eLearning’s Done; Now, for that Research . . .

Finally finished with the eLearning Project that has kept me occupied since the classes I taught this summer ended. Really happy with the three modules I created for Pace University’s DNP program. Now, let’s hope the incoming students also find them useful . . .

Now, I feel I am able to devote all my time outside work to my Autoethnographer Community of Practice research project. Still a LOT to do. Let’s see, it is due in 11 days and I am still transcribing.

I can do that!

Transcription Politics

I am busily working on transcription–my first foray into this process (complete with new recorder and foot pedal), and have already had the benefit of encountering some of the politics around transcription.

Politics, you think?

I started to think about this when there were pauses (not recorded, if we are literal), changes in thought mid-sentence (which in a written transcript seems like a scattered and brainless mess, though happens all the time in our common discussion), grammatical errors (do we embaress the participants by showing them what they actually said), chuckles, changes in tone and energy, body language, and the like. So many factors to consider, that I have started to think that an audio interview, while capturing what is said, may not adequately capture what is meant.

When sharing this with some colleagues, I was surprised to hear how uncritically or at time literal people could be, as if these issues were assumed to be outside of the research process, and should not be explored. Odd response from qualitative researchers, to say the least.

Into the literature I go yet again for some guidance on how to handle these . . .

A Pause in Research, Oh so Brief!

I have had to temporarily stop the transcription for my doctoral research project due to some work and university eLearning modules I am finishing that have taken 100% of my non-full-time-job time. Will return to my research this weekend, full steam ahead!

While I have been so busy, I did smile broadly this morning when I came across an article in this morning’s New York Times, The Big Draw of a GPS Run. While the articles itself was fascinating (never considered turning on GPS and creating art with it!), I think there was a profound insight contained in a quote by Ellen Worthing, a GPS-using hiker, at the end of the article:

She likes that with a GPS device she can reimagine a landscape so imbued with history, patriotism and war. “Do we need to see what the U.S. Park Service wants us to see?” she asked. “Or can we see what we want to see?”

Creating her art as a contrast to the “established” purpose of the Fort McHenry National Monument, she exemplified freedom in a way I have not really considered before. Who are you to tell me what I see? Who are you to tell me how I should think? Who are you to tell me what this should mean? My meaning is my meaning, and how I see the world may at times be at odds with how others think it should be seen, or what it should mean. It took some time getting here, and I am thoroughly convinced that there is no such thing as a static and objective meaning, one that is the same for all people at all times.

Can there be a better example of the joys of qualitative research?

Transcription Foot Pedal for Digital Interviews

As I have been recording interviews for a doctoral research project, the next step is to transcribe them. As there are many political issues regarding how to handle transcriptions (do you notate pauses, tone grammatical corrections, and the like—also sifting through some of the vast literature on this topic), I will do this myself to better be able to navigate the process and create a key for what and why I make decisions about the interviews.

infinity usb 2Thus, I needed to purchase a transcription foot pedal, and ASAP at that!

Not knowing where to get one of these (lots sold online, though I am in a rush to get started), I located AAAPrice, where I purchased an Infinity Foot Control IN-USB-2. The fellow who helped me there, Adam, not only gave me directions to their Brooklyn office (they usually sell online, so going to the office is a bit unusual. As I said, I was really in a rush to get this!), but he also showed me how to set it up with the basic (free!) software that works with these pedals, Express Scribe. He even gave me a printed set of instructions! I cannot recommend his company enough for the wonderful and personal service I received.

With this said, now off to transcribe!

Interview Recording Equipment for Phone and Distance Research

WS-510MWorking on some research toward my PhD, I needed some equipment to record the interviews as well as to be able to record via the phone (or Skype). Yes, there are a lot of online products for this, but with my seemingly constant problem with Skype recently, I did not want to rely on an online solution in case I had to call my participants directly (which I had to do on both occasions; thanks Skype-that-I-pay-for).

I purchased the Olympus WS-510M 4GB Digital Voice Recorder and WMA/MP3 Music Player and used its accessory the Olympus TP-7 Telephone Recording Device. Absolutely thrilled with how well these two work (together), how I can use them with my cell phone, office phone, and even Skype headset. Wonderful results! Put the TP-7 (which is really an ear piece microphone) into the recorder and into my ear, and it recorded everything on the phone as well as my responses—all while being able to watch the audio-in settings move as we spoke.

TP-7Yes, I alerted my participants that I was recording them (AND had Lancaster University ethical approval to do so), though as the external equipment was digital and not connected to the line itself, they would not have known I was doing this otherwise.

One word of caution—the instructions for using the WS-510M and adjusting the settings are not quite helpful (OK, they are among the worst instructions I have ever used; no usability testing whatsoever!), so I had to do a LOT of trial and error and testing to finally get them right for my needs. Perhaps to save others the same wasted afternoon (and following morning), these are the specific settings I found gave me the best results:

  • Dictation
  • ST X2
  • Low Cut ON
  • VCVA OFF
  • Voice Filter ON

With all the limitations and struggles I have seen discussed online about the best equipment for recording interviews, these two worked fine for me. If I were to do larger focus groups or the like, I would suggest either an external microphone or a physically larger built-in mic model (though the costs increases significantly). Nevertheless, these two meet my current and foreseeable needs.