Ancestor Searching Newsletter, Volume 4, # 4  Oral history
interviewing is a tool that's used for research in history,
anthropology, and folklore. Oral history collects information
about the past from observers and participants in that past. It
gathers data not available in written records about events,
people, decisions, and processes. Oral history interviews are
grounded in memory, and memory is used for recording the past.
Oral history can reveal how individual values and actions shaped
the past, and how the past shapes present-day values and
actions.  Every interviewing experience is unique; this is part
of the whole experience. There are things that need to be done
before, during, and after an interview to make every interview
more successful.  Before the Interview  Set goals for the
project before beginning. First: what are you trying to learn?
You might want to come up with a sentence or two that summarizes
your research goals, so that you can easily explain to your
interviewees what you are researchin