The Oil Crisis of 1973

Time: 3:17 - 6:42

- Did you ever purchase a new car with better fuel mileage to save money?

I don't think my parents ever did.

- Do you remember days where there was no gas at all?

I don't remember that. I remember when there was gas, for the license plate numbers, where it was even and odd numbers and the lines at my dad's store where we would go there and people waiting to gasoline on their day. And if there license plate, like ended in 6, or 2, or 4, it was their day to get gas. If it was odd then the next day was their day.

- Did you ever break any laws to obtain gas

I don't know if this is breaking the law but I remember my dad set up something up at our house to have gas, a little small tank, in our yard, and we were back in the country in the woods, and his family was his number one priority of course but in order to provide for his family he had to get to work, and we were in a crisis anyway so he wanted to make sure the gas did not effect him getting to work to provide it for other people.

- In what ways do you remember the government helping the crisis?

I don't remember anything I think just because I was so young.

- Do you think the crisis had a long term impact?

[Random chatter explaining the question] I just think in general my dad being a store owner and being vulnerable to that situation, you know it was probably always in the back of his mind, you know, once that was resolved it could happen again easily. Then we would have the same situation again, so I am sure that that was always in the back of his mind.

- So you do think that the gas prices today could lead to another crisis?

I think they have already lead to a crisis. I-I-I think we are, gas effects everything because we rely so much on it and I think just with your father being in construction I think it effects the men that work for him and getting back and forth to work and I think that everything is in the grocery store is more expensive, and the economy effecting everything because people can't go out and spend like they used to and I think we're in a semi-crisis now.

- So do you think people just say they need to get places or they just are not concerned about the environment?

It may be a little of both I mean there are some people that maybe have the opinion that my saving gas is only one person and it won't make an impact it won't make a difference but you know I think that if everyone comes together and try to save a little bit you know it can make a big difference, so there are maybe people that do, you know like your father at has to get around, he's taking our second car, the Jetta, which is much better on gas, so he is compromising he still has to get to his destination but he is trying to do it in a vehicle that uses less gas.

I selected this part of my transcription for many reasons. One reason is that I think a lot of questions were answered, in the greatest detail. Also, many of these questions were helping me get to my focus question. My strengths were keeping the interview going, there were no awkward pauses. But I also think I had some weaknesses. One weakness was saying "um" a lot. I also rushed maybe a little to fast. The interview could have been longer. One last reason is that some of my questions could have been asked a lot more into detail. They were very short and general. I will need to work on more in the future.

My research focus question was: How did the Oil Crisis of 1973 affect the life of families during that time?

I think the answer to that question would be the life of families was harsh. Many things were different that made life not as good to live. Always concerned about gas shortages, not being able to get gas on certain days, and many other reasons. Life was very difficult.

There are many reasons for me to think that the families went through difficult times and hardships during the Oil Crisis of 1973. If you can think about it, gas prices affected everything. I learned from my interview that gas prices made prices of everything go up. People's quality of life were not as good. You couldn't just go out and get something that you wanted. There was not much more you could do for electricity. It was all run by gas. They were going to switch to propane to make power more effective.

All of these shortages caused many problems. Sometimes, families couldn't get to work. This could mean no money and food shortages. Many people lost their homes to the crisis. It was a very hard time.

My interviewee did not contradict any of my research. The person was very concise (about most of the information) and it matched my research. Most of my information was from reliable websites as well. My interviewee did very well, considering she was 8 at the time.

Both my sources and my interviewee were correct because they both had the same information to give to me. It was nice how it all matched up.

My interviewee did not show signs of exaggeration in the interview. There was just information that answered my question.

I think my interviewee was in a so-so good position, although most of the questions were answered. She was only 8 at the time, and could have forgotten a lot of information. She used the word "um" a lot. That could have been a habit or just because she did not know. Also, for a few questions, she said she was just to young to remember. It was hard to tell.

I think there was not any bias present in my interview. My interviewee just gave me the facts, not opinions that she knew. She wanted it to be a fair interview. I eliminated bias in my research by going to sites that just gave me facts. No journals or anything that would hold opinions. I looked for things that gave me facts, not that explained feelings.

I do not think anything other than my interviewee's age affected my accuracy of the interview.

The interview brought me many new abilities. I have newly acquired skills. One skill would be talking to people. It is easier for me to talk to people. That would be one of my relationship skills. In the real world, you need to know how to talk to people without being all nervous and get the information you need. Being nervous can make you sweat or sound funny.

I also learned about time management. Time management is one of the most important things you need to know. In the real world, you do not have forever to do things and you need to do stuff fast. Time management is one quality of a great businessman.

I also learned how to locate information easily. I know now where to look for the information. I learned that from all of the research I had to look up for my project. You can't just look for opinions of people, you need to get facts. Facts are what you need for a good research.

This project greatly helped me on a lot of these skills. These skills will help me a lot in my future.