What does the Oral History Association say to do before, during and after a recorded interview (consent, preparation, narrator review, representation), and what is its stated scope?

The Oral History Association's practice (adopted October 2018) runs consent as a process. Discuss the project and record the agreement before recording, prepare an open-ended guide, and respect a narrator's right to refuse topics and restrict access. Get a signed release, ideally at the end of the interview, and where possible let the narrator review and approve the recording or transcript before use, including deleting, restricting or redacting parts. Anyone using interviews should not manipulate the narrator's words and should give context. These are oral-history norms, which differ from journalistic practice. Curator correction 2026-10-23 (discovery audit record C3-B688-04; sources re-fetched 2026-10-23, excerpts re-located by curator GET): Problem. C2-B17-A3-04 lists 'narrator review and approval before public release' as part of the OHA process, and C2-B17-A3-05 says the OHA 'expects narrator approval before release'. Correction (overstated). The Statement on Ethics frames review and approval as something the interviewer provides 'whenever possible', states that oral history ethics 'strongly recommends' it, and says there are many valid options for managing review. It is a strong norm, not an unconditional requirement. Limitations. Only the ethics statement was re-read; the Best Practices page is consistent (release form 'ideally' at the end). Version/date. Pages fetched 2026-10-23; PDF editions state 'Adopted October 2018'. Curator qualifications: Guidance read 2026-10-22; no interview conducted; not legal advice. Core Principles power-difference and social-justice consent notes carried from producer reading. Limitations: Guidance read 2026-10-22; no interview conducted; not legal advice. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/best-practices",
      "note": "oralhistory.org/best-practices/ (Preparation, Interviewing, Access & Use); oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics",
      "note": "oralhistory.org/best-practices/ (Preparation, Interviewing, Access & Use); oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/oha-core-principles",
      "note": "oralhistory.org/best-practices/ (Preparation, Interviewing, Access & Use); oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/guidelines-for-social-justice-oral-history-work/",
      "note": "oralhistory.org/best-practices/ (Preparation, Interviewing, Access & Use); oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/best-practices/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/oha-statement-on-ethics/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://oralhistory.org/oha-core-principles/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    }
  ]
}