Interview Transcription: Is it Necessary for Qualitative Analysis?

Transcription is an integral part of qualitative research. However, many students either completely dismiss interview transcription or they have their interview transcribed by their friends and colleagues. 

The result? Erroneous data that jeopardizes research findings.

If you are undertaking qualitative research and need your interviews transcribed, search for professional academic transcription services.

Here are four benefits of professional academic transcription services for qualitative research.

4 Benefits of Professional Academic Transcription Services for Qualitative Research

1. Easier to Scan

When analyzing your qualitative data, you may need to refer back to the interviews.

If you have the interview recorded as audio or video, you may need to play it over and over again for verification purposes.

You can’t skim through or easily search for the data you need from an audio file.

However, a transcribed interview is easier to scan and search.

For instance, if you have the interview typed on Microsoft Word, you can use a command such as CTRL + F to search for a word or phrase in it.

You can also time-stamp the transcription to note specific quotes, which can be easily found in the text content.

2. You Have a Record of the Interview

A transcribed interview can be used as reference material when you need to carry out follow-up research.

When the interview is in text, it can be stored on different media, including on the cloud or on flash drives.

The multiple storage options make it easy to use transcribed interviews for reference. 

On the other hand, an audio file can easily get lost or destroyed when not handled carefully.

It is also more difficult to share audio files on different media, especially if the files are large. 

3. Easy to Share

Transcribed interviews are available as text documents that are easy to share.

For example, the interviews can be saved as MS Word or PDF documents and sent through email or on a cloud platform.

Document files are typically small in size. Therefore, they are not only easier to share but also access. 

Unlike an audio or video file, which may require a medium such as a phone with an internet connection to stream the audio, a text document can be viewed offline. Moreover, the document can be easily transferred to other people through Bluetooth.

Moreover, if your co-researchers are not native English speakers, they can easily understand the content of the interview by reading a text document rather than listening to an audio file.

4. Makes Data Coding Easier

After transcribing an interview, coding data becomes easier. Coding while listening to audio is more difficult than coding while reading. 

When getting information from a document, you don’t have to rely on your memory or typing speed to code. You also don’t have to keep pausing the audio to get time to code. 

With the interview transcribed to text, you can refer to your document to find the answers you need. As a result, coding and interpreting your data becomes easier. 

Transcribing interviews is beneficial when it comes to qualitative data analysis.

For accurate results, hire a professional Transcription services company to transcribe your interviews.

This will not only save you time but also ensure you get value for your money.

Read Also: The Usefulness of Media Transcription