Prepare an oral-history question list without leading the answer
· Hillhouse archive editorial team
A question can contain an answer before an interview begins. “Why did everyone welcome the new community room?” assumes there was a new room, a shared response and a positive one. The speaker may remember something quite different. This worksheet helps a beginner notice those assumptions and prepare room for a fuller account.
This is an independently maintained learning resource. It is not a current school assignment, an interview consent form or evidence that the former school organization sponsors an oral-history project.
Put the learning question above the interview questions
Write one thing you hope to understand, without deciding its conclusion. For an illustrative project, that could be “How do people describe the ways they used a shared neighborhood space?” Avoid making “prove that the renovation was successful” the interview's hidden target.
The field-notes and community-learning guide distinguishes an observation from an interpretation. Apply that distinction to preparation: a dated photograph can document a doorway, but it does not establish how everyone felt about using it. List what your source shows, what you infer and what you still want to ask.
Rewrite the assumption, then leave space for a follow-up
The examples below are invented teaching prompts, not questions used in a real interview or claims about a particular place. Rewording does not guarantee an unbiased conversation; preparation and listening still matter.
On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to read the remaining columns.
| Draft prompt | Assumption to notice | More open starting point | Follow-up that depends on the answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why did everyone welcome the new room? | Everyone felt the same; a room was new | What spaces do you remember using in that period? | If a change is mentioned: What changed for you? |
| Was the meeting better after the move? | A move occurred; better/worse is the only frame | Where do you remember meetings taking place? | If a move is confirmed: How did your experience differ? |
| Did the long walk stop you attending? | A distance caused an absence | How did you usually get there? | If attendance changed: What influenced that? |
| What did your family think about the closure? | There was a closure; speaker knows the whole family's views | What do you remember about that period? | If a closure is raised: What did you personally experience? |
The aim is not to avoid every specific question. Once the speaker has described a change, a short factual clarification can be useful. Keep their description separate from your proposed explanation. Do not turn a follow-up into an attempt to obtain the answer you expected.
Make a small outline rather than a script to finish
Prepare three themes, with one starting question under each. Leave a blank line for terms, places or events the speaker introduces. You can return to an unclear phrase with a request for an example. If the person cannot remember or does not want to discuss something, record that limit rather than pressing for a complete story.
Boston Public Library's question-writing guidance supports open questions, detail-seeking follow-ups and checking assumptions. The Oral History Association's best practices place preparation and listening within a wider process that includes documented consent and agreed access. A good question list does not replace that process. Agree on recording and intended use before recording; use your project's appropriate training, policies and documentation rather than treating this worksheet as permission to publish.
Copy this preparation sheet
On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to read the remaining columns.
| Theme | Source and date already checked | What remains uncertain | Starting question | Assumption removed | Possible follow-up | Skip/restriction or unresolved preparation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before using it, read the starting questions aloud. Could a person reasonably disagree with the premise, remember a different event or say they do not know? If so, make room for that answer. Ask a colleague to identify assumptions in the wording, without asking them to invent testimony. This is an editing exercise, not a validation study.
After a conversation, preserve the distinction between the speaker's words, your summary and facts checked elsewhere. Uncertainty is part of the record. Do not silently change an account to match a photograph or another person's recollection. For a next step in organizing that evidence, return to the field-notes guide's approach to evidence and limits.
Sources and scope
Sources checked 13 November 2026: Boston Public Library, Crafting Questions; Oral History Association, Oral History Best Practices. The four rewrites and blank worksheet are original illustrative teaching materials. No interview, narrator, research outcome, classroom trial or school affiliation is claimed. This page does not teach specialist interviewing for traumatic experiences or provide a legal release template.