Clipping and Coding Audio Files: A Research Method to Enable Participant Voice

Abstract

Qualitative researchers have long used ethnographic methods to make sense of complex human activities and experiences. Their blessing is that through them, researchers can collect a wealth of raw data. Their challenge is that they require the researcher to find patterns and organize the various themes and concepts that emerge during the analysis stage into a coherent narrative that a reader can follow. In this article, the authors introduce a technology-enhanced data collection and analysis method based on clipped audio files. They suggest not only that the use of appropriate software and hardware can help in this process but, in fact, that their use can honor the participants' voices, retaining the original three-dimensional recording well past the data collection stage.

Dreams within a dream: Multiple visions and organizational structure

“…In the first stage of analysis, first‐ and second‐order coding were performed on the audio data of the interview using ATLAS.ti 7.0. By directly coding audio data, we sought to bypass the potential errors (Halcomb & Davidson, ) and data loss (Crichton & Childs, ; Neal, Neal, VanDyke, & Kornbluh, ; Tessier, ) associated with traditional transcription methods.…”

Identical Genes, Unique Environments: A Qualitative Exploration of Persistent Monozygotic-Twin Discordance in Literacy and Numeracy

“…Following the process outlined in Halcomb and Davidson (2006), audio recordings of interviews were subsequently reviewed by one of the researchers alongside the field notes to ensure the notes represented the content of the interviews as accurately as possible. The process of using audio files rather than text transcriptions of interview data was selected in order to retain the voices of participants in the analysis procedure and avoid misinterpretation through the loss of contextual cues (Crichton and Childs, 2005;Tessier, 2012;Neal et al, 2014). The review of the audio data involved composing a separate set of detailed notes and transcribing direct quotations relevant to the emerging themes.…”

“You Just Gotta Do It, 'Cause Those are Your Kids”: Survival Parenting and Rural Homelessness

“…Once we had identified all relevant interview segments we began the process of directly coding these segments from the audio files. As Crichton and Childs () have argued, directly coding from audio files reduces the impact of the transcription process and allows the researchers to hear not just the dialogue between the interviewer and participant, but also surrounding sounds, which is important for interpreting data within the physical and social context of the interview setting. Markle, West, and Rich () have argued that direct coding of audio files can also increase data accuracy and trustworthiness.…”