resource center
oral history
of
durham
APPROACH PEOPLE
Be sure to approach your interviewees respectfully and with clearly stated intentions. Use these resources to guide your communication.
Sample approach email
From the Baylor University manual
Establishing Ethical Relationships
Preparing Legal Documents
Sample consent form
LEARN FROM OTHERS
One way to hone your interviewing skills is to review the work of other interviewers. The sites below contain publicly available oral history interviews done by trained interviewers. (An example from each collection is linked to underneath the main link.)
Museum of Durham History (MODH) interviews
Interview with Durham resident
North Carolina Collection at the Durham County Library
PRACTICE TECHNIQUE
There is no one way to interview, but there are certain techniques and best practices that every interviewer should keep in mind. Review the techniques and practice them during "mock" interviews with family and friends.
Interviewing tips
American Folklife Center
Link to tips (scroll to the end of their webpage)
Oral History Principles and Best Practices
Oral History Association
http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices/
OUTLINE YOUR PROJECT
An oral history project can involve one person or a whole community. Regardless, it is important to have a plan to guide your work. The sites below provide planning outlines.
Planning a Project: Where to Begin? (from the Baylor University Introduction to Oral History Manual)
Planning an Oral History Project
American Folklife Center
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PLAN YOUR PROJECT
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Learn as much as you can about your interviewees before you approach them. Google their names. Read their LinkedIn profiles. Review their company websites. Read any articles that may have been written about them. If they have been interviewed by others in the past, review those old interviews to determine what the previous interviewers may have missed.