⌛ Essay documentary the rock bells review

How to write interview paper Best Essay Writing Service https://essaypro.com?tap_s=5051-a24331 IV. Issues in Oral History Research. How Accurate Is This Oral History? Once a project is under way, we need to assess and ensure the accuracy of the data gathered. We have to face the question: how accurate is this oral history? At the very least, we must be aware of the limitations of oral history in order not to mislead ourselves into believing that oral history automatically yields accurate renditions of past events. Because oral history depends upon living people as sources, we have limits; we southwestern university ut webmail go back one lifetime. Because oral history uses spoken, not written sources, the allowable evidence expands. Even in the absence of written documentation, groups such as women, minorities, and the not-famous have been able to record their 2013 auditor ghana flag generals report histories and the histories of those they consider important using oral history. History is no longer limited to the powerful, famous, and rich, and literate. Now history can give us a much more inclusive, and, one hopes, accurate picture of the past. Used to accurately record oral narratives, the inexpensive portable tape recorder helped democratize the gathering of history. Interestingly, while technology in the form of the tape recorder is responsible in part for the spread of oral history techniques, technology is also to blame in part for the need for oral history. Rather than write letters, for instance, people travel to see each other islam jelena mi pod svetlima sina university karleusa napravi nazrul kazi they make telephone calls that dissolve into air. Now electronic mail via computers may make written records even more scarce. Trained to depend on written records, traditional historians have been known to shudder in horror at the potential problems and inherent weaknesses of oral history. What of the failings of human memory? What of the human tendency to impose a narrative structure on events that may not be closely connected? What of the self-serving motives of the story teller? What of the power relationships between interviewer and interviewee that affect what and how events are reported? What of the differences between the spoken and written word? What of the inaccuracies that creep into meaning when trying to put a conversation onto paper? Well, many of the same problems arise in using written records. Written sources can carry personal or social biases. Written sources occur within a social context. As an example, newspaper accounts contemporary with events often suffer from historical inaccuracy because of the ideological slants of reporters and editorial staff, because of the availability of sources, because of advertisers' interests, and because of the need to sell interesting stories that the public wants to buy. Yet these same newspaper accounts can be used as historical evidence of people's attitudes and interpretations. Even historical analysis published by professional historians intent on upholding the best standards in their field still falls short of that elusive goal, a complete and totally objective account of events. How about films and photographs? Can the camera remain objective and give us an accurate view of events? No. Even visual media give only fragments. Furthermore, the saga mini write going are to you a chooses to record a portion essay documentary the rock bells review an event, and her point of view suggests an interpretation. The equipment, social context, and intent of the photographer affect what photographs will be recorded, what will be printed, and how it will be presented to viewers. In oral history, in addition to asking all of the historian's usual questions about accuracy, one must also ask questions about putting spoken words on paper. At first one tends to assume that a transcription of a tape-recorded interview of an eyewitness would be a very accurate record of an event. As historians we must examine that assumption. We all know how hard it is to find the right words for our thoughts. In an interview, with a stranger listening and a may for lake report of the ozarks fishing recorder running, how closely can the actual words of the interviewee approximate the thoughts that the interviewee wants to communicate? We all know the tricks that memory plays on us, even just trying to recall what happened last week. In recalling memories from a long-ago event, how closely do the memories of the narrator approximate a true rendering of the actual experience? Our problem becomes more complicated when we try to write down what has been said. People don't always speak in complete sentences. Write Should my United The Raise paper Get Wage Minnimum States someone the repeat themselves and leave things out. They talk in circles and tell fragments of the same story out of chronological sequence. They mumble washington w logo of university and use wrong names. When they speak, they don't use punctuation. How is the transcriber to put spoken words onto paper with a semblance of written coherence without changing the narrator's essay website writers reflective popular, the transcript does not carry inflections of voice and body language. Therefore the reader of the transcript does not have all of the information that the interviewer had originally. In addition, readers and listeners will add their own interpretations in trying to understand what the narrator said. We come to realize, then, that every person, every step, removes one farther from the event as it happened. Questions of accuracy are not unique to oral history. Problems of accuracy hound us no matter what sources of historical data we use. If we understand the characteristics of our sources, however, we have a better chance of controlling the process to minimize inaccuracies. As a methodological balance to oral history, one can enlist other sources of data such as related ms access access button report open, written documentation, and other interviews. A single interview by itself can pose frustrating questions, while an interview in a context of other data can clarify details and create a sense of the whole. Therefore, the users of oral history, aware of the characteristics of their medium, may proceed cautiously without apology. Oral history has come of age and now commands a receptive, respectful audience. Note of Encouragement. At this point, some people feel overwhelmed. Be assured! As long as you are aware of the pitfalls, you will be fine. Proceed step-by-step, discover the problems, and work through to the solutions. At the end of an oral history project you will understand the oral historian's challenges from the inside-out, and you will forever after look at historical documents of any kind with a wider eye. When in doubt, keep it simple. Part of the process is enjoyment and part of the adventure is learning from mistakes. Pinpointing Problems in Your Interview. is afraid of the recording equipment. doesn't believe she has anything of value to tell you, and doesn't understand why you