WGST 1100 ORAL HISTORY PAPER

A helpful checklist for your interview:

• Provide an introduction for your recording including your name, the date, interview name, location, your relationship to the interviewee, and what you will be discussing.
• Have interviewee sign consent form and understands the purpose of the interview process.
  • Example Consent Form 1: https://lmu.box.com/v/informedconsent1
  • Example Consent Form 2: https://lmu.box.com/v/informedconsent2
  • Example Consent Form 2 (Spanish): https://lmu.box.com/v/informedconsent2enespanol
  • Example Consent Form 3: https://lmu.box.com/v/informedconsent3
• Confirm when you start and stop the recording device.
• Keep the interview to a reasonable length. Be considerate of your interviewee's time.
• Don't turn off your recording device unless asked. You will need to capture as much as possible.
• BE PATIENT! Interviewees will not answer questions immediately. Don't force the issue.
• Maintain eye contact and treat this as a normal conversation. Fill silence with conversational tones and consider how to integrate your topic.
• Do not interrupt your interviewee.
• TALK AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. Use non-verbal cues to show you are engaged.
• When interviewee gestures, make a note for your recording. For examples, if they say "He was this tall" and demonstrates with their hands, say "About 6 feet tall" in your recording

Additional tips for interviews can be found at:

• 10 Tips for Interviewers via the Southern Oral History Program
• How To Interview Videos via University of Texas at Austin
• Oral Interviewing Tips, The American Folk Center, Library of Congress
• A Practical Guide to Conducting Oral Histories, University of South Florida Libraries

How to Conduct an Oral History Interview via YRDSB Museum & Archives, Youtube

Conducting an Oral History Interview (in English and Spanish) Center for History and New Media via Youtube

Now that you have completed the interview, a few things to consider:

• Thank the interviewee in person and discuss how the interview will be used, transcribed, and where, if at all, it will be publicly accessible
  • Make sure you have their contact information (name, number, email) in case you need to follow up on any comments later
  • Offer a transcript of the conversation if the interviewee would like one
  • Send a thank you email or handwritten letter 
• Write up field notes. This may include:
  • Any comments or opinions about the interview
  • Reflections from the interview or questions still to be asked
  • For each interview session:
    • Your name, interviewee name, date, location, and time of interview
    • Short description of the interview and why he/she/they were interviewed
    • Short description of the interview including themes and key points, unexpected moments, and the overall dynamic of the interview (did they seem nervous? was there a tension? was it very relaxed/comfortable overall?)

Technology

• Save and play your recording to make sure you have it all
• Upload your recordings to several spaces (LMU Box, MyLMU Google Drive, etc.) in case of error
  • Upload original formats and export to mp3 for later use on different devices
  • Name your files clearly with name of interviewee, location, time, date of interview. Ex: JoanSmith_Feb13_17_Interview1_Childhood

Additional post-interview resources can be found here: