Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History (under revision)

I. Introduction

* Just Do It
* What is Oral History?
* Sequence for Oral History Research


II. Guidelines and Suggestions

* Oral History Reminder List
* How Do I Ask the Questions?


III. Paperwork

* Interviewer's Field Notes
* Life History Forms
* Release Forms
* Tracking Your Progress


IV. Issues in Oral History Research

* How Accurate Is This Oral history?
* Note of Encouragement
* Pinpointing Problems in Your Interview
* Questions for Thinking About Your Interview


Just Do It !

We all have stories to tell, stories we have lived from the inside out. We give our experiences an order. We organize the memories of our lives into stories.

Oral history listens to these stories. Oral history is the systematic collection of living people’s testimony about their own experiences. Historians have finally recognized that the everyday memories of everyday people, not just the rich and famous, have historical importance. If we do not collect and preserve those memories, those stories, then one day they will disappear forever. This guide will help students with projects, and others interested in these activities as you practice this tradition today.

Your stories and the stories of the people around you are unique, valuable treasures for your family and your community. You and your family members can preserve unwritten family history using oral history techniques. Likewise you and your community can discover and preserve unwritten history large and small. Oral history is so flexible that people of all ages can adapt the techniques of asking and listening to create and learn about history and historical narratives.

As a door into the world of oral history, this document gives basic suggestions for collecting and preserving the valuable oral treasures around you, to enrich you and future generations.

Many people become concerned about "doing it right," yet they also recognize that a voice on tape is better than nothing at all. So they try just a simple interview, just talking to someone for an hour. Ten years later such people are thankful that they made the effort, and those who did not …well, they have regrets.

We hope that these pages will encourage you to take the time and make the effort!