{"id":994,"date":"2026-01-19T11:44:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T19:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonix.ai\/resources\/?p=994"},"modified":"2026-01-25T12:34:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T20:34:53","slug":"why-you-should-transcribe-interviews-when-doing-qualitative-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonix.ai\/resources\/why-you-should-transcribe-interviews-when-doing-qualitative-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should transcribe interviews when doing qualitative research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Qualitative research<\/a> is used every single day across different industries, academic fields, medicine, and more. This type of research centers around societies, cultures, individuals, and language. For example, anthropologists may look at how cultures define adulthood to better understand their place in society and human behavior. A fashion brand may do qualitative research to better understand what customers want to wear or purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the most important aspects of qualitative research is interviews<\/a>. Interviews allow for information gathering, accurate timelines, and first-hand knowledge. When conducting these interviews, you want to preserve them so that you can revisit them when necessary, preserve the topic, and have a record of your sources. Records can be audio files, written transcripts, or both. Transcribing your research<\/a> has a multitude of benefits which we will talk about throughout this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is qualitative research?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When someone does qualitative research (or naturalistic research, as it is also known), they aren\u2019t necessarily looking for hard data or concrete answers. Instead, they are exploring the topic to get a better understanding of the why. <\/em>They want to know opinions, rituals, reasons, and more for specific topics or issues. Often, this leads to less structured ways to collect information, including focus groups, discussions, interviews, observations, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One example of qualitative research may be interviewing someone about their experiences during a world event. You may be able to identify how someone felt during a time of crisis, for example. You can use what they say to gain new insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quantitative data, on the other hand, is all about the numbers. It uses specificity and statistics to provide results. Researchers are tightly controlled and use this to get concrete answers, establish facts, and reveal patterns in behavior. Typically, the sample population is much larger simply because the information doesn\u2019t take as long to get – sometimes collection is automatic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is impossible to study anyone in isolation – we live and work with people. Instead, it is best to study people in relation to their cultures, social units, upbringings, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualitative research protocols<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Due to the fact that qualitative research is so different from traditional research, some people have found fault with it. It typically isn\u2019t judged by the same standards as quantitative research – but that doesn\u2019t mean that there aren\u2019t similar protocols. Including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n