Interviewing.
* Interviewing.
Interviewing:
The interview is the process of getting the photo story told while you record it. This process can be formal or very casual.
Many of the stories I have recorded were through a casual interview. Often I was able to get the story tellers to edit and help add details to the stories right after I had them roughly written. This is a great way to get it right. When you get to the Clues section you will also find a casual Clues Interview to explore.
I went to my grandparents' house to ask some questions about a photograph. Before I knew it Grandfather and I were playing checkers. When my visit was over I had spent some fun time with my grandparents and I did get the photo story I went for, plus some information on the games my grandparents played as children. Click on the title below to learn more about the games. When you close the window you will still be here.
Childhood Games.
Play Checkers OnLine Now.Unfortunately not all interviews can be made so informal. A person who holds a story to your photo may be someone you have never met before. Open the next photo story window to discover how the internet made it possible for us to find another distant cousin we didn't even know existed. When you close the window you will still be here.
You have been asking family members questions about your photo and everywhere you turn you have been told that the person who may know the story is someone you have never met or hardly know. We know you want that story, so here are some guide lines to follow to conduct a more formal interview. Click on the title below to open the pop up window. When you close the window you will still be here.
A General Guide to Interviewing
for a Photo - Story.
This popup window is part of The UnWritten's Photo - Story Kit and is designed to be printed.If you haven't already, you may want to print out the other worksheets from the Photo-Story Kit page.
Before conducting an interview it may be helpful to find out what events were happening at the time the photo was taken. This information will help you ask good questions and have a better understanding of the times. The web offers some great sites for doing this.
OurTimeLines.com:
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Enter a birth date, and get a personal timeline of historical events occurring during that lifetime. The timeline will include the age at the time of the event. You can also find out which famous persons share that birth date. The timeline is printable.History Channel:
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You can explore historical events by decade, timeline, date, or topic. You can also access audio clips of famous speeches, see a variety of virtual historical exhibits, and links to other sites with historical information.Newspapers Online:
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This site lets you search for newspapers from around the world. It also offers various categories (business, education, etc.) to help make your search easier.TheHistoryNet:
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You can search through this site's extensive collection of articles related to American and world history, famous battles, and other interesting historical events.PD Music Sequenced by Benjamin Robert Tubb:
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What kind of music was popular the year your photograph was taken? Benjamin Tubb has sequenced hundreds of midis from old sheet music for your listening pleasure. Step even farther back into your old photograph by listening to the music from the past. Benjamin Tubb has given The UnWritten permission to use a small part of the midi "Auld Lang Syne" (music written in 1799) for our background music. You can find the full beautiful "Auld Lang Syne" midi on his site.Never think you know all the stories within a photo. Different people may have very different stories to be told from the same photo. I found the old 1964 photograph below and was excited because here was a something from the past I could identify with. I had no problem guessing this photo was one of my grandfather's workshops and that kids were building toys. The reason I know this is because the scene is one that happens often now in grandfather's shop. So, when I sat down with my mother and this old 1964 photograph I was ready to collect a story about my grandfather and the many years of kids building toys. I was not expecting this.....
Alvin Rogers' basement
wood working shop, 1964.
Alvin Rogers's wood working shop, 2000.
Oral History Links:
American Memory from the Library of Congress:
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This site has many wonderful sections. To find a lesson plan using oral history, follow the link from the main page called Learning Page. From there, select Lesson Ideas. Then select Lesson Plans. Among many other great lesson ideas, you will find a section called Using Oral History.Oral History Program:
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Here they have some nice pages under Educational Resources: The Significance of Oral History, How To Collect Oral Histories, Telling Effective Life Stories, Telling Stories From Our Lives and Making a Life-Map. Under How To Collect Oral Histories you can find the link to their sample Personal History Release Form.Genealogy.com:
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They refer to themselves as the leading resource for family history. From the main page index select Learn about Genealogy. From there select How-to Articles. Don't panic at the size of the list, just scroll down until you see Oral Histories and Family Traditions listed on the right side. Here they offer several great articles: Effective Interviews, Family Traditions, Get Nosy with Aunt Rosie, Oral Histories, Oral History War Stories, Organizing Oral History Information, People as Sources for Family History, Preparing to Interview a Witness.Institute for Oral History:
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Oral History Workshop on the Web. Here is a serious look at oral history from interviewing to transcribing.One Minute Guide to Oral History:
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On this page by Carole Hicke you can find two checklists to use when setting up or conducting an interview.Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History:
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Part of the DoHistory site, Judith Moyer provides a wide variety of information about how to conduct oral history interviews, prepare questions, as well as links to more information about oral history.The Art of the Oral Historian:
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This page from the Library of Special Collections at the the University of CA at Santa Barbara provides a wide range of information about oral history. This information ranges from the significance of history to interview tips and legal considerations.Tips for Interviewers:
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This page provides information from Willa K. Baum, Oral History for the Local Historical Society. It gives general information about conducting interviews, including what types of questions to ask, how to phrase questions, recording the interview, and other helpful tips.
