transcription dissertation interviews

Transcribing Interviews for Qualitative Research: Best Practices

• Serra Ardem

The long hours dedicated to transcribing interviews are now in a galaxy far far away, thanks to the developments in AI and machine learning. Qualitative research highly benefits from these advancements as AI transcription technology not only saves valuable time but also increases research efficiency and accuracy.

In this blog, we emphasize the significance of transcribing interviews for qualitative research as well as the best practices in this area. We also explain why automatic transcription offers more advantages to researchers and how to choose an interview transcription software to achieve optimal results.

Let’s begin.

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is a systematic approach to understanding and explaining social phenomena. Focused on “How?” and “Why?” questions, it is an umbrella concept that involves different research methodologies including interviews, participant observation, focus groups and so on.

Qualitative data is based on words, behaviors and images. By analyzing these, qualitative research generates theories and hypotheses on how the social world is experienced and understood by people in everyday life. Unlike quantitative research that depends on numbers and statistics, qualitative research seeks to uncover the underlying meanings in human experiences.

Importance of Transcribing Interviews in Qualitative Research

Transcribing interviews for qualitative research offers several benefits that contribute to the overall depth and success of the research process. Here are its key advantages:

• Comprehensive analysis: Transcripts capture every word, nuance and non-verbal cue, which is a goldmine for data analysis. This allows researchers to identify themes and patterns thoroughly to draw meaningful conclusions.
• Enhanced reliability: Having the transcript for an interview will strengthen research validity by providing evidence to your argument. Plus, other researchers can review the transcription, ensuring transparency and collaboration.
• Reduced bias: Transcribing interviews will reduce bias as it minimizes the risk of misinterpreting or omitting information. Compared to note-taking, which may be influenced by the researcher’s perceptions, transcription offers a more objective representation of data.
• Increased accessibility: Via transcription , researchers can share and discuss findings with people who couldn’t participate in the interview due to language barriers. Furthermore, the practice improves accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing individuals by allowing them to engage with the findings through written text.
• Time-efficiency: No more jumping back and forth in audio files! When you transcribe the interview, you can quickly search for and navigate to specific parts, saving time during the analysis phase.

4 Types of Transcription

Transcription can be grouped into four categories: verbatim, intelligent verbatim, edited and phonetic. Let’s take a look at each one’s pros and cons, and highlight the best choice for transcribing interviews for qualitative research.

Verbatim Transcription

Verbatim transcription includes every sound in the audio recording such as coughs, doorbells and hesitations (er, mm, etc.) between sentences.

Pros: Provides the most complete and accurate record of the interview, which is essential for capturing the full context and subtle nuances.

Cons: May include unnecessary details. Can be time consuming and expensive to produce in case of manual transcription.

Primarily used in: legal proceedings, sociolinguistic research studies

Intelligent Verbatim Transcription

An intelligent verbatim transcript removes filler words and repetitions but retains key content and non-verbal cues. Its purpose is to provide a more on-point transcript.

Pros: Offers a balance between readability and details. 

Cons: May sacrifice some context and require careful quality control to guarantee accuracy.

Primarily used in: qualitative research, especially in interviews and focus groups

Edited Transcription

Clarity is the main focus of an edited transcript. It corrects grammatical errors and eliminates filler words, repetitions and extraneous sounds.

Pros: More readable and concise, therefore suitable for general understanding and thematic analysis.

Cons: Risks losing some nuances and the authenticity of participants’ expressions.

Primarily used in: journalism and media contexts

Phonetic Transcription

Phonetic transcription is unorthodox as it uses symbols from the International Phonetic Association to represent sounds exactly as they are spoken. This includes accents, dialects and non-standard pronunciations.

Pros: Analyzing variations in pronunciation.

Cons: More complex and expensive than other types of transcription.

Primarily used in: linguistic studies

What is the best type for interview transcripts in qualitative research? As we’ve said above, intelligent verbatim transcription is often the best choice: It is readable and manageable for analysis, yet it also provides a detailed record of the conversation.

Still, always consider your research goals, questions, data and budget when transcribing interviews. An edited transcript might be sufficient if you want to focus on broader themes. Meanwhile, verbatim transcription can be pretty useful if details matter to you a lot.

Methods of Transcribing Interviews

There are two main methods when it comes to transcribing interviews: manual and automatic. While manual transcription involves a human transcriber typing out the spoken words in the interview, automatic transcription utilizes speech recognition technology to convert audio to text.

As in types of transcription, these two methods have their unique advantages and disadvantages. Human transcribers can better understand nuances and context. However, this method can also be pretty time consuming and it may be expensive to hire a professional transcriber.

