The Interview Process

There are numerous ways to facilitate an oral history interview. For the most part, this project will require you to follow a semi-structured format in which you come with a set of questions meant to evoke a non-linear conversation between you and the interviewee. You will want to try to get the interviewee to answer all of the questions, but the order in which you do it will not follow a prescribed script. The strength of the semi-structured interview is that it allows you to ask a set of questions but allows the interviewee to lead you in new directions that you might not have expected. Because of this, it is absolutely essential that you listen intently so that you can ask follow-up questions that engage with the issues raised by the interviewee.

Despite the fact that your interviews will follow a semi-structured format, you will want to begin following a standard procedure. You can follow the script below or adapt it, but you should say cover everything in the script before beginning the interview. 

[turn on recorder and backup recorder]

We are recording.

My name is [FIRSTNAME LASTNAME (Interviewer)]. I am here with [FIRSTNAME LASTNAME (Interviewee)]. The date is [DATE]. The time is [TIME]. We are in [LOCATION (if the interview is being done remotely, provide your location and the location of the interviewee)].  

[FIRSTNAME (Interviewee)], I want to briefly review the Informed Consent and Deed of Gift document that you signed. 

This interview is for The Covid 19 Oral History Project, which is associated with the Journal of the Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive. 

The COVID-19 Oral History Project is a rapid response oral history focused on archiving the lived experience of the COVID-19 epidemic. We have designed this project so that professional researchers and the broader public can create and upload their oral histories to our open access and open source database. 

This study will help us collect narratives and understandings about Covid 19 as well as help us better understand the impacts of the pandemic over time.  

The recordings, demographic information, and the verbatim transcripts will be deposited in the Journal of the Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive and the Indiana University Library system for the use of researchers and the general public.

Do you have any questions about the project that I can answer?

...

Taking part in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to take part, or you may leave the study at any time. Leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. Your decision whether or not to participate in this study will not affect your current or future relations with Indiana University, IUPUI, or the IUPUI Arts and Humanities Institute. 

Participating in this project means that 
  • Your interview(s) will be recorded in digital video and/or audio format and may be transcribed.
  • The recordings and possible transcriptions of my interview(s); copies of any supplementary documents or additional photos that you wish to share; and the Informed Consent and Deed of Gift may be deposited in the Journal of the Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive and the Indiana University Library system and will be available to both researchers and the general public.
  • Your name and other means of identification will not be confidential.
Do you have any questions?

...

In addition to your signed document, would you please offer a verbal confirmation that you understand and agree to these terms?

I am also asking that you verbally confirm that you have agreed that your interview will be made available under the following license:

 [Read the license to which the interviewee has agreed]
  1. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
  2. The Covid 19 Oral History Project, the Journal of the Plague Year: A Covid 19 Archive, and and The Trustees of Indiana University (“IU”), acting through its agents, employees, or representatives has an unlimited right to reproduce, use, exhibit, display, perform, broadcast, create derivative works from, and distribute the oral history materials in any manner or media now existing or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, throughout the world. I agree that the oral history materials may be used by the Voices from the Waterways and IU, including its assigns and transferees, for any purpose, including but not limited to, marketing, advertising, publicity, or other promotional purposes. I agree that IU will have final editorial authority over the use of the oral history materials, and I waive any right to inspect or approve of any future use of the oral history materials. Moreover, I agree that the public has the right to use the materials under the terms of fair use (U.S. copyright law Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act).
Finally, I want to ask for a verbal confirmation that you have agreed that your interviewee will be made available to the public immediately.

If you would like a PDF of the Interview Script, you can download it here:

Download Interview Script.pdf