Four key elements of oral history work are preparation, interviewing, preservation, and access . Oral historians should give careful consideration to each at the start of any oral history project, regardless of whether it is comprised of one or many interviews. This brief document presents the Oral History Association’s guidelines for how to conduct a high-quality oral history interview; [1] it highlights some standard practices that should help produce historically valuable and ethically conducted interviews.
a. The oral history’s purposes in terms of topics to be covered and general research questions under study, and reasons for conducting the interview
b. The full oral history procedure, including when and how the interview will be recorded, a description of any review process, the plans for preservation and access, the potential uses of the oral history, and the need for informed consent and other legal forms to be signed
c. The narrator’s expectations for the oral history—what they want to get out of the process, what topics are meaningful to them, and what questions they should be asked
d. When an understanding on how to proceed is reached, a formal record of that agreement should be completed prior to [6] the beginning of recording.
Narrators, find out more about what to expect here.
a. names, or when appropriate, pseudonyms, of narrator and interviewer;
b. full date (day, month, year) of recording session;
c. location of the interview (being mindful to not list personal residence address, but rather generic “narrator’s home”); and
d. proposed subject of the recording.
a. Interviews should be conducted in accord with any prior agreements made with narrator, and 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 a pseudonym . Interviewers should clearly explain these options and how they would be carried out to all narrators during the pre-interview.
b. Interviewers should work to achieve a balance between the objectives of the project and the perspectives of their narrators. Interviewers should provide challenging and perceptive inquiry, fully and respectfully exploring appropriate subjects, and not being 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.
c. Interviewers should be prepared to extend the inquiry beyond the specific focus of the project to allow the narrator to freely define what is most relevant.
d. In recognition of not only the importance of oral history to an understanding of the past but also of the cost [9] and effort involved, interviewers and narrators should mutually strive to record candid information of lasting value to future audiences.
a. the recordings of the interviews should be stored, processed, refreshed, and accessed according to established archival standards designated for the media format used;
b. whenever possible, all efforts should be made to preserve electronic files in formats that are cross platform and nonproprietary;
c. the obsolescence of all media formats should be assumed and planned for.
a. transfer the original recording from whatever device was used, make an appropriate number of redundant digital copies, [11] and store those in different physical locations, as soon as possible after any interview is completed;
b. document their preparation and methods, including the project’s context and goals, for their own, the project’s, and the repository’s files; [12]
c. organize and preserve related material for each interview—photographs, documents, or other records such as technical or descriptive metadata—in corresponding interview files.
a. honor the stipulations of prior agreements made with the interviewers or sponsoring institutions, to the greatest extent possible, including restrictions on access and methods of distribution;
b. evaluate documentation, such as consent and/or release forms, and if they do not exist, make a good faith effort to obtain them;
c. take all steps practicable to abide by any restrictions set forth by the narrator, while also making clear that certain legal challenges—such as subpoenas or open-record requests—may make some restrictions unenforceable;
d. be prepared to provide timely access to material with considerations for expectations of narrators or project partners;
e. when possible, consult project participants on how best to describe materials for public access and use.
a. avoiding stereotypes, misrepresentations, and manipulations of the narrator’s words;
b. striving to retain the integrity of the narrator’s perspective;
c. recognizing the subjectivity of the interview, including, when possible, verification of information presented as factual;
d. interpreting and contextualizing the narrative according to the professional standards of the applicable scholarly disciplines;
e. contextualizing oral history excerpts;
f. providing a citation to the location of the full oral history.
[1] Before reviewing this document, please note: Many published and online sources offer further in-depth information about how to conduct an oral history interview. For more on finding the right guide for oral history see: Linda Shopes’ list to online web guides and Barb Sommer’s [reprinted from The Oral History Manual, 3rd Edition with publisher’s permission] bibliography
[3] Whether an institutional archive or a personal family archive. See more on the glossary term for archive
[5] Or involve multiple layers of gatekeepers or proxy’s before reaching direct contact with potential narrator.
[6] Although many oral historians prefer to request signatures for any legal release forms assigning rights to the interview after it is completed in order to better address any sensitive issues that may have come up during the course of the interview.
[7] Linda Shopes’ list to online web guides and Barb Sommer’s bibliography
[8] This is with an understanding that in some cases, such as interviews with vulnerable communities, particularly those with surveillance concerns, there will be a need to gather only the very basic contextual information.
[9] In this sense, the “cost” of a project is more than just financial, for example, good relationship building with the community will involve the “cost” of the emotional labor involved for the interviewer, project manager, and/or team members, in creating understanding and trust.