unlocking family history

Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

Rev. F20 Page 1

UNLOCKING FAMILY HISTORY
This Assignment is Due: _____________________________________________________________________

PREPARATION

1) Read the attached handout titled Unlocking Family History Via Interviews.
2) Make arrangements to conduct an interview with one or more of your family members, or
members of another family. Your participant should be an adult, and should be middle age or
older so that they may have a wealth of experiences to share with you.
3) Refer to the attached handout for guidelines on recording oral family history.
4) Be sure to think of at least 2-3 interview questions for each of the seven categories indicated
in #3 of the oral family history guidelines (e.g., childhood, adolescence, family history, etc.). You
should have at least 14-21 interview questions.
5) Begin the interview by telling the participant that you will ask some questions, but s/he
should feel free to expand on the topic or talk about related ideas. Set a definite schedule for
the interview (such as 5 minutes per question) and stay on that schedule. Either audiotape,
videotape, or take thorough notes of the interview.
If your participant’s answers are too brief or uninformative, follow up with questions like, “Why
did you choose, or say X?” or “Why do you think X happened?” If something the participant
says seems important, follow-up with additional probing questions, like “Tell me more about
X.”
Remember, you are interested in your participant’s life and ideas. Do not involve yourself in a
conversation, offer advice, or talk about your own experiences during the interview, except as a
way of encouraging the interviewee to talk and share with you.

Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

Rev. F20 Page 2

FORMAT

1) Due Date. Your case study is due on the date and time indicated on our class syllabus. Late
papers will be accepted but will receive a point deduction per the late paper policy outlined in
our class syllabus. If your paper is more than one week late you will receive no credit.
2) Length. Your paper should be 4-5 full pages. I will deduct points for papers that do not meet
the minimum page requirement. Please do not get creative with the format of your paper in
order to meet the page requirement (e.g. play with the size of your margins, increase the size of
your font, alter the line spacing, etc.). If it appears that you have done this, I will deduct points.
I will not deduct points if your paper is over the page limit, but please refrain from going more
than two pages over the page limit.
3) Form. Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins on all sides using
12-point font. Please type only on one side of the page and staple pages in the upper left hand
corner.
You must submit your interview questions AND participant responses along with your paper.
This is called an interview transcript. The interview transcript should be typed and submitted
on a separate sheet along with your paper. The transcript does not count towards the page
limit for this assignment. When writing the paper, please DO NOT simply transcribe the
answers from your interview. You must analyze and summarize the responses to your
questions, relate the case study to relevant topics discussed in the text, and formulate the
information into a cohesive, clear, and concise case study write-up.
4) Organization. Your paper should be organized as follows (it is not necessary to use the
following headings to delineate each section – your paper should simply flow from one
paragraph/section to the other, much like any other essay you would write):
a) Introduction. Your introduction should be a paragraph or two that summarizes the focus or
topic of your case study interview. In this section you should also clearly and concisely report
demographic information, including the participant’s age and sex, socioeconomic status (e.g.,
low income, middle class, upper middle class, etc.) and ethnic background, and the educational
and marital status of your participant(s). You may also include any interesting and/or relevant
background information in this section as well.

Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

Rev. F20 Page 3

b) The Interview. The core of the paper must be a narrative and discussion of the interview.
This section of the paper should be written in chronological order to reflect the order in which
you asked the questions of your participant. Again, do not simply write your participant’s
responses to each question. Please summarize the responses to each section and write them in
a narrative format. Your paper should flow smoothly and seamlessly. It SHOULD NOT read as
follows:
“I asked her about her childhood and she said it was great. Then I asked her if she liked school
and she said she did. Then when I asked how old she was when she got married she said she was
18. I then asked her how many kids she has and she said four.”
In this section you must also analyze your participant’s responses and relate it to the various
theories, topics, and concepts discussed in the text. Indicate and explain how your participant’s
experiences relate to or do not relate to the major themes and topics discussed in the text and
in class.

c) Your Opinions. A very important part of the paper is your own opinions and ideas. You must
address the following items: What was the interview experience like for you? Did you learn
anything new about your family member, or the family to which the participant belongs? Did
the interview and information you obtained help you further understand any of the family
development theories, topics and concepts covered in class? If so, which ones? If not, why?
Please explain. What important questions do you think remain unanswered?

