Interviews

Download the Interview Guidelines (doc, 145 KB)

Download the Transcription Style Guide (doc, 138 KB)

As part of the Theatre Archive Project, Dr Alec Patton has been running 'Teaching the Talk’ since October 2008. 'Teaching the Talk’ is a project dedicated to getting undergraduate students involved in Oral History research. More than 30 students are conducting interviews as part of the project, and some are going on to write articles, conduct research seminars, and give conference presentations.

One-on-one interviewing is a uniquely rewarding inquiry method: students sift through the idiosyncratic data of conversation in order to use it as evidence. Student interviewers learn things that no other researcher has ever documented, so that their learning experience becomes a process of knowledge-creation rather than knowledge-consumption. There is no guarantee that the student will obtain the desired information, but the event will transform their understanding of research.

'Teaching the Talk' is developing a range of resources for students and staff who are interested in setting up Oral History projects. The first of these are Interview and Transcription Guidelines for students, which can be downloaded from this site (see opposite).

To learn more, email Alec Patton at a.patton@shef.ac.uk