Oral History for the Qualitative Researcher

Choreographing the Story

Valerie J. Janesick

• Publisher: The Guilford Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781593850739
• eBook ISBN:
  9781606235577
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Research in Education

Oral history is a particularly useful way to capture ordinary people's lived experiences. This innovative book introduces the full array of oral history research methods and invites students and qualitative researchers to try them out in their own work. Using choreography as an organizing metaphor, the author presents creative strategies for collecting, representing, analyzing, and interpreting oral history data. Instructive exercises and activities help readers develop specific skills, such as nonparticipant observation, interviewing, and writing, with a special section on creating found data poems from interview transcripts. Also covered are uses of journals, court transcripts, and other documents; Internet resources, such as social networking sites; and photography and video. Emphasizing a social justice perspective, the book includes excerpts of oral histories from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, among other detailed case examples.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• PART I - Order: Reinventing Oral History for the Qualitative Researcher
• PART II - Design and Tension: The Tools of the Oral Historian: The Choreography of Techniques and Issues
• PART III - Balance and Composition: Becoming an Oral Historian
• Part IV - Harmony: The Art of Making Sense of Oral History Projects with a Choreography of Social Justice
• Appendix A - Selected Electronic Resources: Websites and Listservs for the Oral Historian
• Appendix B - Selected Oral History Centers, Archives, and Collections
• Appendix C - Selected Journals That Publish Oral Histories and Related Issues
• Appendix D - Sample Consent Form for Project Undergoing IRB Review
• Appendix E - Basic Contract (Sample)
• Appendix F - Federal Statement on Oral History
• Appendix G - Statement on IRBs from the American Historical Association (Edited)
• Appendix H - List of Choreographers Used for Surnames of Participants
• Appendix I - Practicing the Techniques of Oral History: Strategies and Activities to Sharpen Your Writing Skills
• Appendix J - Excerpt from an Oral History of a 9/11 Firefighter
• Appendix K - Excerpt from an Oral History of Hurricane Katrina Survivors
• Appendix L - Example of a Nonparticipant Observation Assignment to Develop Observation Skills
• Appendix M - A Sample Rubric Assessing Writing
• Appendix N - Interview Project Assignment
• Appendix O - Example of a Qualitative Research Methods Syllabus
• Appendix P - An Excerpt of a Transcript (Edited) from an Interview with Jane A. de Mille
• Appendix Q - Digital Equipment for the Oral Historian
• References
• Index
• About The Author
• About Guilford Publications
• From the Publisher