Introduction to Oral History Manual

The Institute for Oral History's updated oral history manual

For the entire introductory workshop manual, click the link below. You may print the manual for educational purposes.

Introduction to Oral History (full PDF)

To view specific topics related to oral history, click on the page titles below.

• Discovering oral history: What is it?
• Understanding oral history: Why do it?
• Planning a project: Where to begin?
• Establishing ethical relationships
• Preparing legal documents
• Choosing digital recorders
• Using Digital Media
• Focusing & researching a topic
• Selecting narrators
• Creating an interview outline
• Composing questions
• Making contact & setting up
• Getting the story
• Protecting & preserving recordings
• Time coding & indexing oral histories
• Transcribing oral histories
• Critiquing & citing oral histories
• Reaching the public with oral history outcomes
• Learning more: Resources