07.02.2013

1. Learning on the job Methodology of Process-generatedOralHistory 07.02.2013 StefScagliola, Erasmus Studio erasmus studio

2. Potential of digital archives Address different audienceswith different goals Offer valuable sourcesto variousacademicdisciplines Offer a basis for preliminary research: a stepping stone for specific research projects

3. Processvs Research A markeddifferencein the approach of how oral sources are created between archivists and researchers

4. Process Research Interviews on the basis of a broad topic-list Often only oneinterview Questions with the futurelistenerinmind Identityof speaker known Data preserved in archive or library Data searchable and (limited) accessible Interviews arranged around a research question Possibility for followup Exclusiverelationship Identity sometimesunknown Data is storedby researcher Data oftenperishes due to non durable carrier

5. Among researchers there is a lack of tradition of using oral history collections

6. Oral sources have a multilayered content:experiences, language, meaning, facts,…

7. There is no connection between oral history and the social sciences approach ofcollecting qualitative data, no tradition of depositing data for re-use

8. Drawinglessons from Dutch Veterans Interview Project young and old Dutch veteransaudio / Dutch Oorlogsliefdekind / War Love Child children fathered by Dutch military during the decolonisation war with Indonesia (1945-1949)video / Dutch, English, Indonesian Balkan Voicesvictims of war and detention in the Balkan region,video / local languages, English

9. Wat Veteranen Vertellen (What Veterans Tell) Example of re-use of qualitative data Research fields: Discourse Analysis, Psychology, Theology, History, Anthropology, 25transcribedinterviews are the basis for a series of publications each from a different discipline

10. Multidisciplinary workshop Balkan Voices Assessment of the potential of video oral history Research fields:History, Social Psychology, Narrative Psychology, Automatic Human Behavior Analysis, Law, Sociology, Translation Studies, Discourse Analysis, Human Rights Studies Step 1: onlineaccess to a subset of 50 interviews Step 2: analysis of interviews, each from a specific perspective, presented during workshop Step 3: multidisciplinary publication on methodology

11. A stepping stone for research focused interviews Starting offresearchbysearchingformeaningfulreferencesin archives Providessoundbasisfordesigningownresearch

12. democratisation of (oral) history • The historical market has thus partly evolved into a wide range of digital encounters with historical topics, with less visible traditional hierarchies of authority and fewer boundaries between academic disciplines. Although this is the ideal breeding ground for creating oral histories and the advantages of this increase in interest for historiography are evident, the magnitude and diversity of personal narratives that can be found online calls for some guidance from academics and for the development and dissemination of digital source criticism.

13. A critical appraisal, differentiation and characterization of digitized, or digital born oral sources is necessary to improve the methodology of oral history in the digital age. Only through the critical lens of academic reflection will it be possible to envision an adequate application of innovative technology.

14. The challenge is to optimize the subsequent phases in the process of creating and studying digital oral sources: • 1. conducting and recording interviews • 2. attributing metadata and storing • 3. retrievingthe metadata and content • 4. analyzingthe multilayered content of the narratives • 5. presentingthe result of the research, • 6. curatingthe data for long term preservation and re-use.

15. Oralhistory in Nederland • - Portal met links naar collecties • - Ontwikkeling van zoek-omgeving door alle • collecties heen op fragmentniveau • - Beleid van deponeren interviews • - Keurmerk voor collecties • Centrum voor expertise in methodologie, theorie, techniek en archivering

16. Contacts Dr. StefScagliola Erasmus Studio for e-research at Erasmus University Rotterdam scagliola@eshcc.eur.nl

17. Photo Credits Link