Conducting face-to-face interviews outside a recording studio requires some preparation. The setting affects - (a) The quality of responses you get (b) The recording quality so it’s important plan carefully. Here are a few tips for choosing the right location and setting: Choose a quiet location A quiet room is best for conducting an interview. If the outdoors are unavoidable, such as a restaurant or a park, choose a place that’s not too crowded. At outdoor locations, check for distracting [...]
Recording Speech Using Lavalier Microphones
Lavalier microphones or lapel mics are small clip-on mics that are extremely useful for recording interviews and speeches. Because of their size, they’re easy to handle (and hide) and deliver great sound quality. Here’s a simple guide to help you choose the best one for your recordings - Types of Lavalier Microphones There are 2 basic types of lavalier microphones available: 1. Omnidirectional Lavaliers These are the standard lavaliers used for indoor recordings. They have a spherical field of vision, [...]
How to Record Qualitative Research Interviews
Qualitative Research Interviews can be tricky to record as well as transcribe, especially if the interviewees are not native speakers of English. A little bit of planning and some simple precautions can go a long way in improving the clarity of the recordings as well as the accuracy of your transcripts: 1. Use Professional Recording Gear The two most common problems with research interview recordings are - i) Low volume due to the speakers’ distance from the recording device, and ii) [...]
4 Rules of Verbatim Transcription
Verbatim transcription is the art of converting spoken word into text such that a message is captured exactly the way it has been spoken. This requires a keen ear and attention to detail. Verbatim transcripts cannot be created by mindlessly listening and typing. One has to pay close attention to every sound, tone, word and make intelligent use of punctuation to convey the correct message. Here are 4 important rules of verbatim transcription: 1. Capture EVERY word (don’t paraphrase) Many [...]
Outsourcing Transcription of Research Interviews
When planning to outsource the transcription of your research interviews it may be a good idea to invest some time in writing out a clear set of instructions for your transcriptionist because research transcription is quite different from regular transcription. Here are a few points to get you started - Identify the Transcription Style In research interviews the HOW of what’s being said is almost as important as the WHAT. For this reason the preferred style of transcription for these interviews is Verbatim [...]