After the Interview
Make sure that you get the person you interviewed to sign a written release and that you comply with any restrictions that he or she requests. Always ask permission to use the results of the interview in the ways you initially told your tradition-bearer, such as to write a family history or do a school project. Don't make promises you can't keep, and respect confidences and privacy.
Label all your tapes and notes with the date, tradition-bearer's name, location of the interview, your name (as the interviewer), project title, and any brief thematic information that might be helpful.
Make notes about the interview while it is still fresh in your mind — jot down impressions, observations, important themes, contextual information, ideas for follow-up.
Prepare a tape log (topic-by-topic summary) of the contents of the recordings as soon as possible after the interview. You can use the counter on the tape recorder to note the location of each new topic. With this tape log, you will later be able to go back and select portions of the tape to listen to and transcribe (word-for-word translation of the tape-recorded interview). Complete tape transcriptions are important, but they are also very time-consuming. A good compromise is to do a combination of logging and transcribing: log the general contents of the tape and transcribe, word for word, the parts that you think you might want to quote directly.
Store the tapes in a safe place where they are protected from heat, water, and other damage.
Be sure to send a written thank you to your tradition-bearer and, if possible, include a copy of the tape(s).
See the Forms section for a sample written release.
See the Forms section for a sample tape log.
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