| SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series: Geneology
My Family Tree is Important to Me
( 50 articles in this series )
Geneology
Research Interview Techniques
One of the most difficult parts about genealogy
research can be interviewing family members to get their oral
histories of the family. Not only is it immensely difficult
for you, it can also be very hard on your subjects as well.
Instead of simply quitting the interview process, which is
what most amateur genealogists do, simply try these tips to
increase your interview effectiveness.
First, consider
the kinds of questions you are asking in your
interviews. Most people consider the standard journalism questions
the appropriate question types to ask. Questions like “who,
what, when, where, how, and why” are the kinds of questions
most people throw at their interviewees. People hate to answer
questions like “Where were you born?” People love to answer
questions like “What was your wedding like?” Those description
questions will help your interview subjects to open up about
their lives and tell you everything you need to know. None
of them require a simple yes or no answer. All of these kinds
of questions will require a thoughtful response that will be
a wealth of information for your research. Moreover, it will
give you a much richer view of your family research.
When you get ready to arrange an interview, ask
yourself what the purpose of your interview is. What kind of information
are you attempting to discover? What kinds of things do you
need to know before the interview closes? More importantly,
you must decide if you are doing simply a facts based interview,
or something a little more important. If you are just trying
to complete a family tree or a family map, you may only want
the facts. If, though, you are trying to compile a family history,
a more in-depth interview may be required.
Prepare
your questions in advance. This can help you be a
guide instead of an interrogator in the interview process.
Having a prepared list can help you know both what information
your subject is offering is valid and important to your research.
If your subject veers off track, you can gently steer them
back to where you need them without getting caught in the moment
of their story. However, you might be prepared to leave your
list if your subject is offering you information on another
topic you hadn’t considered.
Once you sit down with your interviewee, it
is important to put them at ease. The more nervous the two of you are with
the process as a whole, the less valuable information you are
likely to get. Start by letting them know that these are their
memories, and you do not or never will own them. Remind them
that they will have the right to look at any information you
compile, and that they will have the right to make changes
to their part of the information as they deem necessary. You
should also help ease their minds by telling your interviewee
that they have the right to not answer questions as they see
fit. If a question you ask is simply too personal, let them
know that they can choose not to answer that question. Not
everyone will want every piece of information about their lives
to be known, and it can help someone who is being interviewed
if they know they have a choice about the questions you are
asking.
Any good interview should have a strict
time limit. One to
two hours is best for most people. If you are interviewing
an older individual, you may want to further limit your time.
The time limits may also have to be adjusted for those with
medical problems. Talking for an extensive amount of time about
personal background and history can be a bit taxing to the
brain, and it is important to give your subjects time to think
and recuperate before you start again.
Be sure to be a good interviewer in all respects. Once you
ask a question, listen to the whole answer without interruption.
Remember that older subjects tend to pause more than younger
subjects and interrupting an individual during that pause can
force them to lose their train of thought, which may have been
important information for you.
Oral histories are essential for genealogy research, and asking
the right kinds of questions and displaying the right kinds
of interview behavior can be helpful to that process. # # # # #
by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
> Home > Geneology
Articles : Main Page
|
