Where Do I Start?
Information Sheet
2
Where Do I Start?
This sheet will explain
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Where to begin with a
project
Ideas to consider
Who to interview
Where you can find
out more about oral
history
If you are not carrying out your oral history work for educational purposes,
e.g. as part of a school project, try to think of what interests and inspires you.
In this sense, you are more likely to stay with a subject that you are
committed to.
It is important to firstly outline any key aims or objectives in order to start
looking for appropriate candidates. There are usually two different
approaches in collecting oral history:
1. Centre your work around a particular theme. This can be any topic that
interests you. Consider using a theme that you will be able to collect
enough memories for. This may require some background research into
what is popular in your area. If you are determined to use a topic that is
not as prominent for people local to you, you may have to travel
further afield to carry out your project.
2. Centre your work around a specific area. It is obviously a good idea to
use your local region but you will need to decide at what level. You
may want to concentrate on your immediate locality (e.g. your
suburb/village) or you may want to use your nearest metropolitan area
or city centre where the response may be higher.
3. Centre your work around a certain time period. This will clearly need to
be within living memory of any candidates approached. You can
choose certain time periods, such as post or pre war, or a certain
decade.
4. Centre your work around the interviewee themselves, their past, their
opinions and the life they lead.
Project ideas
It is exciting to consider that your oral history project can cover any area
that you choose. There are several project themes to think about to help
get your work off the ground:
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educationandoutreach
@wyjs.org.uk
www.wyjs.org.uk
Family History – If you would like to compile a piece of work on your
ancestry (whether on one person or your whole family), oral history can
be a useful and effective way to add character to any records that you
find.
Local History – Oral testimonies can produce the narration to particular
events or sites in your area. If varying candidates are chosen (e.g. by
age, race or gender), the resulting interviews can help explain the
development of a city, town or village.
Cultural History – You may want to consider concentrating on a certain
aspect of your local area, such as how a particular group of people
came to live there.
Social History – You could pick a part of your life that is important to you
and see how it has developed over time. For example, you may want
to interview older people and find out if the way that they spent their
spare time as young people is different from today. Social history can
also cover our day-to-day lives, how we work and how we interact with
those around us.
Who should I interview?
There are many avenues that you can take in finding someone to interview
to start your project. Due to the universal nature of oral history, it can
happen anywhere and can include anyone. In turn, this makes searching for interviewees easier.
If the project is centred around ancestral history, members of the family are an obvious choice. For local
historians, residents of the area are a suitable group to approach. Remember that the individuals you choose,
dependent on your project topic, do not have to be older as the beauty of oral history is that the memories of
younger generations will also be interesting to audiences now and in years to come.
If the chosen person you have in mind is not a family member, it can be difficult to make contact with
strangers. Advertising for willing volunteers in local newspapers and shops is sensible, as the choice to
participate is left open. If the oral history project involves a particular grouping of people, it can be useful to
contact any nearby community centres for interest.
You may also want to consider getting in touch with a local radio station to mention your project on air and
ask for any willing participants. Checking whether your area has its own community website is also a good
idea, as these sites often list local groups and their meeting times and places.
Approaching someone to interview
Once you have chosen one or several individuals or groups to approach for
your oral history project, it is best to contact them either in person or by
telephone as it will appear more personal. This will give you the opportunity
to fully explain who you are, what your project is all about and what you
would like to talk to them about. Any correspondence by e-mail or letter will
seem formal and the recipient may consider their letter or e-mail to be a
circular and that you are have not selected them specifically to help with
your work.
Make your proposal to them informal. An official sit down interview can seem daunting, especially if your
candidate may feel that they do not have anything useful to offer you. Invite them to have a chat with you
about the themes your work will be based on and explain how they will be able to help you with this.
It is essential that you persuade whoever you have chosen that their memories are important and central to
the project you will be carrying out. If it is a whole group that you are pitching your idea to, it may be a good
idea to prepare a quick five minute talk inviting any members to get involved. After all, it is that group or
individual you have selected and if you make any candidate aware of this, it will go towards making them
feel valued.
For more information:
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The Oral History Society provides large
amounts of information to follow,
including the issues surrounding Ethics and
Copyright:
http://www.ohs.org.uk/index.php
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The British Library Sound Archive offers
advice and in-depth descriptions of
current and past projects:
http://www.bl.uk/collections/soundarchive/nsa.html
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This article from the BBC website by Stephen Caunce is a good starting point for any oral historian:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/htd_history/oral/recording_oral_hist_01.shtml
This information sheet is part of a series produced by the West Yorkshire Archive Service on Oral History. For a copy please visit www.wyjs.org.uk or
nowthen.org.
WYAS have also produced guides in other areas for a full list visit www.wyjs.org.uk