d) Conclusion Paragraph. This is the part of the paper where you wrap things up and conclude
your paper.

e) The Transcript. The transcript documents both your interview questions AND your
participant’s responses to the questions. The transcript should detail your participant’s
responses word-for-word, exactly as the information was relayed to you. DO NOT simply
summarize your participant’s responses. Doing so will result in a point deduction. Your
transcript must be typed, should be attached to the back of your paper, and may be single
spaced. Your transcript is a separate document and IS NOT included in the minimum page
count for your paper.
Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

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5) Grading. Your grade will be based on how well your paper is written, your thoroughness, and
whether or not you followed all of the guidelines. In addition, because this is an academic
paper, I will also look at the organization of your paper, spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. I
strongly encourage you to proofread your paper and use all of the resources available to you
such as dictionaries, spell check, tutors (if necessary), to assist you in writing the best paper
possible. Finally, please make sure your paper is as interesting as possible. If you are bored
while writing it, I will probably be bored reading it.
Please note that you may receive a zero grade on this assignment if you do not adhere to
assignment guidelines and requirements or if your assignment is missing critical content.

UNLOCKING FAMILY HISTORY VIA
INTERVIEWS
Every family’s history is unique, with a treasure chest of memories. Indeed, as an African
proverb advises, “When an old person dies, a whole library disappears.”
Oral History is a systematic way of collecting living people’s testimonies about their lives, and it
is essential tool used to preserve the rich histories of families. Oral histories might include
personal accounts by grandparents who fought in wars, or of great-grandparents who lived in
slavery or who immigrated to this country. Personal accounts bring to life what we read in
history books. Oral histories may include folklore, gossip, rumors, or even hearsay.
By audio recording or videotaping the living memories, unique life experiences, and feelings of
family members, a vivid picture of the past emerges from these eyewitnesses of history. What
was it like to live through the Holocaust or to join Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his March on
Washington for Civil Rights? To see the Berlin Wall fall in 1989? To survive the terrorist attacks
in September 2001, or lose everything to Hurricane Katrina in 2005? Preserving the pasts of
those who would otherwise be hidden from history, these personal historical accounts bring a
new dimension to understanding our family’s past, and bring the young and the old together in
face-to-face interactions.
Oral historian Sharon DeBartolo Carmack (2000) provides guidelines for recording oral family
history:
1. Be prepared by bringing to the interview:
a. A recording device, power code/charger
b. Note pad and pens
c. A list of questions
d. A camera to photograph your subject
e. A video camera/tripod

2. Interview one person at a time (the subject/participant) because people – especially
those who have been married for some time – tend to finish each other’s sentences or
talk over one another. Not everyone is at ease when discussing the past, so assure the
person you are interviewing that the information is for your private, personal use.
Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

Rev. F20 Page 6

3. Your question list should be divided into the following topic areas:

a. Childhood
b. Adolescence
c. Early Adulthood
d. Family History
e. Parenting Experiences
f. Historical Events that took place over their time
g. Unusual Life Experiences

4. Put your subject at ease by asking easy questions at the beginning of the interview
such as, “Why did you join the Army?” “What did you like about it?” “How old were
you when you joined?” These questions lead to tougher questions later in the
interview, such as, “Tell me about your experiences in Vietnam.”

5. Bring along old photos or family artifacts to encourage conversation. Who is in the
photo? Who took the photo? What was the occasion? What makes the artifact such a
special item? What is this history behind the artifact?

6. Once your subject is at ease, don’t be afraid to ask tough or personal questions, such
as, “You mentioned that your best friend was killed in the war. Can you tell me more
about that? To be sure, asking such questions is difficult and it requires a great deal of
sensitivity on the part of the interviewer. However, these types of questions usually
provide the hidden history of the family, and allow us to experience the event(s) in ways
that might be surprising to us.

Recording your family’s oral history accounts not only offers a view of the family’s past, but it
ensures that the past will be remembered and included in the family’s future.

Case Study #1
Child Development and Family Studies 040
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.

