African Oral History Project
Interview Process
Interviewing chief, family, and clan leaders is the key part of your work as an in-field interviewer. This module will provide you with some guidelines to help you with the interview process.
Audio Transcript
Interviewing chief, family, and clan leaders is the key part of your work as an in-field interviewer. Much depends on your with those you interview and on how you establish a time and place for the interview. Also important is how you conduct the interview, including how your questions invite others to share their stories and then how you capture that. Some of this will take practice. This will provide you with some guidelines to help you with the interview process.
Interview all the heads of families living in the village, including their wives.
Be sure that the primary person being interviewed has signed the FamilySearch agreement.
As you navigate this course, click the forward button at the bottom right of the screen to continue.
In this section, you will learn how to:
- Establish the time and setting for the interview.
- Record the audio.
- Begin the interview.
- Use open-ended questions.
- Capture the most information.
- Close the interview.
Audio Transcript
In this section, you will learn how to:
- Establish the time and setting for the interview.
- Record the audio.
- Begin the interview.
- Use open-ended questions.
- Capture the most information.
- Close the interview.
Discover the best times for interviews based on schedules of those being interviewed. You may also need to consider other factors, such as rituals, life events, or pressing family matters.
Audio Transcript
Discover the best times for interviews based on schedules of those being interviewed. For example, if most of the villagers are farmers, the best times for interviews may be before they go into the fields in the morning or after they return in the evening. You may also need to consider other factors, such as rituals, life events, or a pressing family matter.
An interview is best conducted in a natural, comfortable environment. This often means interviewing people in their homes or surrounding areas.
Audio Transcript
An interview is best conducted in a natural, comfortable environment. This means interviewing people in their homes or surrounding areas. By interviewing people in familiar places, you may help them share stories of their ancestors. Perhaps they will look around and see something that brings back a memory or event. For example, if a person is seated near a piece of pottery, seeing that may spark a memory about the family member who made it.
You will be using audio to record your interviews. This will help you recall the names shared during the interview. Capture the best audio you can.
Audio Transcript
You will use recording equipment to record your interviews. This may help you recall the names shared during the interview, as you document the family history . In addition, FamilySearch will use the audio file to review the work that you have done. The recording may be made available to people researching their families.
Capture the best audio you can. You will be shown how to use recording equipment in another section. A good practice is to attach a microphone to the interviewee. This microphone will then be connected to a recording device. You should always test your audio equipment before starting the interview.
“Hello. My name is [interviewer’s name]. I’m interviewing [name of the person being interviewed] in [city or location] on [date]. We will be speaking in [language].”
Audio Transcript
After you have chosen the interview setting and tested the recording equipment, you will be ready to begin. Start the recording, and state the following for each interview:
“Hello. My name is [interviewer’s name]. I’m interviewing [name of the person being interviewed] in [city or location] on [date]. We will be speaking in [language].”
Begin your interview questions. Keep in mind that this is very personal work. Sometimes the people you interview will have moments of silence, happiness and sadness. Please be sensitive to their needs, and do not worry about silence or pauses during the recording.
Some possible questions to consider as you begin inquiring about the family’s lives and history are:
- Can you remember the person furthest back in your family history? How many generations back does that take you? What can you share about him or her?
- How did this village get its name? (This will help you learn about those who established the village.)
- Tell me about village life.
- How did your family come to settle in this village? (This will invite stories of the family’s migration or exodus and will provide rich data for follow-up questions.)
Audio Transcript
The interview will consist of asking a series of questions and listening to answers. Your job in the interview is to collect the family history and genealogy. These are closely connected but not the same. The history is how the family arrived where they are and why. The genealogy is the names, dates, places, relationships, and stories of individuals from past generations.
The first part of the interview covers history, such as migration, wars and local events. This provides valuable information about the language, culture, and history of the people and village. This takes an average of 15 minutes to collect.
Some possible questions to consider as you begin inquiring about the family’s lives and history are:
- Who is the first person you can remember in your family? Can you remember the person furthest back in your family history? How many generations back does that take you? What can you share about him or her?
