Interviewing
On this page you will find resources and information about conducting oral history interviews and how to be a good interviewer.
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The Six R's of Oral History Interviewing
As an oral history interviewer, you should strive to create an environment where the interviewee is able to reflect widely on the topics you ask them, fully recall to the best of their ability the subjects of the interview, and maintain an atmosphere where they feel comfortable to fully detail those memories to you.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives has provided Martha Ross's The Six R's, or six considerations that make up the basis of oral history practice. Martha Ross is the "mother" of oral history work in the mid-Atlantic region.
1. Research: Thorough preparation and research allows the interviewer to know the best questions to ask their interviewees. Proper research is also essential when establishing good rapport with the interviewee. Often times, the interviewer's research and knowledge of names, dates, and places may trigger memories for the interviewee.
2. Rapport: Good rapport can be established with the interviewee by approaching them before the interview, fully informing them of your project's purpose and goals, and thoroughly advising them of their role in the project and their rights as an interviewee. A pre-interview discussion, phone call, or visit is a great way to establish rapport and share this information with your interviewee.
3. Restraint: A good interview maintains rapport with their interviewee by following good interviewing techniques: being efficient (but not in the way) with your recording equipment, asking your interview questions chronologically, asking open-ended questions, listening to their answers without interrupting, following up on details or new directions in the interview, challenging questionable information in a non-threatening way (ex. "Could you explain that a bit more?"), and maintaining an atmosphere in which the interviewee feels able to respond fully and truthfully to your questions.
4. Retreat: Close each interview session by asking a "deflationary" question, such as an assessment of the experiences just discussed. All sessions should be planned and scheduled so that the interview concludes before the interviewee becomes tired.
5. Review: Interviewers should listen to their interviews soon afterward to analyze their interviewing techniques and to pick up details to follow up on in subsequent interview sessions.
6. Respect: Respect is an essential aspect of oral history work. There must always be respect for the interviewee as an individual, respect for their experiences, respect for the way they remember those experiences, and respect for the way they are able and willing to discuss those recollections. Maintaining respect toward the interviewee and toward the practice of oral history interviewing is essential to success as an interviewer.
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Preparing for Oral History Interviews
1. Select an interviewee
2. Ask the interviewee if they are interested in doing an interview for your project
3. Set up a time and place for the interview. Request any background information the interviewee may want to provide at this point.
4. Write a follow-up email to your interviewee confirming the plans for the interview. Be sure to discuss information regarding any project/interview goals, legal rights, and how the interviews will be handled.
5. Conduct basic biographical research on your interviewee via internet searches, publications, and public profiles. Asking others what topics you should cover is a good idea at this stage.
6. Develop a timeline of the important events in your interviewee's life. Develop lists of personal names and terms from their life, including geographic names of places they have traveled and names of important family or community members. Compile a folder of photographs of the interviewee and their world. These pictures will prove to be helpful if the interviewee gets confused about certain topics or forgets names and places.
7. Rework your general question outline to make it relevant to your current interviewee. Delete topics that do not pertain to your current interviewee and add in areas that are important, such as organizations they were involved in and what schools they went to.
8. Practice with your recording equipment until you could use it in your sleep! Practice interviewing family members and friends so you get comfortable with the equipment and with asking personal questions. Make sure you have all the necessary pieces of equipment, such as the recorder power cord, extension cord, memory cards, and microphones.
9. The day before the interview is scheduled, confirm the time and place with the interviewee.
10. On the day of the interview, be sure to bring with you: equipment, extension cords, cell phone, question outline, chronology of interviewee's life, terms, photos, legal forms (Oral History Release/Deed of Gift), extra paper and pen for notes. It may also be helpful to bring throat lozenges or hard candy and water in case throats get dry during the interview. If possible, bring a camera and take a picture of the interviewee at the interview.
11. When you arrive at the location of the interview, assess the room for sound. Turn off any additional equipment in the room, close doors, and rearrange any furniture into a comfortable arrangement facing each other. You should be close enough to hand the interviewee pictures without being seen on camera. Set up your equipment so you can monitor it constantly and discretely, without turning away from the interviewee.
12. Before the interview begins, go over the list of topics and permissions again.
13. Before starting the interview, ask about any scrapbooks, news clippings, awards, etc., your interviewee might want to bring out during the interview.
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Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives, "How to Do Oral History: Preparing for Oral History Interviews."
How to Ask Questions in Oral History Interviews
1. Find a quiet place to conduct the interview where you won't be bothered by phones, family members, pets, traffic noise, etc. Before the interview, you should get water for yourself and your interviewee, take a photograph of the interviewee, and turn off cell phones to avoid interruptions.
2. Be sure to explain to your interviewee what you are doing the project on, explain their legal rights, explain how interview is likely to be used, and explain that they can choose what questions to answer and that the recorder can be turned off at any time.
