Recording research interviews is a great way to capture qualitative data in thesis or dissertation research and ensures descriptive validity. While taking notes and writing down your observations is important, it’s likely you’re going to miss out on some details. An audio recording of an interview also allows you to refer back to the interview and take a fresh look at the interview data, these are some of the advantages of recording interviews in qualitative research. While recording an interview can be as easy as placing your iPhone on the table and tapping record, researchers tend to underestimate the challenges of getting an interview recording with good audio quality. This, coupled with the fact that the descriptive validity of qualitative data is directly related to the quality of the recording, means that researcher need to pay closer attention to how they record their research interviews. Why is audio quality so important?  When transcribing interviews, the… Continue reading…

Conducting research interviews over the phone and the internet has become really popular. Mainly because of the widespread use of smart phones and web based services (for instance freeconferencecall.com and Skype). If you conduct your research interviews over the phone it’s important to record them. Why?  Increase the rigor of you research by getting your research interviews transcribed  Allows you to focus on the engagement with the interviewee.  Avoid note taking Here are a few things to keep in mind when recording phone interviews Know and obey the law: The laws for recording phone interviews vary from state to state, but they all require at a minimum that you inform the interviewee. As you are recording research interviews, your IRB requires that you get written consent to record the interview. Keep in mind that consent should be granted before you start recording the interview. Do The Recording Yourself: There are different online services that provide… Continue reading…