Oral History Project
Ethnic Studies
Prof. James
Sobredo
Oral History
Interview Questions: a Guide
This is a "guide"
to your oral history interview. Feel free to add or subtract more questions
when you believe it necessary. Make sure you take advantage of asking "follow-up"
and "open-ended" questions when the answer the interviewee gives
is interesting and you believe it needs to be examined further.
Intro: Thank you for agreeing to participate in
this Oral History project. I want to remind you that this may be published
as part of the Oral History Archives Project for Dr. James Sobredo in my Ethnic
Studies class at California State University, Sacramento, and I need your
permission to publish this transcript in part or in its entirety.
Part I: Basic
Biographical Data
Please state your
full name and please spell your full name
Where were you
born?
When were you
born?
What is your current
occupation?
What is your
educational background?
Please tell me the
full names of your parents.
What did they do for
a living?
What was their
educational background?
How many brothers
and sisters do you have?
Where are they
living and what do they do?
What was it like
growing up?
If he or she is an
immigrant, ask the interviewee to describe life in their country of
origin.
If they were born in
the US, ask what their neighborhood was like. How did they get along with other
non-Asians?
Part II:
Migration and Settlement
Why did they come to
America?
How did they come to
America? (That is, who sponsored them for immigration?)
Who made the
decision to immigrate?
How was the decision
made?
How long did the
decision take? (Note: political refugees must make the decision to immigrate in
a much shorter time, often in a few minutes, hours, or a
day.)
By what means did
they immigrate to America? (Via airplane or across Canada or
Mexico?)
Who provided the
money for the transportation?
Did they travel
together as a family or separately?
How was the health
of everyone? Was anyone pregnant during the journey?
Where did they
arrive in America?
Who greeted them
when they arrived? Was it a relative or a friend or an agency
representative?
Where did they go
and live once they arrived?
What were their
financial resources like when they arrived?
Did they immediately
find housing to rent or buy?
What was their
neighborhood like?
How did they get
along with their neighbors and the community?
How long did they
stay in their first home?
Did they find a job
immediately? Was there a job waiting for them?
Who helped them find
a job?
Did they like their
job? What were their working conditions like?
What happened to the
rest of their families?
Do they live close
to other family members?
Part III:
Race/Ethnic relations, Identity, and the Future
Of what ethnicity
are their friends?
How did they get
along with white people?
Did they experience
any racial discrimination? (If yes, please describe.)
How did they get
along with other ethnic groups, e.g., African Americans, Mexican
Americans?
How did they get
along with other Asian Americans?
What kinds of social
or professional organizations do they belong?
What kinds of
traditions and practices did they keep?
Why do they continue
to practice these traditions and customs?
Which did they
decide to change or stop practicing?
What do they see as their "identity"?
For example, do they
see themselves as Asian Americans, as Vietnamese Americans, as simply Vietnamese
or as Americans?
How would they feel
if their children married outside their ethnic group?
What kinds of
traditions did they pass on or would like to pass on to their
children?
Which traditions do
their children practice?
What do they see as
their "place" in America?
What are their
feelings about America?
How did these
feelings change from when they arrived in America?
How did these
feelings change from when they first arrived in the
US?
What was the most
important and meaningful event or experience in their
life?
What was the
happiest moment in their life?
What are their
dreams and visions for their future?
Is there anything
they would like to add to the interview?
Thank you for
participating in this oral history project.