3. Ask your interviewee to sign the oral history release form and a deed of gift and cosign it yourself if you have one.
4. Use a prepared outline of topics you wish to cover, with follow-up questions. Also bring photographs, a personal name and term list, and chronology of the interviewee's life.
5. Start with easy questions, such as their name, where and when born, names of family members.
6. Allow the interviewee to do the talking.
7. Ask "open-ended" questions, such as, tell me about, describe, etc., what do you remember about? If the interviewee responds with just a yes or no, ask for more details like how, why, when, where, who. What the interviewee chooses to tell you and how they choose to tell it is just as informative as the actual answers they give.
8. Avoid “closed-ended” questions that can end in a yes or no, or single facts. Some examples of closed-ended questions include "Were you there?" "What was date of that?" "Did you like that?" If you get a short answer, follow up with statements like tell me more, who, what, when, where, how and why.
9. Do not ask leading questions – "was it this or that?" Or "I thought that the most important thing was . . ."These have been demonstrated to affect interviewee’s answer and will taint your interview.
10. Ask one question at a time and try to ask simple questions.
11. Try to ask follow-up questions – tell me more, who, what, where.
12. To stimulate their memory, use “statement questions” such as, “In 1956, you traveled to Tibet to conduct research. How did that trip come about?”
13. Focus on recording their personal experiences, rather than stories about others or that they have heard. If you’re getting general stories, say "Tell me about your role," "Describe how you felt that day," or "Describe how you dealt with that crisis," etc.
14. Don't worry about silences. Let the interviewee think and take time before they answer. Look at your outline and check off topics if the interviewee needs time to think.
15. Note what types of questions your interviewee responds best to and try to adapt your style to what works best with them.
16. Let the interviewee suggest topics to you that you might not have thought of.
17. Allow the interviewee to drift off to topics not on your outline. These can be the best part of your interview.
18. After an hour or less, ask interviewee if they would like to take a break. Write down the last words as you turn the recorder off.
19. Provide the interviewee with feedback by nodding, smiling, listening attentively. Try to avoid too many verbal responses that will record over the interviewee, such as “Really!’ or “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
20. Don’t be afraid to politely question information that might be incorrect – ask for a clarification, or say something like, “Oh, I’m confused, I thought that Mrs. X was involved in that.”
21. Reword questions that the interviewee does not answer – they may not have heard what you thought you asked. But they have the right to not answer if they don’t want to.
22. Do allow the interviewee to tell “THE STORY.” Most interviewees have a favorite story. They will fit it in somehow, so let it happen! Allow some repetition since additional details may emerge with a second version, but don’t allow your interviewee to keep telling the same story over and over.
23. Bring visuals, if possible, to stimulate memory or ask to bring out photo albums of trips or family events, etc. Invite the interviewee to bring visuals to the interview.
24. Let the interviewee do the talking. Try to avoid telling your own stories, saying “Yes! When I was there . . .” or offering your own opinions. If you are asked for an opinion, explain that the interview is designed to record their point of view, not yours.
25. An interview usually does not last much longer than 1 1/2 to 2 hours. After that both interviewer and interviewee get tired and lose their concentration.
26. End interview gracefully, asking them to assess their lives and the topics you have discussed.
27. Ask your interviewee to spell any names or places you did not understand.
28. Clean up. Make sure you have all pieces of equipment.
29. As you depart, keep options open to return for an additional interview.
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Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives, "How to Do Oral History: Preparing for Oral History Interviews."
After the Oral History Interview
1. Download interview files onto your computer, following your institution's instructions.
2. On your computer, rename each file by right clicking on file and selecting rename. A good file naming scheme is: LastnameFirstname_Date_Interview#_File#, for example, DayCassandra_10-29-2022_1.
3. Click on file to be sure it plays properly.
4. Do not erase files from your computer until you have made duplicates.
5. Erase files from recorder, so the recorder will be empty for next interview. Or if you are using SD cards, put a fresh, unused SD card in your camera, and place the SD card used for the interview in a storage bag and place in the archive or with the project's other interviews.
6. Write a scope content summary of what the interview is about, providing technical details. Also list a dozen or so name and subject terms for indexing. This will be used to identify the interview for future use.
7. Prepare a longer list of all names, terms, etc. to use for transcription.
8. Prepare an introduction for the transcript that provides an overview of the interview for the reader and helps them understand what they are about to read. The introduction should include an opening paragraph that states why the individual was selected, explaining their special significance or accomplishments; information about the place and particular conditions of the interviews, like if it took place in the interviewee’s home or office; research the interviewer did to prepare for the interview, such as books read or scrapbooks reviewed, and any prior relationship or special affinity between the interviewer and interviewee, such as being friends for 25 years, grandchild or child. The interviewer should also prepare a biography of one or two paragraphs about themselves, including background and experiences of the interviewer related to the conduct of this particular interview.
9. Photocopy or scan the signed legal form, your question outline, chronology, etc.
10. Write a follow-up note to the interviewee, thanking them for their time and reminiscences.
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Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives, "How to Do Oral History: After the Oral History Interview."