Rev. F20 Page 7

SAMPLE TRANSCRIPT Please note that this is not a complete transсrіpt. Your transсrіpt will be much
longer and will have at least 14-21 questions and answers.

Q) Please tell me about your childhood.
A) I had a wonderful childhood. My earliest memory is of my mother’s home cooked meals. I
had 10 brothers and sisters. We did not have much, but we had each other. Because there were
so many of us we all had to chip in. I remember my mother would wake us early in the morning
so that we could go and help out in the fields before school. After we picked our share of crops
we went back home, had breakfast, and then had to take the long walk to school. Boy was I
tired! I cannot believe we did all of that back then.
Q) Tell me about your parenting experiences.
A) Well, as you know, I have 5 children, including your mother. The wife and I have been
married for over 50 years now and we are so glad that we are not parents anymore and get to
spoil our grandkids. Raising kids was hard! I had to work more than one job just to keep’um fed.
Q) What is the most historically significant event that you have experienced?
A) Well, I am a WWII Veteran. I am one of the Tuskegee Airmen and proud of it! I also marched
with Dr. King and was arrested and jailed with him. Those were some troubled times for our
country.
Q) Is there any other information you would like to share with me?
A) Yes, I would like to tell you how proud my grandmother and I are of you. We worked so hard
to make sure that you all could have every opportunity in life and it does my heart good to see
you doing something positive with your life.
WRITING ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST
Please refer to this document when composing and editing your writing
assignments.
ORGANIZATION
o I have outlined and organized my ideas logically.
o My thesis statement is clearly stated, fully developed, and
interesting. I did not simply express a topic, but actually
stated an idea that I proved or explored in my writing.
o All topic sentences are effective, clearly stated, and appear
early in each paragraph.
o Each sentence is carefully written so that all information is
clear and desсrіptive.
o All of my statements are fully developed. I am not vague or
confusing in my writing.
o All paragraphs stay on topic.
SPELLING & PUNCTUATION
o I have checked the spelling in each sentence with a dictionary
and/or
the spell-check function on my computer.
o I use semi-colons correctly.
o I use commas correctly.
o I have capitalized words that should be capitalized, such as
proper nouns. I have not capitalized words that should not be
capitalized.
o If I have used quotes, then I have correctly punctuated the
quoted phrases or sentences.
o I have spelled out numbers zero through nine (except when it is
a
table or figure number, or a metric measurement, etc.). The
numbers
10 and above are written as numbers.
o I have spelled out any number when it is the first thing in a
sentence. For example, the sentence “40 participants were
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.
used.” is not appropriate and should read “Forty students were
used.”
GRAMMAR
o I have used complete sentences.
o I do not use slang.
o I do not use text message lingo or spelling.
o All of my subjects and verbs agree. All of my singular subjects
take singular verbs; all of plural subjects take plural verbs.
o There are no fragments. Each sentence is a complete
thought, with an identifiable subject and verb.
o There are no run-on sentences.
o I maintain consistent verb tense and my verb tenses are
appropriate to the time period expressed.
FINALLY
o I have followed the guidelines for this assignment, including
any suggestions and additional information the instructor has
given me.
o My paper is neatly typed. I understand that handwritten
assignments are not accepted.
o I have met the minimum page requirement for this assignment.
I understand that papers that do not meet the page
minimum will have points deducted.
o My paper is double-spaced, my pages are numbered, and I
have included my name on the assignment.
o I used one (1) inch margins on the left, right, top, and bottom of
the page. These margins are wide in order to leave room for my
instructor’s comments.
o I used normal paragraphs (five (5) space indent) in the body of
my paper.
o I used a 12 point font and the font I used is easy to read and is
not
too fancy (e.g., Times New Roman, Verdana, Tahoma, Calibri,
etc.).
Tasha Smith, Ph.D.
o I have proofread the copy that I will submit and have corrected
any typographical errors, formatting, spelling, or wording
issues.
o Unless taking an online class, I am submitting a hard copy of
my
paper to the instructor.
o I have stapled or clipped my paper in the upper left hand
corner
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this doc must include all requirements in the details mentioned including the transcript summery

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