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Research Methods Topic

The learning units in this topic are concerned with how you will be doing your research. There is a very wide range of research methods available to you, and you will have to spend some time deciding which method or methods are the most appropriate, both with regard to your topic and to the approach you have decided to take. If you are a student in the physical sciences then you will probably find you tend toward quantitative or positivist methods. If you are studying the social sciences then qualitative or interpretive methods may be more appropriate. But this is a generalization, and much of the really interesting and innovative research uses a blend of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Research methods > Interviewing > Transcribing the interview

Transcribing the interview

If you have recorded your interview you will need to transcribe your recording onto paper. This can be a very time consuming process. As a guide it would take an experienced audio typist 6 hours to transcribe 1 hour of interview recording! It is good practice to number each line of your transcript for easy reference later.

Whilst transcribing your interviews, you may want to add any notes that you made during the interview to the transcript itself. You may also want to add any codes if you are coding your results.

Coding the interview

If you intend to interpret the data you have gathered in terms of themes, concepts or ideas then you may find it useful to code your transcript as you transcribe it. Coding involves assigning a particular theme or idea a number (the code) and then marking the code next to any text on the transcript that concerns the relevant theme. Of course you could use a key word rather than a number if you prefer,as long as all of your interviews are coded in the same way. You will then be able to easily identify any particular theme across all of your interview transcripts. If you are using a structured interview then your codes can be pre-set for every possible answer that the interviewee may make.

Further information on what and how to code is available at this external site: Qualitative data analysis online

Adding annotations

If you have made notes whilst recording your interview then leave a column next to your transcript so that you can add them in as you are transcribing or have sufficient room to add them once your transcription is complete. You should place your notes next to the relevant part of the transcript text. You should not confine your notes to things that were written down during the interview. You can use the transcription process as an opportunity to re-evaluate your interview and record any further notes that come to mind.

The finished product may look something like this transcript excerpt as adapted from Denscombe (1999).

Some software packages are available that allow you to transcribe and make annotation against the interview recording. Check with your supervisor to see if any software is available within your department.
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