On Permissions

When recording oral history interviews for a particular institution, the institution should have its own forms for consent to record and permission for any subsequent dissemination. Within the consent form you create you should consider the potential final outcomes of the research as well as any potential presentations on the findings. 

Below you will find a sample bilingual consent form. Other models (in English) can be found at the Oral History NSW website. 

Your form, and the associated project Information therein should include space for:

• Name or Title of the project

• A blurb, or information sheet about the project

• Interviewee’s name and contact

• Interviewer’s name and contact

• Details of where the recording will be stored/archived and organization responsible for the interview/project

• Date/place of interview

• Conditions of use of recordings, photographs, or other material and limits as requested by the interviewee

• Dated signatures of interviewee and interviewer

There are also excellent ethical guidelines freely available from many oral history associations, including the Oral History Association, USA: https://oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/   

There are many kinds of permission forms available for use in oral history. Some, known as an "all-or-nothing" form, may include a single tick box for a narrator to give consent to all uses of the interview (for more information see here). However, this kind of form is not recommended, as it will reduce the possibility that the narrator may have further role in use of the interviews in future.