Historian's Toolkit

How to Start Your Own Oral History Project

Oral history is more than recording someone’s story — it’s the preservation of lived experience, memory, and perspective. Whether you’re a local historian, an educator, or a curious student, launching your own oral history project can be an enriching way to contribute to the historical record. This guide walks you through the key phases of an oral history project, from planning to preservation, with insights drawn from best practices and real-world examples.

Why Oral History Matters

Unlike traditional archives, oral history captures voices often missing from written records — immigrants, factory workers, nurses, refugees, and many more. Oral histories democratize history, transforming the interviewee from a subject into a participant. When done thoughtfully, such projects foster empathy, preserve cultural heritage, and enrich academic research.

Step 1: Define Your Purpose and Scope/h2>

Clarify the Project Goal

Start by answering a fundamental question: Why are you doing this project? Some common objectives include:

• Documenting local community histories
• Capturing generational knowledge before it disappears
• Preserving marginalized voices for public education
• Collecting testimonies for a specific historical event (e.g., pandemic, migration, war)

Your purpose will shape every step that follows, including whom you interview, how you structure your questions, and where the recordings will be stored.

Set Clear Boundaries

Establish the scope early:

• Timeframe: Will this be a short-term project or ongoing?
• Geography: Local neighborhood, entire country, or specific region?
• Topic focus: Cultural traditions, education, war memories, migration stories?

Example:

The “Memories of Manchester-by-the-Sea” project focused on residents who lived in the town during the 1940s–60s. Keeping the scope local and chronological helped produce a coherent archive.

Step 2: Develop a Project Plan

Draft a Proposal

Even for informal projects, writing a short proposal clarifies your approach and is essential if you plan to apply for funding or institutional support. Include:

• Project goal and significance
• Target group and estimated number of interviews
• Equipment and tools you’ll use
• Timeline and output (e.g., website, exhibit, podcast)
• Ethical considerations and consent procedures

Assemble a Team

If your project involves multiple participants, define roles early:

• Interviewers
• Transcribers
• Editors
• Archivists
• Web developers (for digital projects)

Step 3: Prepare Your Interview Materials

Equipment Checklist

You don’t need a professional studio, but quality matters. For intermediate projects:

• Recorder: Zoom H4n Pro or Tascam DR-40X
• Microphone: Lavalier mics or shotgun mics depending on setting
• Headphones: To monitor audio quality during the session
• Backup storage: External drives or cloud sync (Dropbox, Google Drive)

Consent and Ethics

Always get informed consent. Explain:

• How the interview will be used
• Whether it will be public or private
• Their right to withdraw at any time

Use a written consent form. For public-facing projects, consider offering pseudonyms if the topic is sensitive.

Step 4: Design Interview Questions

Structure the Interview

Use a life history approach or topic-specific approach, depending on your goals. Aim for open-ended questions:

• “Tell me about your earliest memories of working at the textile mill.”
• “What do you remember about the day the town desegregated its schools?”
• Avoid yes/no questions and always follow up with: “Can you tell me more?”

Tip: Use prompts to encourage memory: photos, music, maps, or objects.

Pilot Interviews

Before the official interviews, do a trial run with a friend or colleague. This helps refine your questions and test your recording setup.

Step 5: Conduct Interviews

Create a Comfortable Setting

• Choose a quiet, familiar place for the interviewee
• Offer water or tea, and allow time for warm-up conversation
• Place the microphone subtly but optimally

Record Best Practices

Begin with clear identification: “Interview with John Smith, recorded on May 3, 2025, in Boston, MA.”

• Note body language and emotional cues
• Don’t interrupt. Silence is often when the best stories emerge.

Step 6: Process and Archive Interviews

Transcription and Indexing

Transcribing takes time — usually 4–6 hours per hour of audio. Use tools like:

• Otter.ai (quick but needs editing)
• Trint (advanced search & tagging)
• Express Scribe (for manual transcription)

Consider creating time-stamped indexes if you can’t transcribe in full.

Metadata and File Organization

Use consistent naming conventions:

• [LastName]_[FirstName]Interview[Date].wav
• Include metadata: date, place, interviewer, keywords, themes

Step 7: Share Your Work

Publishing Options

• Digital archive: Build a searchable site using Omeka or WordPress
• Podcast: Use edited clips to tell thematic stories
• Exhibits: Partner with local libraries, museums, or schools
• Print anthology: Create a book of selected transcripts

Legal and Ethical Reuse

Make sure your consent form covers future uses (publications, classroom use, exhibitions). Be transparent about how recordings will be preserved and accessed.

Tools & Resources Summary

Purpose	Tool/Platform	Notes
Recording	Zoom H4n Pro	High-quality field recorder
Transcription	Otter.ai, Trint	Automated, needs proofreading
File Storage	Dropbox, Google Drive	Use encrypted backups if sensitive
Website/Archive	Omeka, WordPress	Digital public access
Consent Forms	Oral History Association	Templates and ethics guidelines

Real-World Inspiration: “Voices of the Pandemic”

During COVID-19, the “Voices of the Pandemic” project collected stories from frontline workers and families across the U.S. The team published selected interviews in both audio and written form, organized by theme (e.g., grief, hope, resilience), using a clean Omeka-powered site. It demonstrated how oral history can respond to the present with urgency and sensitivity.

Final Thoughts

Starting an oral history project is an ambitious but deeply rewarding endeavor. You’ll not only collect stories — you’ll preserve legacies, fill historical gaps, and connect past to present in a deeply personal way. With careful planning, ethical practices, and the right tools, your project can become a valuable resource for generations to come.