Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Digital voice recorders do, however, have some hidden costs. Transcribing
recordings can be an extremely time-consuming and tedious task (even when
they are digitally recorded and transferred to a computer). Listening to a record-
ing takes as much time as making the original recording—hours of interview
data require hours of listening. Transcribing recordings adds another dimension
to the concept of time consumption. Typically, the fieldworker edits the record-
ings, transcribing only the most important sections. This keeps the ethnogra-
pher “close to the data,” enabling the ethnographer to identify subtle themes and
patterns that might be overlooked by a professional transcriber who is not
familiar with the local community. However, a carefully selected professional
transcriber can remove the pedestrian part of the process if funds are available
(see Carspecken, 1996, p. 29; Robinson, 1994; Roper & Shapira, 2000). Voice
recognition software (designed to transform speech into written text) is of lim-
ited value for this type of transcription. Voice recognition software is typically
designed to work with a single individual's voice, not people interviewed by the
ethnographer. Great strides, however, are being made in this area.
The transcriber must be familiar with the language, dialect, and slang of the
people on the recording; must know to note—not gloss over—inaudible sec-
tions; and must be able to transcribe in a way that is value neutral or context rel-
evant. One of my first transcribers was very familiar with black English
vernacular—a must for the recordings I needed transcribed. She was black and
from a low- to middle-income family. Unfortunately, she believed that black
English vernacular was degrading and did not want lower-socioeconomic-class
black students represented in a way she thought degrading. Consequently, she
smoothed out their conversation, making sure it resembled white middle-class
speech. Having conducted all the interviews myself and knowing the students
fairly well, I recognized the problem at once. I explained why I needed verba-
tim transcriptions. My transcriber, however, continued to eliminate the students'
expletives in her transcriptions. The role of values, even in this facet of ethno-
graphic investigation, proved to be a critical link in the chain of research.
PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (PDA)
PDAs are pocket-sized tools designed to send and receive text messages,
e-mail, and pictures. PDAs are also used to tell the time, record notes and to-
do lists, search the Internet, find travel directions and maps, maintain calen-
dars, synchronize files, and make telephone calls. Ethnographers increasingly
rely on PDAs to organize and prioritize their schedules, communicate, and
share preliminary insights and understandings while in the field. I routinely
