The paper presents a bibliographical review about Oral Reports techniques, currently largely employed as a methodological alternative in qualitative studies which issue out of life experiences of individuals to unfold the social relationships and culture to which they belong. The work collects the background of Oral Reports and the techniques of Oral History, Life History, Personal Testimony, Autobiography and Biography, presenting their differences and specific applications. It debates its presuppositions such as the breaking away with the myths of objectivity of the real and the neutrality of the researcher; the understanding of the human being as a product and at the same time as a producer of society, positioned on the subject-structure, individual-society tension. Next, it appraises the adequacy of these techniques for the study of social representations within health, taking an example in the field of the relationships between health and work. Finally, it highlights some practical guidelines for the benefit of the researcher in the application of these techniques.
Oral Reports; Social Representations; Health and Work