Oral history and a remake of the method

Abstract

Oral history as a method establishes concrete ways for data collection and analysis. This essay aims to discuss the method and to present alternatives for data collection and interpretation, based on practical experiences of interviews with the judo community. Thus, we seek to complement the processes of data collection and analysis from two studies in which athletes and coaches of the elite competition level of Brazilian and Portuguese judo were investigated. Specifically, these studies allowed for the creation of an analysis proposal that we call 'sport family trees'. The proposed modifications aim at the following phases of the method: 1-individuals selection criteria; 2-ways of approach and place of interviews; 3-acting or immersion in the research community; 4-searches in the interviewee's historical records; 5-establishment of narrative markers and interview record; 6-interventions during the reporting of contributors, in order to establish proximity and dialogue; 7-analysis of the videos records in the interviews as a complementary form to the text of the transcriptions; 8-analysis of images, photos or historical records of respondents; and 9-elaboration of the sports family tree of athletes. The use of these modifications allowed for in-depth analysis and a more rigorous verification of the reported facts.