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ORAL HISTORY BASICS By Donna M. DeBlasio, Site Manager, Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, Ohio Historical Society Local History Notebook, September / October 1991 What is Oral History? Louis Starr, one of the founders of the oral history movement, defined oral history as "A primary source material obtained by recording the spoken words--generally by means of planned, pre-recorded interviews--of persons deemed to harbor hitherto unavailable information worth preserving." Oral history has become an invaluable, tool in documenting recent history, especially since many traditional historical sources like letters, diaries, and journals are becoming much more scarce due to modern records of communication. Our society may be generating more paper, but information of real substance is usual passed on by the more fleeting telephone call. The oral interview has also become important for another reason--it gives a voice to people who have traditionally been left out of historical interpretation, people such as; minorities and women. It gives historians another tool for re-examining the past and making history more meaningful to more people. Starting Out Generally speaking, the place to begin an oral history project is by selecting a subject or topic that will be focus of the interviews. It is best not to pick too broad a topic such as the history of Smallville from its founding to the present day. A much narrower topic like World War II home front activity in Smallville is better. It limits the project in scope and time span, making it easier to do research, compose good questions, and seek out interviewees. The key is to be realistic in determining the project's purpose and goals. Once the topic is selected, the next step should be to do some basic background research. This is a very important factor in determining the quality of the interviews. If the interviewers do not have some knowledge of the topic under investigation, how can they ask intelligent, probing questions? The interview is an interaction between the interviewee and interviewer. A well-prepared interviewer can contribute a great deal to obtaining a good interview. The selection of the interviewees should follow closely on the agenda. There are many ways this can be done. First, those who are involved in the oral history project may know personally of a few people who would be good interview subjects. Sending out questionnaires to prospective interviewees is another way of building the contact list. Don't ignore the power of the media, either. A news story on the oral history project requesting names of possible interviewees is a good method of reaching many people at one time. Also, once the interviewing has begun, the interviewees themselves may be able to suggest people to add to the interview list. Finally, there is the issue of equipment. A decision to use either audio or video recorders has to be made. If the project is severely limited in financing, the audio recorder is the way to go. A basic audio cassette with a known brand name like GE, Sony, or Panasonic should cost about $30. 1 recommend also purchasing a good quality external microphone as opposed to using the condenser mike in the machine itself. Condenser mikes have a tendency to pick up everything, including the internal noises of the cassette recorder. The external mike can either be the type which sits on a stand or a small lavaliere which can be clipped to the interviewee's clothes or worn around his or her neck. Many oral historians are now videotaping their interviews, which gives researchers the advantage of being able to see, as well as hear, the interviewee. Of course, video equipment is more expensive; a good VHS camcorder will cost about $1,000. A tripod to place the camcorder on while the interview is being recorded is also a necessity. It keeps the camera steady and eliminates the need for a cameraperson at the interview. Tripods cost about $100. An external mike for the camcorder is also a good investment. As for tapes--for the audio recorder, I suggest using 60-minute tape cassettes as opposed to 90-minute ones. The 60-minute tape cassettes are much more durable because the tape is not as thin as it is in the 90-minute cassettes. For the video recorder, the standard VHS T-120 tape is fine; it will give two hours of recording time. In both cases, I suggest going a step up from the standard grade tapes. Any major brand like Maxell, BASF, Polaroid, Memorex, will suffice--but stay away from no-names. They may be less expensive, but they will cost the project more in the long run, since they are apt to be less reliable. Audio tapes should cost about $2-$3.; video tapes about $6-$7.Remember to practice with the equipment before-hand-especially with the camcorder. Fumbling with the equipment does not make the best of impressions with the interviewee. There is nothing more embarrassing than an interviewer who doesn't seem to know what she or he is doing. Also, the interviewer must make sure that the equipment works. There are many cases where wonderful interviews were conducted and, as a result of equipment failure, totally lost. The Interview The best way to learn how to do oral history interviews is to go out and conduct one. Now that the topic, equipment, research, and interviewee list are in place, the interviewing can begin. First, a list of general questions should be prepared. It is best to start off with simple background questions such as place and date of birth, names of parents and siblings, etc. These kinds of questions will put the interviewee at ease. Never start off with the most difficult, controversial, or probing questions. The best interviewers develop a good "mike side" manner, which includes making the interviewees comfortable with the process of interviewing. There are a few other things to keep in mind regarding the questions. First, make the questions open-ended, requiring more than a simple 