Oral history interviews in the research of the recent past

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, pp. 75-80

Date: December 2017

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: I present several oral history interviews, which would have been difficult to understand in themselves, using only the

texts from them. Thus, I searched for additional sources by using archives and compared them with the material of the

interviews. After collating the various sources not only did the factual life events become more comprehensible, but it

also became clear on the ways how the interviewees talked about themselves.

I called the attention of sociologists researching oral history to the fact that to understand the past, in some cases, the

collection of life stories may be insufficient. Beside the interviews, it is also important to collect materials from other

sources as well, such as the documents stored in archives. In doing so, we will be able to compare data and stories

contained in the life history interviews with the archival sources (interrogation records, informant reports, prison

informants’ reports), and by checking facts and constructions, we can enhance our understanding of the reality.

Keywords: life history; oral history interview; personal documents; social facts and social constructions; separating

fiction and data; collating the various sources.