It is good to ask good questions – posing questions in oral history interview as a theoretical problem

Abstract

The author discusses an issue of forming questions in oral history. There are two types of them – research questions and interview questions. Instead of analyzing how to ask questions, the interviewer should rather focus on why to ask them. The article proves that asking questions in oral history is less about formal elements such as what language should be used or what matters should be raised, but more about such elements as emotions or the overall atmosphere of an interview. The author gives some clues on how to prepare proper questions, what difficulties may appear and what to avoid in order to carry out a good interview.

Keywords

• oral history
• oral history methodology
• historical source
• interview
• oral history theory
• questions in oral history