'yes" or 'no" answer. Second, pursue in depth--remember the who, what, when, where, and why of history. Third, don't ask compound questions--they won't be answered. Fourth, don't ask leading questions (in other words, don't assume anything about the interviewee). Fifth, avoid giving the interviewee the opportunity to specify that certain information is to be considered 'off-the-record." Explain that the tape recorder can not be turned off and that the interviewee has the right to restrict access to that portion of the interview later on if he or she feels strongly about it. The next step is to contact the interviewee. This can be done by sending a letter, explaining the nature of the project, how the project got his/her name, and why he/she is on the interviewee list. This should be followed in short order by a telephone call, during which the project can be explained in greater detail.Before leaving for the interview, make sure the following is in place: equipment, extra tape, questions, note pad and pen (for jotting down notes and getting spelling of complicated names), and an extension cord. I suggest using the recorder's AC capability rather than batteries. The latter are not reliable enough for the task. If batteries must be used, make sure there is an adequate supply of fresh ones or a second charged battery pack for the camcorder. The ideal location for the interview is usually the person's home. The interviewee will feel comfortable in his or her own surroundings, which should help put him/her at ease. As the equipment is being set up, making small talk with the interviewee will help set the stage for the interview. If at all possible, interview only one person at a time. There is nothing more difficult for a transcriber than trying to figure out which one of multiple parties on a tape is actually speaking. Even the videotaped interview should be transferred to audio if it is to be transcribed, so the same problem remains. There are other problems in interviewing two or more people at the same time. The interviewees may begin to argue among themselves, which isn't constructive for the process or for the researcher.The same thing applies to having another person (the spouse, sibling, child, parent, or friend of the interviewee) present during the interview. Try to avoid having more than the interviewer and one interviewee in the room at the same time. Try not to interview for more than two hours per session. The interview process can be tiring for both parties, and sometimes it is best to quit at a logical breaking point and schedule another time to come back and complete the interview. The interviewer will have to use his or her own judgment on the interview time span. Don't interrupt the interviewee during the course of his/her response. If he or she starts to go off the track or to run on, try to bring him or her back to the topic at a logical breaking point in the response. The interviewer should also try to restrain himself/herself from jumping in whenever there is a pause in the interview. The interviewee may just be gathering his or her thoughts in order to answer the question at hand. Learning how to control the interview is a part of developing a good interviewing technique, which comes with practice and patience. Throughout the course of the interview, the interviewer should bear in mind that he or she is not the one being interviewed. Too often, the interviewer talks so much that the interviewee is practically lost in the process. Stick to the questions, make sounds of acknowledgment, but do not talk so much that anyone who later listens to the interview wonders who the interviewee was. Tape an introduction at the beginning of the interview stating the interviewee's name, the place the interview is being conducted, the date, and the interviewer's name. At the end of the interview, don't forget to thank the interviewee for his or her time. It is a good signal to the transcriber that the interview is completed. As soon as possible, label the tape with the interviewee's name and the date the interview was conducted. The two slots in the back of the tape can also be punched out. This prevents someone from accidentally taping over the completed interview. A thank you letter should be sent to the interviewee. The legal release form or deed of gift (see the following section) can also be sent at this time. Remember to include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the signed forms may be returned to the interviewer.Oral History Ethics Probably the most important thing to remember about doing oral history is to always be honest with the people that are interviewed. The interviewee must be made fully cognizant of the goals, purpose, and process of the oral history project. He/she must also be told at the very beginning that the interview is being taped, no matter what the medium. Omitting this detail is not only dishonest, but imagine the interviewee's surprise when the interviewer turns up on the doorstep with some kind of recording device if he/she was expecting the interview to be recorded in writing only There are people who are reluctant to be recorded, and might have agreed to be interviewed only because they thought it would be on paper. There is also the matter of the legal release form, or deed of gift agreement. There should be some sort of paperwork which turns the rights of the interview over to the organization that the interviewer is representing (or the interviewer himself/herself, if personal research is being conducted). Without this release, the sponsoring organization can not use the tapes nor make them available to the public, because technically they do not own the rights to the interview. The interviewer, as an active participant in the process, must also sign the release. Two copies of the release form should be prepared. When the signatures are in place, give one copy to the interviewee and keep one on file. There is an example of a release form in the adjacent column and there