I am looking to purchase some digital equipment to record focus groups and
in-depth interviews I will be conducting this year.
There seem to be two main options open to me - purchase of a mini disc
recorder or a digital dictaphone recorder. Whilst the dictaphone seems
preferable in that it is possible to down load data directly onto the PC at
high speed (the mini disc down loads at a slower speed), I am concerned that
the quality of recording with a dictaphone, particularly in focus groups,
will not be as good as that from a mini disc or even good enough to
transcribe the discussions.
I wonder whether anyone has experience of using these two formats and
whether they are able to offer any information as to the difference in
recording quality between them (particularly in group situations).
In terms of dictaphone models, I have been recommended the Olympus DS 330
Digital Voice Recorder over a Sony ICD MS-515 Memory Stick Digital Dictation
Machine. This is compatible with Dragon Naturally Speaking Software -
again, does anyone have any experience of using this software to transcribe
in-depth interviews/focus groups? My feeling is that it will not be able to
capture the complexity of discussion of a focus group particularly if people
have strong regional accents - bearing in mind this work will be conducted
in the UK and not the US (where I assume the software was developed).
Any information gratefully received.
Dr Suzanne Martin
Social Forestry Project Leader
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian
EH25 9SY
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: +44 (0)131 445 6930
Fax: +44 (0)131 445 5124
http://www.forestry.gov.uk
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