Local Culture Project: Record People and Things, Run a Survey, Make a Proposal

Why record local culture?

Local culture is the songs, crafts, festivals, buildings, foods and stories of a place. Much of it is kept only in memory, so when a person or a place goes, it is lost. A project that records it, measures opinions and proposes action helps the town remember and improve itself.

Record a local person: interview steps

1. Choose and ask permission. Say who you are and why you want the interview. Ask if you may write or record. Respect a "no".
2. Prepare 5–8 open questions (they cannot be answered with just yes or no): "How did the festival begin?" is better than "Was the festival old?"
3. Listen more than you talk. Note names, dates, places and special words.
4. Fill the five cards: Who (name, job), What (their work or skill), When (years), Where (places), Story (one memory in their own words).
5. Check facts with the person or a second source, then show them what you wrote.
6. Share carefully. Do not publish private details such as phone number or address without permission.

Record a local thing or place

For an object, building or place (an old well, a temple fair stall, a loom), collect facts first, opinions later:

• Photo and sketch from two sides.
• Size in metres or centimetres (SI units): height, width, depth.
• Material (stone, brick, wood, cloth).
• Age and where the information came from (a plaque, an elder, a record).
• Use then and now, and its story.
• Condition and any danger to it.

Always write the source: "told by Mr. X, 12 March" is better than "somebody said".

Survey the cultural life: asking the right question

A survey asks many people the same question so you can count the answers. Good survey rules:

• One idea per question, in simple words.
• Neutral: do not push the answer. "Don't you agree the library is the best?" is a leading question. Ask "Which would you most like: library, sports ground or music hall?"
• Give clear choices and an "other" option.
• Ask a fair mix of people (young and old, different streets). This is your sample. A bigger and fairer sample gives a more trustworthy result.
• Tally and draw a bar chart: one block per answer.

Read the results: counts, percentages and limits

Percentage = (number who chose it ÷ total asked) × 100. Example: 5 out of 12 chose the library, so 5 ÷ 12 × 100 = 41.7 %. The percentages should add up to about 100 %.

The tallest bar is the most common answer, but check: is the gap big or tiny? Was the sample small or one-sided? Say honestly: "Among the 12 people we asked, the library was the most popular choice." Do not say "everyone in town wants a library".

Make a proposal

A proposal is a short request that uses your evidence. Use this frame:

1. Title and who it is for (for example, the village council).
2. Problem: what is missing or in danger (with a number).
3. Evidence: your interview facts and survey result.
4. Action: what to do, in simple steps.
5. Who helps, how long, what it needs (people, space, money).
6. Benefit: who gains and how you will know it worked.

Keep it polite, short and specific.

Key formulas and definitions

• Percentage = (count ÷ total asked) × 100.
• Total votes = sum of all the bars.
• Good question = one idea + simple words + neutral + clear choices.
• Project = Record → Survey → Propose.

Worked examples

Common mistakes

• Using yes/no questions in an interview. Ask open questions so the person tells a story.
• Writing opinions as facts about a thing. Measure, photograph and note the source first.
• Leading survey questions that push one answer.
• Saying "everyone wants it" from a small sample. State how many you asked.