Oral History: Designing and Planning the Project

Selecting your Topic

Select a topic that you are genuinely interested in. This will lead to you being more invested in the project, which will likely produce better results. Additionally, think about how your oral history investigation fits into the landscape of related historical studies. Is your study addressing gaps in the historical record? Will it introduce new perspectives and narratives?

Finally, think about what is feasible to you. Do you have the necessary resources to carry out the project you are envisioning? Do you have access to the narrators and the community you plan on working with?

Have a Vision of What You Want to Achieve

Think about what you want the end-product of your oral history project to be. These are some questions you may want to consider from the start:

• What is the main topic of your project?
• What perspectives do you want to include? From whom?
• What additional themes do you want to explore in your interviews?
• Will you produce audio recordings, videos, or both?
• Will you collect additional documents, such as photographs or memorabilia?

Thinking about these factors will help you be better prepared for your interviews. For example, if you decide you want to create video recordings, you should learn to properly use the recording equipment you have available and learn how to prepare an adequate setting for the video. If you decide you would like to collect photographs from a narrator, you can take a scanner with you to the interview.   

Plan Out Details Related to Interviews

Identify the people you want to interview and determine how many interviews you need to conduct for the project. Think about the different perspectives you wish to include. Look for diversity of perspectives about fundamental topics. Also, think about how you will pitch the project to potential narrators to convince them to participate.

Decide if you will transcribe and translate your interviews. These processes can be expensive and time-consuming, so it is good to plan for them beforehand. 

Start developing an outline for your interviews based on the goals of your project. In addition to this, think about whether you will be conducting the interviews yourself or if you will work with other interviewers. If you will be working with other interviewers, make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the goals and structure of the interviews.

Finally, remember that people should receive proper training to conduct oral history interviews effectively and ethically. Make sure all interviewers in your project are fully prepared before going out into the field.

Consider Ethical Issues From the Start

Ethics are crucial in the oral history process. Focus on this from the initial project design stage and conduct all subsequent aspects of your project in an ethical manner. Think about how your narrators and their communities will be represented in your project. Avoid presenting people in a way which could be demeaning. Make sure to protect the dignity of narrators and their communities, and avoid causing harm at all cost. Consider situations when recording, archiving, and providing access to interviews could be potentially damaging to some narrators. Examples of this could be interviews involving narrators who are undocumented or where the content references activities that may be illegal.

Another important concept to consider from the onset is informed consent. Draft documents that fully inform potential participants about the nature of the project and how interviews may be archived, disseminated, and used. Make sure narrators understand what their participation entails and that they are participating freely and voluntarily. Be available to them for clarifications and follow-ups.

Finally, be honest and transparent in all communications with participants in your project. This is essential for generating trust between you and the narrator.