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History

Introduction to Oral History

Introduction to Oral Histories

An oral history is an interview that records an individual's personal recollections of the past and historical events. They give researchers the unique opportunity to view historical and cultural events from an individual's point of view, and can demonstrate the impact of these events on the lives of everyday people. Additionally, oral histories can help to document the history of those who have been underrepresented by or left out of many written records, including minorities, immigrants, women, and members of the working class.

Use these pages to find resources on conducting oral histories as well as information on oral history collections available for research online.

Oral Histories

Guidelines and Toolkits

Oral History Guides. Instructional videos by the Minnesota Historical Society.

A Practical Guide to Oral History (pages 6-9), Southern Oral History Program. 

Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide (pages 8-27), Smithsonian Institution.

Tutorials: Beginning and Oral History Project, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida.

Great Questions. Get Ready to Record, StoryCorps.

Interviewing Tips for Oral History Interviews, Library of Congress.

Principles and Best Practices, Oral History Association.

Veterans History Project Field Kit, Library of Congress.

Oral History Guidelines, World War II Museum. 

 

Additional Resources for Oral Histories

Audacity: free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.

Oral History in the Digital Age, Michigan State University.

New Federal Rule Exempts Oral History From IRB Review, National Coalition For History. 

Before the Interview

Find out a few things about your interviewee prior to the interview so that you can familiarize yourself with the topics that you'll be discussing. For example, when interviewing veterans, review not only general information about the conflict your interviewee was involved in, but also do some research about the specific areas where they served and any battles they were involved in.

Make a list of questions based on what you know of the person and what you're interested in finding out. Try to ask open ended questions as opposed to yes or no questions. The best oral histories allow and encourage interviewees to tell stories and anecdotes, and your questions should be designed to get them started on remembering a particular topic. "Tell me what you remember about..." or "Describe.." are good ways to begin asking about a topic.

Start your interview with general "life history" questions, such as when and where the interviewee was born, where they grew up, what their parents did for a living, what they did for fun as kids, etc. You can use the biographical information you have from them as a starting place to base these questions on.  

Send a list of your questions to your interviewee before the interview day. This will give them time to think about the questions, and may give them time to remember something they wouldn't be able to on the spot.

Determine how you will record the interview. Video recordings have a few advantages over recording of just audio. It can be easier to understand people when you can see their faces as they speak, you can better see how they feel about the stories they're relating, and overall you get a more complete impression of the person you're interviewing.

During the Interview

Begin your interview by stating your name, the date, the location of the interview, the name of the person you are interviewing, and the topics you'll be asking them about. The topics can be general (their life, their family, etc.) or specific (e.g. their experience serving in the Navy during World War II).

Be courteous and respectful. Allow your interviewee the time to remember things when asking questions, and try not to interrupt. Always thank the interviewee for taking the time to talk to you both before and after conducting the interview.

Resist the urge to talk about yourself or tell your own stories. This is their interview and their time - the topic should be their life.

If you are offered artifacts such as photographs during the course of your interview, be sure to write down as much information about them as your interviewee can give you: who or what is pictured, where it was taken, when it was taken, and the name of the photographer.

After the Interview

Think about what you can do to make it easy for people to find information in your interview. It's a good idea to transcribe your interview so that the information is easily searchable. Note that this will take longer than you think it will.

It's also a good idea to log the topics you discussed in the interview by the point in the interview you spoke about them.

Example:          Minute Mark            Topics

1:00                        Introduction and background

2:30                        Early Life

4:50                        Enlistment

10:00                      Boot camp and early days

22:40                      Travel to Europe

26:00                      D-Day

30:00                      Return home

General Topics

Baylor University Institute for Oral History

British Library Sound Archive: Oral History

T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History, Louisiana State University

Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, University of Florida

Southern Oral History Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 

Veteran Histories: Oral History Projects and Exhibits

Veterans of Southeast Louisiana, Nicholls State University

World War II Museum Oral Histories

"When Boys Began to Leave:" Louisiana Recalls World War II. What Endures Podcast, Louisiana State University. 

Interview with Ed Godwin. Veterans History Project, Library of Congress. 

Below are some resources you may find useful when preparing for or conducting your interviews with veterans. 

The list of possible questions is just that - possible questions. You are strongly advised to look over these questions and others in the Guidelines and Best Practices tab and tailor your final list to the interview your will be conducting. Can you make the questions more specific based on your research and what you know about the interviewee? Are there other aspects of their life, such as before and after their time in the service, that you would like them to talk about? These lists are suggestions and should be used only as a starting point.