‘Clips and Conversations’ features a number of oral history interviews with key individuals. In most cases the interviewee undergoes an in-depth interview about his/her life and career. The edited transcripts of these are available via the Queen Mary Research Online repository as part of the Group’s Digital Collection. After the initial audio interview, a shorter video interview is filmed. These are all conducted following standard oral history methodology, and have received ethical approval (reference QMREC 0642). Video interview transcripts are edited for clarity and factual accuracy.
Five main questions form the framework for the interviews: ‘How did you become interested in medicine or science?’; ‘What do you consider to be your greatest achievement, or what are you proudest of in your career?’; ‘Did anything go wrong along the way?’; ‘What were the most significant changes in your field over your working career?’; ‘What do you foresee in the next 30 or 40 years in your field of expertise?’.
The ways in which interviewees choose to interpret and respond to these questions are as diverse as the personalities of those involved. The answers are sometimes surprising, sometimes poignant, but always interesting.
