The treatment of oral sources begins with a carefully structured phase of research design and methodological planning, which shapes the quality of the data collected as well as its legal validity, long-term preservation, and future reuse. This phase brings together methodological reflection, technical, and ethical choices, legal awareness, and archival foresight.

At its core lies a solid grounding in the principles and practices of linguistics and oral history. Researchers—and, where applicable, collaborators—should develop a clear awareness of the legal, ethical, and deontological implications of working with oral testimonies. This includes familiarity with relevant international and national guidelines, such as those of the Oral History Society (OHS) and the Associazione Italiana di Storia Orale (AISO), and an understanding of the responsibilities linked to the collection, processing, and preservation of personal narratives. At this stage, the focus is on building awareness within the research team, rather than formally informing participants.

Methodological planning also involves defining the research framework, including research questions, scope, and participant selection. Interviews should be conceived as co-constructed communicative events; therefore, flexible interview guides are preferable to rigid questionnaires, allowing space for digressions that may open new lines of inquiry.

Researchers must also anticipate the conditions of the recording, including the choice of environment and the establishment of a relationship of trust with participants, which directly affects the quality and interpretability of the testimonies.

Technical planning is equally essential. Decisions regarding recording formats (audio or audio-video) and equipment should be made in relation to research objectives and future uses of the data. These choices are methodological as much as technical, as they shape the nature and reusability of the sources.

Finally, this phase includes preparing the documentation resources that will support the workflow, such as interview guides, information sheets, consent and authorization forms, and recording sheets for contextual data. Anticipating legal requirements, preservation strategies, and future access conditions ensures coherence across the process and supports the sustainable reuse of oral sources.

Complete all legal groundwork before any recording takes place. This phase is mandatory and non-negotiable.

1. Determine the legal basis for data processing: identify the applicable legal basis under GDPR Art. 6 (e.g. consent of the data subject, public interest, scientific research). Consult applicable national legislation (e.g. Italy: "Codice in materia di protezione dei dati personali"; "Regole deontologiche per il trattamento a fini di archiviazione nel pubblico interesse"). Align your choice with the institutional mandate of the data controller.
2. Draft and distribute the privacy notice: prepare a privacy notice compliant with GDPR Arts. 12–14. Write it in plain, accessible language. Deliver it to each participant before any data collection begins. The notice must specify the legal basis, the purposes and modalities of processing, data retention periods, and participant rights. It may be provided in writing or, where identity is verifiable by other means, orally.
3. Obtain interview authorisation: collect the participant's authorisation to take part in the research — distinct from GDPR consent — either in writing or as a recorded oral declaration at the opening of the session. Confirm the authorisation at the close of the interview. Incorporate this declaration directly into the audio or video recording where possible.
4. Address copyright: clarify authorship and exploitation rights. The interviewer, as the party who structures the encounter and formulates questions, generally holds copyright over the interview as a creative work (Italian Law no. 633/1941; EU Directive 2019/790). Include a rights-assignment clause in the participant waiver, covering both image rights and intellectual property rights. Define contractual terms with any commissioning institution or conservation archive before fieldwork begins.
5. Prepare documentation templates: assemble the following before entering the field: (a) privacy notice; (b) interview authorisation form; (c) participant waiver with rights-assignment clause; (d) field recording sheet; (e) individual document sheet. Use models provided by the "Vademecum".

Conduct the interview session with methodological rigour. The recording, together with all simultaneously produced documents, constitutes the founding document of the oral source.

1. Choose and prepare recording equipment: select recording format according to research type and intended preservation use. Recommended audio format: WAV (uncompressed PCM), sampling frequency 96 kHz (minimum 48 kHz, up to 192 kHz), 24-bit resolution. Recommended video format: MPEG-4 AVC (H.264). Recommended photographic format: RAW at maximum camera resolution. Test all equipment before the session. 
2. Prepare and control the recording environment: minimise ambient noise and interference. Choose a space that allows uninterrupted exchange. Position the microphone to capture the speaker clearly. Where video recording is used, frame and light the space appropriately. Notify all parties present of the recording.
3. Open the recording with contextual identification: at the start of each recording, state aloud the date, location, names of interviewer(s) and interviewee(s) (or a pseudonym code if anonymity is required), the research project title, and confirmation of the participant's authorisation. This spoken header embeds essential metadata directly into the audio or video document.
4. Conduct the interview: practise attentive listening. Do not impose rigid structures. Allow for digressions, which often open unforeseen lines of inquiry. Document non-verbal elements (gestures, pauses, emotional tone) in field notes immediately after the session, while memory is fresh.
5. Close the recording: at the end of the session, restate the participant's authorisation and confirm any conditions they have placed on use. Note the close of the recording aloud. Collect any additional materials the participant may share (photographs, letters, objects for digitisation).
6. Complete the field recording sheet: fill in the field recording sheet immediately after the session. Record: event date and location; names and roles of all persons present; equipment used and recording format; contextual annotations impossible to reconstruct later; references to all documents produced during the same session (audio, video, photographs, written materials). This sheet is the archival backbone of the entire oral source package.
7. Complete individual document sheets: for each distinct document produced (each audio file, each video file, each photograph), fill in a document sheet that functions as a sub-unit of the field recording sheet. Record: unique identifier, file name, format and technical parameters, duration or size, relationship to other documents in the same recording event. Preserve the archival bond between all documents of a single event.

