. When I transcribe, will I write exactly what was said or will I begin light editing right from the start? How will I decide what to write and what not to write?

  16. How can I ensure that the transcription is accurate? How can I ensure that the transcription reports what the subject wanted to say?

  17. Who owns the interview and has the right to decide how the completed interview and transcription will be used?

  18. Next time, what would I do the same? What would I do differently?

 

Related Pages:

Next page: Working with oral sources

Previous page: How accurate are oral histories?

 

References

How to conduct & present historical research

Oral history - an educational tool for educators and learners

Source: Unpublished material from 3 Provincial History Conferences, December 2002, supplied by Claire Dyer, SA History Project, National Dept. of Education.