Blog 16

I found that the oral history interview went well.  It was a good practice because I am planning on doing interviews for my research project.  Kristina and I interviewed each other about Halloween.  It seemed that there were no one word answers throughout the interviews because it seemed that both of us enjoyed the interview about Halloween and we each had our own stories to tell to answer the questions we had for each other.  I believe it helps that both the interviewee and interviewer are interested in the topic that the interview is being done of because it will get more answers from the interviewee which can help the interviewer get lots of information for their research.

Throughout the interview, I realized that it would be better to have a few pre-planned questions to ask.  If there is ever a pause where no one knows how to continue, having pre-planned questions help throughout the interview by giving the interviewer a chance to ask a question that can start up another conversation and by that one pre-planned question can turn into other questions depending on the interviewee's answers.

This interview also helped me learn my recording device that I would be using for when I record interviews. At first, I wasn't sure if the sound on the recorder would be clear enough for me to be able to transcribe later on but with this practice, I was able to see if I needed the volume higher or lower.  Kristina and I both had to make sure that we each knew how to save our recordings if we need them for a later time, so that we can get the information that we would need.  In the end, it seemed that both of our recorders (after finding hers) worked and I will be ready to record the interviews that I will be taking.

Not only did seeing if my recorder worked did this practice help me but also to see if I need quietness during the interview or not.  During this interview with Kristina, I realized that we both lost focus when asking questions if there was a noise or if the door kept opening and closing.  This helps me realize that I need to, when I have my interview, be in a quiet area where there will be less noise so that there are less distractions.