Field-based Oral History — Collecting Memory in Context

Field-based oral history is a qualitative research design in which in-depth narrative interviews are conducted on-site — at the community, location, or setting that is historically or experientially significant to participants. By situating interviews in the actual field rather than a laboratory or office, the approach activates contextual memory, enriches description, and grounds personal testimony in the material landscape it references. It is widely used in history, anthropology, sociology, and heritage studies.