Field Guide to Oral History Projects

Field Guide to

South Jersey Women’s History Project

Oral Interviews

a partnership between

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey The Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame The Women’s Center of Atlantic County

This project collects and preserves personal stories and other documents from women of South Jersey.

Project Manager: Erin O’Hanlon, Activist in Residence

Step One -- Be Prepared

Please use:

• high quality or digital audio or video equipment. Digital is preferred.
• an external microphone when possible.
• high resolution camera for taking a still photo. Most cell phones are sufficiently high resolution.
  
  
  Please do not use:
• mini or micro audiocassettes
• microphones built into a camera or audio recorder, if possible to avoid
  
  
  Where to obtain this equipment:
• Stockton College students can “borrow” this equipment from Production Services in the Media Center in the library
• coordination of the borrowing of the equipment will be supported by the Project Manager
  
  
  Where to interview:
• interview the individual in a quiet area with soft surfaces (carpeting, upholstered furniture) for better sound quality.
• The interviewee should be in a fixed seat, not a rocking chair or recliner.
• Avoid background noises -- radios, computers, chiming clocks, hissing air vents, air conditioners, ringing telephones, televisions, or noisy pets.
• If using a microphone, set it up 10-12 inches from the interviewee.
• If you are videotaping, do not tape with your subject sitting in front of a window or bright light.
• Focus the camera on the upper body (head and shoulders) of the individual.
• Do not use the zoom feature on the video camera.
• Test your equipment first for sound levels to make sure your subject is audible.
• Interview in a public place comfortable for both you and the interviewee. This can be a library, school, community center or a place of worship. It is not recommended that you travel to people’s homes to interview them.
  
  
  Before you start:
• Do your homework. When you first make contact with the individual to set up a time and date for the interview, ask the following preliminary questions:
  • What year were you born and where?
  • Are you/were you married? Do you have children?
  • What town did you grow up in?
  • Are there any important things that I should know to not ask about?
  • Are there any important things that you want to make sure that I do ask about?
• Once you have this preliminary information, be sure to think of questions that reflect on the time that they have lived through. Some examples would be:
  • What was it like to grow up in Somers Point in the 1960’s? How has it changed
    since then?
  • What are some interesting changes that you have seen happen with children since when your children were young?
  • What is the most important technological advancement since you were born?
  • How has being a woman in South Jersey changed since you were a little girl?
• Please respect any areas that they are not comfortable talking about. It is important to understand that the interviewee’s dignity should be respected and honored at all times.
  
  
  Step Two -- The Interview
  
  
  How to Conduct an Interview
  
  
  Every interview is different. Each person will recall her own experiences, some more vividly than others. Your job is to make the interviewee feel comfortable and guide her through their story.
• Keep your own comments to a minimum and let the individual do the talking.
• Do not interrupt.
• Keep the interview moving. However, if the person wants to tell a significant story, do not push her along.
• Ask follow up questions, but don’t be afraid to move onto another question.
  
  
  Testing for Audio
  
  
  One way to test for audio and to put your interviewee at ease is to record them as you ask a simple question. One simple question that often gets people in the spirit of interviewing is to let them know you will be asking a couple of questions to test for the audio quality and to get them relaxed. Then ask them to describe what they had for breakfast that morning, and to give as many details as they would like to offer. Be sure to test and make sure the audio is working, don’t just launch into the interview.
  
  
  Important Details to Start with to document the interview:
  
  
  Begin your interview by asking these demographic questions:
  
  
• Person’s name
• her birthdate
• Where she was born
• Where she lives now
• date and place (town and state, not address) of recording
• The interviewer’s name and relationship (e.g, relative, friend, student) if any to the interviewee. Also, the name of anyone else who is present assisting in the interview or observing it.
• The interview is being conducted for the South Jersey Women’s History Project.

Note: Do not ask for personal information from the interviewee such as home address, phone number, social security number or family names.

What to Ask

Here is a series of suggested topics. This is an outline -- not a script to be followed to the letter. Let your person tell their story in her own way.

1. A Few Biographical Details

   • where and when the person worked, what career they had (including homemaker)
   • did they serve in the military
   • where else have they lived at times in their lives

2. Childhood

   • ask about their family growing up and what it was like in the region or town they lived in
   • ask about their siblings and parents, and if their parents worked, what kind of work did they do
   • ask about education and what would be important details to know about the school(s) they attended

3. Young Adulthood

   • circumstances around which they first moved out of their family home
   • significant relationships from this time (including best friends and romantic relationships)
   • what type of work did they hope to someday do when they were young
   • how was their life different than from a teenager today

4. Adulthood and Family

   • how did they define their family as they moved into adulthood
   • what were they most proud of during this time
   • did they move or change jobs or careers
   • what were some of the important things going on in their lives at the time
   • what were some of the important things going on in South Jersey at the time

5. Transitions

   • what have they seen change over time in South Jersey
   • what is an important change in society that they have witnessed
   • what are some of the major moments in life that they remember to this day (ex, Kennedy’s assassination, 9/11, Hurricane Sandy)
   • looking back on their life, what are they most proud of?