- How did this village get its name? (This will help you learn about those who established the village.)
- Tell me about your village life. (This allows a personal connection with the person being interviewed.)
- How did your family come to settle in this village? (This will invite stories of the family’s migration or exodus and will provide rich data for follow-up questions.)
Ask open-ended questions. This means that your questions cannot be answered with a “yes,” a “no,” or some other one-word answer. Instead, the questions invite the person to think and share freely.
After asking open-ended questions, pay attention to the answers so you can help the individuals explore their memories more fully.
Audio Transcript
Ask open-ended questions. This means that your questions cannot be answered with a “yes,” a “no,” or some other one-word answer. Instead, the questions invite the person to think and share freely. For example, if you ask, “Who is your father?” you would probably receive a one-word name for an answer. But if you say, “Tell me about your father,” you would likely receive not only birth dates and death dates but also details, stories, and characteristics of the father.
After asking open-ended questions, pay attention to the answers so you can help the individuals explore their memories more fully. As you move through the interview, continue to listen, reflect, and ask meaningful, open-ended questions regarding family names, relationships, events, and stories. A full interview may require several sessions over several days, while still respecting the family’s time and schedule.
Inviting other family members to join the interviews may help you capture more information than you otherwise would and may help you fill gaps in the history.
Audio Transcript
Sometimes an interview ends before family leaders or members have shared all the names and information they know. Take the time to listen carefully, and follow up when you sense that an individual may have more to share.
Inviting other family members to join the interview may help you capture more information and help you fill in gaps in the history. FamilySearch would like you to capture as much information as you can about family stories, dates, names, relationships, and histories. You might have to revisit certain topics or stories more than once. Use questions to invite the individual to share more than he or she originally shared.
Always remember why you are there. Do not get caught in long conversations about non-relevant things. If the conversation goes off topic, bring it back on topic quickly.
Thank the interviewees for their time. Remind them that this history is being preserved for their family, including future descendants, on familysearch.org and that you will provide a written copy of their family chart.
Audio Transcript
During the interview, review the family history you have collected to confirm that your understanding matches that of the people being interviewed.
At the end of the interview, thank the person being interviewed for their time. Remind them that this history is being preserved for their family, including future descendants, on familysearch.org and that you will provide a written copy of their family record.
FamilySearch asks that you take a photo of:
- Authorization form
- Primary person being interviewed
- Extended family
- Setting or surroundings
Audio Transcript
FamilySearch asks that you take a photo of:
- The Authorization form and the person who signed it.
- The primary person being interviewed and others who join in the conversation, like extended family.
You should also take a photo to capture tyhe setting or surroundings. This could be the home, the village, or the nearby area. Anything that would be a helpful addition to the family history collection. All photos should include a GPS location tag.
People who have been involved in this work for the past 50 years have shared the following tips and best practices:
- Work with the family’s time line and schedule. Interviews often require several sessions over several days and are typically scheduled outside the family’s working hours.
- Help the people you are interviewing feel comfortable. Choose a setting that is part of their natural environment, like their home or garden.
- Prepare the people for the interview. Let them know that you want to discuss their ancestors and would be honored to hear their stories. Encourage them to invite relatives to join them, if desired. Give the people time to prepare.
- Ask meaningful, open-ended questions.
- Take time to list people’s migration or exodus stories. Many times, there are connecting points.
- Feel free to revisit parts of a person’s history, especially if you feel the person may have more to share. Doing this may inspire more stories.
- Learn what others in your organization are doing to become better at recording oral histories
- Work to interview only sober individuals.
Audio Transcript
Review the following best practices from people who have been involved in this work for the past 50 years.
You’ve completed the Interview Process module in the African Oral History Project training.
Audio Transcript
Congratulations! You’ve completed the Interview Process module in the African Oral History Project training. You may now move to the next modules to learn more about your role as you gather and preserve the family history of those you meet.
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