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'''Oral History''' is the technique whereby trained researchers create new primary sources by careful interviews of informants. Historians have always talked to informants. What is new is the systematic identification and interviewing of selected people in order to create a long-term archive.  The most expensive part is the transcription of tape recorded interviews. The technique originated in anthropology (with interviews of Indians) and folklore studies; it spread to history in the 1940s, especially the Oral History office at Columbia University, set up by history professor [[Allan Nevins]].

'''Oral History''' is the technique whereby trained researchers create new primary sources by careful interviews of informants. Historians have always talked to informants. What is new is the systematic identification and interviewing of selected people in order to create a long-term archive.  The most expensive part is the transcription of tape recorded interviews. The technique originated in anthropology (with interviews of Indians) and folklore studies; it spread to history in the 1940s, especially the Oral History office at Columbia University, set up by history professor [[Allan Nevins]].

Oral history began with a focus on national leaders,<ref> Ritchie 2003 considers Senators and other top leaders.</ref> but has expanded to include groups representing the entire population.  Scientists, for example, have been covered in numerous oral history projects.  Doel (2003) discusses the use of oral interviews by scholars as primary sources, He lists major oral history projects in the history of science begun after 1950. Oral histories, he concludes, can augment the biographies of scientists and help spotlight how their social origins influenced their research. Doel acknowledges the common concerns historians have regarding the validity of oral history accounts. He identifies studies that used oral histories successfully to provide critical and unique insight into otherwise obscure subjects, such as the role scientists played in shaping US policy after World War II. Interviews furthermore can provide road maps for researching archives, and can even serve as a fail-safe resource when written documents have been lost or destroyed. Launius (2003) shows the huge size and complexity of the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) oral history program since 1959. NASA systematically documented its operations through oral histories. They can help to explore broader issues regarding the evolution of a major federal agency. The collection consists primarily of oral histories conducted by scholars working on books about the agency. Since 1996, however, the collection has also included oral histories of senior NASA administrators and officials, astronauts, and project managers, part of a broader project to document the lives of key agency individuals. Launius emphasizes efforts to include such less-well-known groups within the agency as the Astrobiology Program, and to collect the oral histories of women in NASA.   

Oral history began with a focus on national leaders,<ref>Ritchie 2003 considers Senators and other top leaders.</ref> but has expanded to include groups representing the entire population.  Scientists, for example, have been covered in numerous oral history projects.  Doel (2003) discusses the use of oral interviews by scholars as primary sources, He lists major oral history projects in the history of science begun after 1950. Oral histories, he concludes, can augment the biographies of scientists and help spotlight how their social origins influenced their research. Doel acknowledges the common concerns historians have regarding the validity of oral history accounts. He identifies studies that used oral histories successfully to provide critical and unique insight into otherwise obscure subjects, such as the role scientists played in shaping US policy after World War II. Interviews furthermore can provide road maps for researching archives, and can even serve as a fail-safe resource when written documents have been lost or destroyed. Launius (2003) shows the huge size and complexity of the The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) oral history program since 1959. NASA systematically documented its operations through oral histories. They can help to explore broader issues regarding the evolution of a major federal agency. The collection consists primarily of oral histories conducted by scholars working on books about the agency. Since 1996, however, the collection has also included oral histories of senior NASA administrators and officials, astronauts, and project managers, part of a broader project to document the lives of key agency individuals. Launius emphasizes efforts to include such less-well-known groups within the agency as the Astrobiology Program, and to collect the oral histories of women in NASA.   

In a highly technical area Tomes (1991) looks at oral history in medicine, using the Hospital Administration Oral History Collection, at the American Hospital Association Resource Center, Chicago. Oral histories add a human element to the large bureaucratic organizations that dominate modern medicine.  Interviews with physicians reveal four important elements of the total historical record of modern medicine: 1) older doctors' recall of an "extraordinary impression produced by the introduction of antibiotics" into a world rampant with infectious diseases; 2) attitudes of researchers "celebrating the march of scientific progress"; 3) a growing concern among physicians regarding increased specialization; and 4) the institutional expansion of medical centers that challenged the "East Coast bastions of medical research." These elements are vital in helping to shape a historical rather than sociological account of modern medicine as well as adding the "element of human agency" to the field.

In a highly technical area Tomes (1991) looks at oral history in medicine, using the Hospital Administration Oral History Collection, at the American Hospital Association Resource Center, Chicago. Oral histories add a human element to the large bureaucratic organizations that dominate modern medicine.  Interviews with physicians reveal four important elements of the total historical record of modern medicine: 1) older doctors' recall of an "extraordinary impression produced by the introduction of antibiotics" into a world rampant with infectious diseases; 2) attitudes of researchers "celebrating the march of scientific progress"; 3) a growing concern among physicians regarding increased specialization; and 4) the institutional expansion of medical centers that challenged the "East Coast bastions of medical research." These elements are vital in helping to shape a historical rather than sociological account of modern medicine as well as adding the "element of human agency" to the field.