6. Being a Woman

   • how has the definition of woman, mother, wife, etc. changed during their lives
   • what changes do they feel are still to come for women
   • what are some of the challenges and opportunities they see as being a woman
   • what would they like women of the future to think about and know
     
     
     Taking a photo/video
     If you are comfortable with video equipment, you have the option to interview the person with the camera on them during the entire interview. Please make sure that the interviewee is comfortable with that as well. If possible please take at least one still photo with a digital camera or phone after the interview is completed. This will be used to support the interview with a visual.
     
     
     Ending the Interview
     
     
     There are a few important things to do when concluding the interview.
     
     
   • Thank the interviewee for their time and sharing their stories with you. This is important let them know that the project honors the contribution that they have made.
   • Make sure they sign the release on the last page of this field guide. If the release is not signed, we will not be able to use their interview.
   • Explain your role as a volunteer interviewer, and how their information will be used.

How Their Interview will be Used

Be sure to explain to the individual that their interview is part of a partnership between Stockton College, The Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame, and The Women’s Center of Atlantic County. The partnership is conducting oral histories to preserve the histories and legacies of women in South Jersey who have lived through extraordinary times. It is the goal of the project to develop a space for the interviews to be accessible to the public. This may be a website where they will be curated, or displayed as part of a public presentation, or kept in the archives of South Jersey historical depositories. It is the intention of the project to record and preserve the oral histories of South Jersey women for historical prosperity. All interviewees will receive a copy of their oral history in digital format, as well as copy of the still pictures that are taken.

Any additional questions can be answered through the project manager.

Interviewee’s Release Form

To be completed by individual being interviewed.

I, am a participant in the South Jersey Women’s History Project. I understand that the purpose of this project is to collect audio and video recorded oral histories of women in South Jersey, as well as related materials such as a still photography, for the inclusion in the permanent collections of The South Jersey Women’s History Project archives. These oral histories and related materials serve as a record of women in South Jersey’s experiences and as a scholarly and educational resource for the general public.

In understand that the Project plans to retain the product of my participation in this project, including but not limited to my interview, presentation, video, photographs, statements, name, images or likeness, voice, and written material (“My Collection”) as part of its permanent collections.

I hereby grant the Project ownership of the physical property comprising My Collection. Additionally, I hereby grant the Project, at no cost, the perpetual, nonexclusive, transferable, worldwide right to use, reproduce, transmit, display, perform, prepare derivative works from, distribute, and authorize the redistribution of materials in My Collection in any medium. By giving this permission, I understand that I retain any copyright and related rights that I hold.

I hereby release the Project and its assignees and designees, from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection the use of My Collections, including but not limited to any claims for copyright infringements, defamation, invasion of privacy, or right of publicity.

Should any part of My Collection be found to include materials that the Project deems inappropriate for retention with the collection or for transfer to other collections, the Project may dispose of such materials in accordance with its procedures for disposition of materials not needed for the Project’s collections.

Accepted and Agreed:

Signature _ Date _ _

Printed Name _ _ _

Address _ _ _

Next of Kin _ _ _ _ Name of Interviewer _ Relationship to Interviewer

Interviewer’s Release Form

To be completed by interviewers, recording operators and photographers.

I, am a participant in the South Jersey Women’s History Project. I understand that the purpose of this project is to collect audio and video recorded oral histories of women in South Jersey, as well as related materials such as a still photography, for the inclusion in the permanent collections of The South Jersey Women’s History Project archives. These oral histories and related materials serve as a record of women in South Jersey’s experiences and as a scholarly and educational resource for the general public.

In understand that the Project plans to retain the product of my participation in this project, including but not limited to my interview, presentation, video, photographs, statements, name, images or likeness, voice, and written material (“My Collection”) as part of its permanent collections.

I hereby grant the Project ownership of the physical property comprising My Collection. Additionally, I hereby grant the Project, at no cost, the perpetual, nonexclusive, transferable, worldwide right to use, reproduce, transmit, display, perform, prepare derivative works from, distribute, and authorize the redistribution of materials in My Collection in any medium. By giving this permission, I understand that I retain any copyright and related rights that I hold.

I hereby release the Project and its assignees and designees, from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection the use of My Collections, including but not limited to any claims for copyright infringements, defamation, invasion of privacy, or right of publicity.

Should any part of My Collection be found to include materials that the Project deems inappropriate for retention with the collection or for transfer to other collections, the Project may dispose of such materials in accordance with its procedures for disposition of materials not needed for the Project’s collections.

Accepted and Agreed:

Signature _ Date _ _

Printed Name _ _ _

Signature of Parent or Guardian (if interviewer is a minor) _ _ Address _ _ _

Telephone/Email _ _ _

Name of Individual _ _ Relationship to Interviewer

Organization Affiliation (if any) _ _