Interviews and Oral History
An interview is not a conversation with a notebook. It is a structured attempt to understand how another person remembers and explains their life. The interviewer shapes what is asked, how it is asked and what is followed up. Good interviews are prepared, quiet and responsive; they leave room for the narrator's own language rather than filling every pause.
Before, during and after
| Stage | Tasks | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Research the subject; write a purpose statement; prepare questions; arrange consent; test the recorder; choose a quiet place. | Shows respect, reduces uncertainty and protects the recording. |
| During | Explain the process; ask open questions; listen; follow up; check names and dates; watch for distress. | Builds trust and produces richer, more accurate material. |
| After | Thank the narrator; label the file; back it up; transcribe key sections; check uncertain details; confirm publication decisions. | Preserves the record and allows the narrator to correct errors. |
Consent and recording
- Explain the purpose, audience and final form of the interview.
- Ask permission before recording and explain where the file will be stored.
- Explain that the narrator can skip a question, pause or stop at any time.
- Agree on how the recording and transcript may be used.
- Record the date, place and names at the start of the file.
- Keep recordings in a secure folder and do not share them publicly without permission.
- Check again before publishing quotations or personal details.
Question types
| Type | Example | Use | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | “What was a typical day like when you first started?” | Invites narrative and detail. | Can produce a long, unfocused answer. |
| Closed | “Was that in 1985?” | Checks a specific fact. | Can shut down reflection if overused. |
| Follow-up | “What do you mean by ‘the old system’?” | Clarifies language and deepens the account. | Can interrupt a story if badly timed. |
| Clarifying | “Who else was in the room?” | Establishes context and relationships. | Can feel like an interrogation. |
| Contrast | “How did that compare with the job you had before?” | Reveals change and comparison. | Can lead the narrator to a preferred answer. |
| Sensitive | “Would you be willing to talk about what happened after the closure?” | Allows difficult material with consent. | Can cause distress if asked too early or without support. |
| Leading | “Wasn't it terrible when the council closed the pool?” | Usually avoid. | Supplies the emotion and the judgement. |
A question ladder
Start broad, move to specifics, then return to reflection. The following ladder is for a fictional interview with a retired railway worker.
| Level | Question | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | “How did you come to work on the railways?” | Invites the narrator to choose a starting point. |
| 2. Routine | “What did a shift look like in the early years?” | Builds concrete detail and context. |
| 3. Specific | “What did the yard sound like before the electric signals?” | Elicits sensory memory and change. |
| 4. Relationship | “Who taught you the job?” | Reveals networks and knowledge transfer. |
| 5. Conflict | “Was there a decision you disagreed with?” | Invites tension without leading. |
| 6. Reflection | “What do you think people misunderstand about that work?” | Allows the narrator to interpret their own experience. |
| 7. Closing | “What have I not asked that I should have?” | Returns agency to the narrator. |
Listening
| Skill | What it sounds like | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Active silence | Waiting a few seconds after an answer. | Often produces the detail that was almost left out. |
| Reflecting back | “So the move came after the accident, not before?” | Checks understanding without judging. |
| Probing a word | “When you say ‘pressure’, what did that feel like?” | Explores the narrator's own vocabulary. |
| Following a lead | “You mentioned your sister — what was her part in this?” | Follows significance rather than the question list. |
| Noticing avoidance | A change of subject, a joke or a very short answer. | Suggests a boundary or a difficult area. |
| Checking distress | “We can pause here. Would you like to stop?” | Prioritises the person over the material. |
Memory in the interview
An interview does not extract a finished memory from a storage box. The narrator reconstructs the past in the presence of the interviewer, using the questions, the setting and their sense of the audience. This is called co-construction. It does not make the account false, but it means the interviewer is part of the record. Avoid supplying details, finishing sentences or signalling the answer you want. If the narrator contradicts an earlier account, ask about the difference rather than correcting them on the spot.
Transcription
A transcript is a representation of speech, not a perfect copy. Decide what level of detail you need. For a short profile, you may only need to transcribe the quotations and key passages. For an oral history archive, a fuller transcript with timestamps is more useful.
| Feature | How to represent it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pause | Use an ellipsis or a note such as “(pause)”. | Shows hesitation without inventing words. |
| Overlap | Mark with brackets or a note. | Shows that speech was simultaneous. |
| Unclear word | Use “[unclear]”. | Avoids guessing. |
| Non-verbal sound | Use a brief description such as “[laughs]”. | Preserves tone where it matters. |
| Dialect and grammar | Keep the speaker's words; do not “correct” them silently. | Respects voice and identity. |
| Editing for length | Use an ellipsis and ensure the meaning is not changed. | Prevents distortion. |
Oral history and archiving
Oral history is a recorded interview that is preserved as a historical source. It usually involves a clear consent process, a stable recording, an index or transcript, and a plan for long-term access. If the recording will be archived, explain who will be able to listen, how the narrator will be identified and whether they can restrict access. Do not upload a recording to a public site without explicit permission.
Interview planner
| Field | Your plan |
|---|---|
| Narrator and relationship to me | |
| Purpose of the interview | |
| Research question | |
| Date, time and place | |
| Consent and recording plan | |
| Opening question | |
| Four core questions | |
| Two sensitive questions and a support plan | |
| Closing question | |
| Storage and backup plan | |
| Follow-up and member check |
Common errors
- Reading the questions. Treating the plan as a script instead of a guide.
- Talking over the narrator. Filling silence with the interviewer's own ideas.
- Leading questions. Supplying the emotion or judgement the interviewer expects.
- Ignoring consent. Recording or publishing without a clear agreement.
- Correcting speech. Making the narrator sound like the interviewer.
- No backup. Losing the only recording through a technical failure.
- No member check. Publishing a quotation the narrator has not had a chance to confirm.
Next, learn how to analyse a passage through close reading.