Oral History: A Qualitative Research Method Absent from Social and Human Studies at the Algerian University

Abstract

This study presents a scholarly examination of the methodology of oral history. It defines the concept through precise analytical formulations and traces its development within qualitative research methodologies, together with the scientific and intellectual foundations that constitute its initial premises and support the construction and advancement of an integrated theoretical framework. The study also highlights the interview as the principal instrument of this method, as well as the centrality of the relationship between narrator and researcher within the interview process, the major stages involved in applying the method, and the contribution of modern technologies and communication media to its consolidation, particularly in relation to the audio and visual recording of interviews. In addition, the study addresses the limitations associated with the application of oral history as an extension of the broader constraints that generally characterize qualitative research. It further distinguishes between the use of oral history as a process and the use of oral history as a product, before presenting examples of studies in different disciplines that have employed this method. Finally, the study examines the current state of investment in oral historical research within the Algerian university, noting the expanding historical efforts devoted to the writing of memoirs, which remain distinct from oral history studies, and emphasizing the justifications for adopting this method and the importance of giving it greater attention, especially in social and human research.