Starting Up

Are you interested in the idea of starting off your own oral history project?

If you are, AROHA can help.

We conduct half-day or full-day training workshops at irregular intervals in different parts of Aberdeen and the North East, so if you or your group would like us come and show you some of the essentials of oral history work, we would be delighted to come. For detailed information, contact us.

There is no fee for training beyond the cost of expenses such as travel, and, if necessary, accommodation.

We are currently available to carry out training workshops in autumn 2005.

What does a training workshop include?

Three standards guide our approach to oral history recording and archiving: technical (we aim for the highest standard possible in each recording situation); interview (we aim to record interviews that will be useful and usable for future researchers); ethical (we aim to ensure that the rights and sensitivities of interviewees are fully protected).

The workshops begin with technical instruction on how to get a good recording. This is an essential element of training because the material collected by oral historians, if properly archived, will be sought after by researchers well into the future. It is important that the recordings we make will be clear for them to hear.

Then follows instruction on the art of interviewing. There is more to it than just asking questions. The effective interview is one in which the interviewee has been enabled to say what they want to say and in which the interviewer has gathered the information they were seeking. This section deals with the types of questions to ask, the background preparation that can help make the interview more effective, and some of the problems that can arise when things don’t go as you expected them to.

We also discuss some of the ethical aspects of oral history interviewing including, importantly, the rights of the interviewee.

During the workshop, two main practical exercises are carried out. The first is technical – getting a good recording. The second focuses on interview technique.

We also discuss the archiving of oral history material.

Time is also set aside for you to discuss your particular project – or ideas for a project – so that any issues that you may have encountered can be shared by others, who may well have had similar issues.

An AROHA Certificate is presented to participants having completed the workshop.