Oral history refers both to a method of recording and preserving oral testimony and to the product of that process.
It begins with an audio or video recording of a first person account made by an interviewer with an interviewee (also referred to as narrator), both of whom have the conscious intention of creating a permanent record to contribute to an understanding of the past.
A verbal document, the oral history, results from this process and is preserved and made available in different forms to other users, researchers, and the public.
A critical approach to the oral testimony and interpretations are necessary in the use of oral history. Hearing history from the mouths of those who experienced it really brings those times and events and feelings back to life in ways that are consistently compelling and often inspiring.