Transcribing...

Now that all of my transcribing has been completed, I have to say, it is my least favorite part of qualitative research. No wonder people outsource this part! 

While I enjoy re-listening to the interviews, as I am always reminded of some gem of a comment someone made, it is quite a tedious task. Oh well...on the other hand, it surely gets you enmeshed with the data. After the first round, I went back through and listened to every interview again as I read through the transcript. I am convinced that this is a necessary part of the process. It was essential to go back through, just to ensure that the written words truly matched the intent of what they were saying. Sometimes, with a break in speech, a confusion of words, misplaced punctuation, etc, the entire meaning of a comment could be conflated. As it is the job of the qualitative researcher to translate the story of the participants, it is essential to accurately portray the intent of their words. 

As I soiree into the data analysis portion of this project, I will seek to preserve the integrity of the words, stories, and experiences of my participants...