Oral History Activities

Oral history activities IN GENERAL do not constitute research as defined in Federal guidelines (45 CFR 46).

If the oral history activities are designed to create a record of specific historical events or of the experiences of individuals, without an intent to draw conclusions or generalize findings, then they do not constitute research and do not need COUHES approval.

However, if the oral history activity is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, for example to draw conclusions, inform policy or generalize findings, then they do constitute research. They also constitute research if the intent is to create a repository of information or archive for other investigators to conduct research. In all these cases the oral history activities are subject to COUHES approval.