The Interview Process
| Who to Interview | Before | During | After | Release Form
The heart and soul of oral history is the interview process. This is composed of four specific segments selecting who to interview, before the interview, during the interview, and after the interview.
Once your class has decided the topic of your oral history project, you will need to select someone to interview. The objective is to find someone who has information about whatever your topic is. How do you find someone? Try
Asking a family member if they know of someone who has knowledge of your topic.
Ask your school librarian or the public librarian in your city.
Call the local historical society to find out if there are people who have the information you are seeking.
Look in the phone book for agencies that might work with people in the area you are researching. For example, veterans group and centers for aging might know of possible candidates
Ask your teacher for assistance in finding someone to interview.
Call the person to be interviewed and set up a time and a location to conduct the interview. Explain the purpose of the interview. Emphasize on the importance of preserving these stories and having them available for future generations.
Make sure you are prepared for the interview. Have an outline of questions (http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oralhist.htm) prepared that will get the information that you are seeking. Make sure questions are open-ended and require more than yes or no answers.
Do any background research you might need to do. If it s an event you re interested in, find out some history of the event. If it s a period of time, find out about that era in history.
Have a release form ready to give to the person being interviewed. It should be explained at the initial contact that a release form is necessary so that their history can be shared.
Check your recording equipment to make sure it is operational. Make sure you have fresh batteries, sufficient tape, etc. To select the equipment you will need, go the section entitled Recording Equipment.
When you first arrive introduce yourself and whoever is with you.
Explain the purpose of the project one more time.
Set up your equipment and make sure it is operational before you begin the interview. For specific information go the section entitled Recording Equipment.
Get the release form signed.
Verify all spellings such as the name of the interviewee and the names of any events.
When recording begins, start out with an opening announcement on the tape. Give your name, the name of the person you are interviewing, the date and the time.
Don t interrupt when a person is talking. Allow the person time to think when answering a question.
Eye contact is extremely important. Keep focused on the person being interviewed.
Don t allow the interview to last more than one hour.
Label the tape with the name of the interviewee and the date.
Write up field notes immediately after your interview. Included should be
Your name, the name of person being interview, date and time.
A summary of the interview. This should include the location, the setting and anything important or peculiar that happened during the interview.
Any personal reflections you have on the interview.
Send a thank you note in writing.
