The process of engaging with potential narrators can be relatively simple and brief or involve multiple conversations.

Oral historians should choose potential narrators based on the relevance of their experiences to the subject at hand, while striving to identify and incorporate as many diverse voices as possible.

At this stage, the oral historian also should develop forms appropriate for documenting the process and related agreements. They should consult the complete suite of Oral History Association Principles & Best Practices documents for guidance, but whenever possible, the process should include the following: obtaining and documenting the informed consent of the narrator when possible providing the narrator an opportunity to approve the oral history prior to public release and sharing expectations about the overall project timeline.

Oral historians should outline an oral history process appropriate for their projects and their narrators.

Oral historians should take care to select a repository that aligns with the project’s goals, has the capacity to preserve the oral histories, can enforce any signed agreements, and will make them accessible to the public.

During initial preparation, oral historians should locate an appropriate repository to house the project’s finished oral histories and other documentation.

First-time interviewers and others involved in oral history projects should seek training, whether they are conducting individual research or developing a community or an institutional project.

This brief document presents the Oral History Association’s guidelines for how to conduct a high-quality oral history interview it highlights some standard practices that should help produce historically valuable and ethically conducted interviews.

Oral historians should give careful consideration to each at the start of any oral history project, regardless of whether it is comprised of one or many interviews. Regional and International Organizationsįour key elements of oral history work are preparation, interviewing, preservation, and access.

Independent Practitioners’ Toolkit for Oral Historians.

OHA Statement on Freelance, Independent, and Contract Oral History Labor.

Archiving Oral History: Manual of Best Practices.

Advertising, Exhibiting and Sponsorships at OHA.

OHA Statement on Diversity and Inclusivity.

The association of personal historians