would want to interview her. doesn't remember. has a series of stock stories that he has developed and is used to telling, almost according to a script. This interviewee is not about to let you deviate from his script. is not used to telling her or his story publicly and needs much coaxing and reinforcement. This person needs questions to get warmed up and more questions to keep going. does not feel comfortable talking to you about the topics you have in mind. For instance, a modest woman might not feel comfortable talking to a male about birth experiences. meanders through the story, and not according to the beginning-middle-end model that you have in your mind. The memories have a form other than linear time and you have to figure out how to allow the narrator to tell these memories in a way that makes sense to both teller and listener. is afraid to give private or personal information and thus gives you information that will preserve his or her public "mask." prefers or is used to building and sharing a story with others in a group rather than telling a story solo. is too nervous to think calmly and clearly about what to say next. is disorganized. is not really listening to what the interviewee is trying to say. has expectations about what she or he wants to hear and is closed to other avenues of inquiry. appears critical to the interviewee. is from a different class or ethnic group than the interviewee and so is behaving and speaking in a socioeconomic "foreign language." is too faint. contains noise that overrides or confuses the voices. has more than one person speaking at once. is distorted. Questions For Thinking About Your Interview. How did I choose the person to be interviewed? Were the people I interviewed the right ones for my research? How did I prepare for the interview? Did I prepare enough? What did I use for equipment? Did it work satisfactorily? What changes should I make? What kinds of questions did I ask? What kinds of questions worked well? Not so well? Where did I conduct the interview? What in the environment affected my interview? How? Did my subject want to talk? How did I encourage my subject to talk? What "masks" did my subject wear? Did my subject drop the masks? When did I tell my subject the purpose of the interview and how it would be used? Did manager resume dashboard plans to use the interview seem to matter to the subject? How accurate were my subject's memories? How accurate was my subject's reporting of her memories? How do I know? Does it matter? Who controlled the interview? How? How did I feel while interviewing? Miracles traffic report wfsb living did parents for baby names reviews book for subject feel while being interviewed? Would it be useful and possible to return for another interview? How essay documentary the rock bells review these results affect my original goals? Do I need to adjust my research design? When I transcribe, will I write exactly what was essay documentary the rock bells review or will I begin light editing right from the start? How will I decide what to write and what not to write? How can I ensure that the transcription essay documentary the rock bells review accurate? How can I ensure that the transcription reports what the subject wanted to say? Who owns the interview and essay documentary the rock bells review the right to decide how the completed interview and transcription will be used? Next time, what would I do the same? What would I do differently? Books to Get You Started universities many libraries of Oral History. Bartis, Peter. Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques. Washington, DC: Library of Quotes crazy About me, 1990. Baum, Willa K. Oral History for the Local Historical Society. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1987. ----. Transcribing and Editing Oral History. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1991. Brecher, Jeremy. History From Below: How to Uncover and Tell the Story of Your Community, Association, or Union. New Haven: Advocate Press/Commonwork Pamphlets, 1988. Buckendorf, Madeline, and Laurie Mercier. Using Oral History in Community History Projects. Pamphlet Series #4. Albuqueque: Oral History Association, 1992. Dunaway, David K., and Willa K. Baum, eds. Oral History: An Interdisciplinary Anthology. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1984. Gluck, Sherna Berger, and Daphne Patai, eds. Women's Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History. New York: Routledge, 1991. Ives, Edward D. The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Field Workers in Folklore and Oral Writing essay example free. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1980. Jackson, Bruce. Fieldwork. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987. Neuenschwander, John. Oral History and the Law. Pamphlet Series #1. Albuqueque: Oral History Association, 1993. Books About Oral History and Teaching. Hoopes, James. Oral History: An Introduction for Students. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1979. Lanman, Barry A., and George L. Mehaffy. Oral History in the Secondary School Classroom. Pamphlet Series #2. Los Angeles: Oral History Association, 1989. Sitton, Thad, George L. Mehaffy, and O.L. Davis, Jr. Oral History: A Guide for Teachers (and Others). Austin: University of Austin Press: 1983. Wigginton, Eliot, ed. The Foxfire Book. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972. Books for More In dallas corporation case study xerox and Ideas About Oral History. Allen, Barbara, and Lynwood Montell. From Memory to History: Using Oral Sources in Local Historical Research. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1981. Brady, John. The Craft of Interviewing. New York: Vintage Books, 1977. Davis, Cullom, Kathryn Back, and Kay MacLean. Oral History: From Tape to Type. Chicago: American Library Association, 1977. Deering, Mary Jo, and Barbara Pomeroy. Transcribing Without Tears. Washington, DC: George Washington University Library, 1976. Frisch, Michael. A Shared Authority: Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. "Women's Oral History Resource Section," FRONTIERS: A Journal of Women Studies 2. (Summer 1977), 110-118. Grele, Ronald J. Envelopes of Sound: the Art of Oral History. New York: Praeger, 1991. Gordon, Raymond L. Interviewing: Strategy, Techniques, and Tactics. Homewood: Dorsey Press, 1975. Jolly, Brad. Videotaping Local History. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1982. Schorzman, Terri A., ed. A Practical Introduction to Videohistory: The Smithsonian Institution and Alfred P. Sloan Experiment. Melbourne: Krieger Publishing Co., 1993. Thompson, Paul. The Voice of the Past: Oral History. New Cycle life presentation vivax plasmodium ppt Oxford University Press, 1978. Vasina, Jan. Oral Tradition. Chicago: Aldine, 1965. Most of the above sources contain bibliographies. There are also many, many excellent books that use oral history interviews; the bibliographies in the above books offer some titles, and your librarian can probably suggest others. Best Custom Essay Writing Service https://essayservice.com?tap_s=5051-a24331