are examples in the oral history manuals listed at the end of this article. Once a release form is designed, have an attorney look it over to make sure that it is valid. Keep in mind that these interviews are being conducted for posterity, so the interviewer must be a responsible, reliable scholar. This means doing the background research, being honest with the interviewees, and maintaining the necessary paperwork in proper order.Processing Interviews Once the oral history project is under way, decisions about making the tapes accessible to the public should be made. The number one issue to resolve is: to transcribe or not to transcribe? Transcribing is a lengthy and expensive process. On the average, it takes from six to eight hours to transcribe one hour of tape. Also, special equipment--namely the dictaphone--is needed. Dictaphones are built to withstand the constant rewinding that is required for transcription. They also come equipped with foot controls, which frees the transcriber from using his or her hands to rewind and play the tape. It is possible to attach a foot control to a regular tape recorder, but these machines cannot withstand the constant rewinding, and eventually will break down. Someone to actually do the transcriptions is needed--and this type of labor does not come cheap. Good transcribers can make anywhere from $8 to $12 per hour. The result of this work is a rough, verbatim transcript of the interview. In order to make the transcript usable, it should be retyped after it has been corrected. This includes editing out false starts and crutch words, proof- reading it, and sending it to the interviewee for him/her to correct.There are advantages to transcribing. A document which is far easier to use than the tape itself is created. The transcript is a time-saver for the researchers, since they can go through a twenty page transcript faster than they can listen to a two hour tape. Also, by allowing researchers the use of the transcript, the tape itself is better preserved. If transcription is not feasible at the time, indexing the tapes using the counter on the tape recorder (or VCR) is one way to make the tapes more usable for researchers. Indexing will make it easier for them to pinpoint the parts of the interview they wish to use and will also give them an idea of what topics were covered in the interview. When the tapes are being processed, try to have a duplicate copy made of each tape. That way, should a tape be ruined, there is a back-up. This is especially important if a transcript is not being made. Also, once a year, each tape should be placed in a recorder and fast-forwarded, then rewound. This is to prevent one layer of the tape from bleeding through to the one underneath. I encourage anyone doing an oral history project to transcribe or index the tapes. I firmly believe that the overriding imperative of any oral history project should be to make the tapes available to the public for scholarly use. They do no one any good sitting in some corner collecting dust. The interviews are being collected to preserve our past and to make that history accessible to as many people as possible. No matter what the final form of the interview--the tape itself, an index, or transcript--some kind of system is needed to keep track of the interviews. I suggest assigning a number like 'O.H. I" to the first interview that is completed and going in numerical order from there. Trying to put the interviews in alphabetical order by the interviewee's last name is a nice idea, but as more interviews are completed, this method necessitates moving tapes, transcripts, and indexes around on the shelves. In the card catalog, the interview can be filed under the interviewee's name and cross-referenced under the topic. Throughout the interview process, bear in mind that not every interview will be a good one. Even the most experienced interviewers conduct interviews that are not as good as they had hoped, for one reason or another. Don't be discouraged by the occasional "bad" interview; the good ones will more than make up for those that aren't the best. Also, every interview, even if it is not that good, has something worth preserving. My advice is to keep doing the oral histories; it is the best way to hone interviewing skills and to make valuable contributions to whatever topic is under investigation.Additional Reading Willa K. Baum. Oral History for the Local Historical Society, rev. 3rd. ed. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1987. Willa K. Baum. Transcribing and Editing Oral History. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1977. Willa K. Baum and David K. Dunaway. Oral History. An Interdisciplinary Anthology. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1985. Cullom Davis et al. Oral History: From Tape to Type. Chicago: American Library Association, 1977. Mary Jo Deering and Barbara Pomeroy. Transcribing without Tears. Washington, D.C.: George Washington Library, 1976. State and national organizations Oral History AssociationDickinson College P.O. Box 1773 Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 245-1036 E mail: OHA@dickinson.edu omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha The Local History Notebook is edited and published by the Ohio Historical Society's Local History Office in order to bring useful information to people working in the local history field. The selections of subjects and authors is based on the OAHSM Editorial Board's and the Local History Office's determination of issues which are timely in nature and lasting in scope. The reference inserts are copyrighted 1991 by the Ohio Historical Society. Reprints are available; please specify volume and number. For further information, contact: Local History OfficeOhio Historical Society 1982 Velma Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43211 Phone: (614) 297-2340 Toll-free: (800) 858-6878 Fax: (614) 297-2318 oahsm@ohiohistory.org 
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