Produce a transcription of the recorded interview in order to enable analysis, indexing, and long-term accessibility. Transcription constitutes a key stage in the enrichment of the oral source, transforming an audio or audiovisual document into a textual resource that can be searched, annotated, and reused.

Define the level of transcription according to the objectives of the research. This may range from verbatim transcription (including hesitations, pauses, and non-verbal elements) to a more edited version that improves readability while preserving the meaning of the discourse. Where relevant, adopt established transcription conventions and ensure consistency across the corpus.

If required, integrate time-coding to align the transcription with the original recording, facilitating navigation between text and audio/video. Consider also the need for translation, particularly in multilingual research contexts.

During transcription, pay attention to the treatment of personal data and sensitive information. Anonymisation or pseudonymisation may be necessary, especially when preparing the material for dissemination or public access. Any modifications should be documented to ensure transparency and reproducibility.

The transcription should be treated as a distinct but related document within the oral source corpus. It must therefore be documented through a dedicated record, including its relationship to the original recording, the tools and methods used, and the identity of the transcriber.

This step may be carried out prior to, or in parallel with, the description and metadata creation phase, depending on the research design and available resources. In all cases, it significantly enhances the findability, accessibility, and reusability of the oral source in line with FAIR principles.

Implement preservation measures as soon as field production is complete. Conservation is not a deferred activity: decisions taken at this stage determine the long-term accessibility and integrity of the source.

1. Organise and name files systematically: apply a consistent file-naming convention that reflects the project, the date, and the session identifier. Store files in a structured directory that mirrors the relationship between the field recording sheet and the individual document sheets. Keep all documents produced in a single recording event together.
2. Create preservation copies: produce at minimum: one high-resolution preservation copy (WAV/BWF, 96 kHz, 24-bit for audio; MPEG-4 AVC for video); one local copy on a redundant storage medium (NAS or equivalent); one off-site copy in a secure, trusted cloud repository. Optionally produce a lower-resolution access copy (MP3 or equivalent) for consultation purposes. Never delete original analogue supports after digitisation.
3. Add preservation metadata: attach to each digitised document the following preservation metadata: original support type and conservation state; playback equipment and technical parameters used for digitisation; digital format, codec, sampling rate, bit depth; software and operator information; date of digitisation. Preserve scans or photographs of original physical supports and their containers.
4. Digitise analogue supports (if applicable): for recordings on magnetic tape, vinyl, cylinders, or other analogue media, contract a specialist digitisation centre with documented expertise (public or private). Follow IASA TC-04 for audio and IASA TC-06 for video. The preservation copy must be a faithful transfer of the original signal: introduce no filtering, noise reduction, or signal enhancement. Retain the analogue original after digitisation.
5. Describe sources for discovery and access: describe each oral source within a network of relations: link the recording to its field recording sheet, to the research project, to the agents involved (interviewer, interviewee, archivist), and to any related documents. Use controlled vocabularies and authority files. Consult descriptive software in use at reference institutions (see "Vademecum"). Align description with Dublin Core or EAD standards where applicable, to support interoperability.
6. Identify or select a conservation institution: if you are an independent researcher or a small institution, identify a conservation centre suited to your collection by disciplinary affinity or geographic proximity. Prepare: (a) a project presentation sheet; (b) a transfer sheet specifying access conditions, use restrictions, reproduction rights, and loan terms. Transfer the collection in its entirety: avoid splitting a unified archival complex across multiple institutions.
7. Plan for refresh and format migration: digitisation alone does not guarantee long-term access. Establish a schedule for periodic refresh (copying files to new storage supports before degradation) and for format migration (moving files to new formats before obsolescence). If the collection is deposited in a conservation centre, clearly define which institution or department is responsible for carrying out these long-term preservation operations.

This phase applies when you transfer your collection to an institution, or when an institution acquires an oral archive from an external party.

