Tina the Transcriber

I had a “first” this week as a researcher. I had the pleasure of transcribing my first interview Wednesday night. Before relaying the experience, let me tell you what I thought about the idea prior to actually doing it.

I didn’t think much.

How hard could it be? I am a fast typer. I’m accurate. I have a good memory. I figured it would be a good reminder for me not to talk too much during the interview because I would only have to transcribe it later. (And as an interviewer I shouldn’t dominate the conversation.) I pictured myself being in the courtroom with my little computer just typing away all perky and cheerful.

So how did it go? To put it bluntly—I wanted to put a gun to my head within the first five minutes. It took me 30 minutes to transcribe the first three and half minutes of the interview! Are you [insert inappropriate word] kidding me?! I have almost two hours of interviews to transcribe! (Which is NOTHING compared to most qualitative studies that require voice recording and transcribing.) Remember in the last blog when I discussed the desire to do meaningful work? The way I see it, transcribing these interviews is twelve hours of my life I am never getting back.

I slowed the voices down to the point where we all sounded like we were drunk, which only made me want to be in that state of mind. Maybe it would have made the experience less painful and less scarring! :) All the time I had random thoughts coming to mind, “What if I had to hunt and peck for the keys?” “What if I don't find any themes—what a waste of time.” “How the h#&* did they do this without digital recorders?” “Thank God I only have five twenty-minute interviews.” “I’m never doing qualitative research!” “I feel sorry for the poor person who is “lucky” enough to have to transcribe my 100 mile an hour rate of speaking someday.” Every once and awhile I had to listen to the interviews in normal speed just to make sure I didn’t sound like the idiot I am hearing at 50% speed. Do you know how annoying my laugh is in slow speed? (I know some of you are thinking it is annoying at normal speed, so what would be the difference! :))

I even had moments of deliriousness when I thought my next project should be to drink to the point of slurring my speech, voice record a conversation, then transcribe it at a slow speed. How would drunk sounding drunk sound? (Are you following me?) Fascinating research, no? I’m always told my research should connect to my interests! See what I mean? The thought of mixing what brings me great pleasure with the current bane of my existence? Delirious!

I transcribed my first interview Wednesday night. For the next two days, I literally had to psych myself into doing the next two interviews. I completed them last night—three hours of my life wasted. I am getting quicker. I was that locomotive charging up the mountainside at full speed, only one thing on my mind—getter done. And now I am questioning whether I have the mental or physical capacity to finish the last two interviews today. My fingers hurt. My back aches. And I hate looking down at the clock upon completion and realizing I just wasted another two hours of my life. But then I think about it like a band-aid—just rip it off—there is less pain.

I know people pay others to do it, but why would I want to pass such torture onto another human being? Maybe we could make it into punishment of some kind. Dang—I knew I should have had kids at a younger age. :)

But being the person I am, I always look for the value or lesson in the experience. Believe it or not, I found one. For all of those who know and love me: if ever you want me to be quiet, tell me the conversation is being taped and that I am going to have to transcribe it.

I can’t think of anything that will shut me up more quickly.