1. Verify title and ownership: before any transfer, confirm the legal title under which the depositing party holds the collection (ownership, possession, detention). Verify the consent of any co-owners or co-heirs. For donations, obtain documented confirmation of heir consent to prevent subsequent contestation.
2. Prepare an inventory: produce a summary inventory of the entire collection before transfer. Describe: the physical composition and condition of each support; the presence of any damaged materials; the existence of related documents (release forms, field sheets, transcriptions). An inventory is a contractual prerequisite for any form of transfer.
3. Choose the appropriate legal instrument: select the legal mechanism suited to your situation: deposit contract, loan for use, donation, or testamentary bequest. If you are operating in Italy, consult the provisions of the "Codice dei beni culturali e del paesaggio" for collections of certified historical importance. Define in the contract: transport and packaging responsibilities; access and consultation conditions; reproduction and reuse rights; extraction and loan arrangements; scope of any restoration work.
4. Transfer data-processing responsibility: upon definitive alienation of the archive, the data-processing responsibility passes from the original holder to the acquiring institution. The receiving institution must request a written declaration from the interviewer confirming that participants were informed of research purposes and gave their consent. Acquire copies of all existing consent forms. Where copyright was not explicitly transferred in the original transaction, establish specific agreements covering the content rights separately from the physical support.
5. Treat pre-GDPR collections if applicable: for collections recorded before the GDPR entered into force (before 2018, and more broadly before the 2004 Italian privacy law), presume implied consent to the interview. Review existing consents against current GDPR requirements. Where no release form exists, search systematically for rights-holders (interviewers, interviewees, heirs). Demonstrate that you have conducted a diligent search (e.g., through press notices, public announcements, and online postings). If the search yields no result, invoke the orphan works provision (EU Directive 2012/28/EU; Italian Law 633/1941, Art. 69-bis) to authorise publication for cultural and educational purposes.

Make your oral sources accessible to researchers and, where legally permissible, to the wider public. Apply FAIR principles throughout.

1. Structure data and metadata for FAIR compliance: structure metadata to ensure Findability (assign persistent identifiers; use rich descriptive metadata), Accessibility (store in open or widely supported formats; ensure long-term availability of metadata even if access to data is restricted), Interoperability (use shared vocabularies and standards such as Dublin Core, EAD, or domain-specific thesauri), and Reusability (attach clear licence information; document provenance and context). Consult the FAIR Principles documentation for a full specification.
2. Publish online with an explicit release form: where an explicit "liberatoria" exists, publish the oral source online. Protect third parties mentioned in the recording: de-index their names from search engines where the information could damage their reputation; place sensitive content behind a registration-protected access area. Provide rich contextual metadata for all published materials.
3. Apply appropriate access restrictions where no release form exists: where no explicit release exists, choose among the following graduated approaches: (a) exclude the recording from online publication; (b) publish only excerpts already available in other public forms (print, documentary, educational DVD); (c) publish a pseudonymised transcript, ensuring the individual cannot be re-identified through cross-referencing; (d) publish a keyword index (thesaurus-based) omitting personal names; (e) provide authenticated access for research and educational purposes only; (f) state publicly the willingness to remove content on explicit request. Recall that these restrictions do not apply to recordings of public figures whose personal opinions, religious affiliation, or public acts are already widely known.
4. Assign a Creative Commons licence: choose and attach a Creative Commons licence to each published oral source. Select the licence that best reflects the rights-assignment conditions established with the interviewer and interviewee: CC BY (attribution only), CC BY-NC (non-commercial), CC BY-ND (no derivatives), or more restrictive combinations. Note that CC licences govern the circulation of the work online; they do not supersede GDPR obligations, which govern the processing of personal data independently.
5. Deposit in a trusted digital repository: deposit the oral source collection — including recordings, documentation, and metadata — in a trusted digital repository aligned with open science principles. Ensure the repository assigns persistent identifiers (DOI, Handle, or equivalent). Verify that the repository's preservation commitments cover refresh, format migration, and long-term access. Cross-link the deposit record with related publications and project documentation.

Tavolo permanente per le fonti orali

Silvia Calamai

Giorgia Lo Nigro

This workflow, developed in Italy, guides SSH researchers, archivists, and institutions through the full lifecycle of oral sources: from initial legal and ethical preparation, through fieldwork and documentation, to long-term preservation, archival transfer, access, and valorisation, including responsible online publication. It covers the production of audio or audiovisual recordings, their contextual documentation, and their integration into archival systems.

The workflow applies equally to newly initiated oral data gathering campaigns and to the retrospective treatment of pre-existing collections. It draws on the "Vademecum per il trattamento delle fonti orali" (Ministero della Cultura, Direzione Generale Archivi, 2023), a multidisciplinary reference document developed by specialists from different domains, including oral historians, linguists, ethnologists, librarians and archivists.

While it integrates European data protection requirements (GDPR) and established professional standards, it also refers at certain points to the Italian legal framework. Researchers operating in other national contexts should therefore consult the relevant legislation and guidelines applicable in their own country.

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Treating Oral Sources in SSH Research

Media

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Vademecum per il trattamento delle fonti orali

Workflow steps(7)

1 Research Design and Methodological Planning

2 Establish the legal and ethical framework

3 Produce and document the communicative event

4 Transcribe and process the interview

5 Organize, describe and conserve the oral sources

6 Transfer archival collections

7 Make your oral sources accessible and reusable