On the other hand, automatic transcription is much faster and cost-effective. This is an important advantage in the realm of qualitative research where large amounts of interview data need to be processed and analyzed. You can definitely save time and resources by using software when transcribing interviews for research.

Moreover, automatic transcription services are getting more accurate day by day thanks to the developments in AI, machine learning and voice recognition. Current systems can handle diverse accents, linguistic variations and even contextual nuances very well. This significantly increases the reliability of the interview transcript and research results.

How to Choose an Interview Transcription Software

Decided to use an interview transcription software for research but confused on how to choose one? Look for these qualities when making your decision:

Accuracy is crucial when transcribing interviews as it directly influences the reliability of your data. Prioritize an AI-powered tool with a high accuracy rate to remain true to your original interview. We recommend you test the AI transcription software beforehand with a small sample of your interview.

Quick turnaround time is essential for researchers who work with large sums of interview data and tight deadlines. The right software must transcribe audio to text rapidly without compromising accuracy and meet the demands of an intense qualitative research process.

It is your responsibility to comply with ethical standards and protect your participants’ sensitive information. You must choose a tool that has end-to-end encryption and clear privacy policies.

Flexibility

Does the transcription software allow you to upload audio and video files in different formats? Is it easy to edit the transcript and add notes? This flexibility will help you refine interviews seamlessly, enhancing the quality of your data.

Customization

Speaker identification, timestamps and punctuation are indispensable when transcribing interviews for qualitative research. Select a software that allows you to tailor these elements to your needs.

Language Support

Make sure that the tool supports the languages spoken in your interviews. Break down the language barrier by choosing a software that transcribes multiple languages and enrich your research with global perspectives.

Transcribing Interviews with Maestra Step-by-Step

If you’re looking for a tool with all these features, then Maestra’s AI-powered interview transcription software is the right choice for you. You can get your transcript instantly by following a few simple steps.

• Upload your audio or video file. Maestra supports 125+ languages .
• Select audio language and receive the transcript in seconds. 

Custom dictionary is especially beneficial when transcribing interviews for research as the audio content is more likely to include technical terminology. With this feature, you can add specific terms to your custom dictionary, assign importance values and Maestra will transcribe them as specified, ensuring accuracy.

You can also select the number of speakers during the upload phase and assign names to each speaker, making it easier to navigate the transcript.

• Click “Submit” and witness AI transcription work its magic. You will instantly receive your interview transcript with timestamps and speaker tags.
• Ta-da! You can now proofread and edit your transcript, take notes and add comments with Maestra’s built-in text editor .

Maestra has a very high accuracy rate but you can always polish your document for maximum clarity and comprehensibility.

After transcribing interviews, you can safely reach and organize them via MaestraCloud . You can also store your interview recordings here as the cloud allows you to keep audio and video files of any size without time limitations.

Collaborating with fellow researchers? Maestra Teams is ready to help you. You can create team-based channels with different permission levels and edit the document with other researchers in real-time.

Tips for Transcribing Interviews for Qualitative Research

No matter your experience in qualitative research or the software you use, there are certain practices to adopt when transcribing interviews.

Use a High-Quality Recording Device

Utilizing a high-quality recording device lays a solid foundation for interview transcription. Invest in a reliable recorder with good microphone sensitivity and audio quality to capture every part of the conversation. Don’t forget to test your equipment beforehand to avoid potential technical issues during the interview.

Respect Confidentiality

Upholding confidentiality is paramount when transcribing interviews for qualitative research. Always obtain informed consent from participants for recording and transcription, and store your files securely. Avoid sharing any personally identifiable information to safeguard participant privacy and maintain the integrity of your research.

Include Speaker Identification and Time Stamps

This practice enhances the overall usability of an interview transcript by enabling easy reference to specific points. Make sure you clearly identify each speaker on the document either by name, role or pseudonym. You can use different fonts or colors to visually distinguish between speakers.

Follow the Specific Style Consistently

Choose a transcription style guide (verbatim, intelligent verbatim, etc.) and follow it consistently throughout the project. Define rules for punctuation, contractions and interruptions. This will guarantee uniformity and enhance the reliability of your findings.

Add Non-Verbal Cues and Annotations

This one is not mandatory but can provide valuable context. You can document non-verbal expressions, pauses or changes in tone to add depth to qualitative data analysis. Meanwhile, bracketed annotations can help you highlight important moments. Just remember that adding too much detail can be distracting, so only include relevant information.

Edit and Proofread the Transcript

Proofread and edit your document once transcribing an interview: correct any errors, format inconsistencies and review for readability. Double check speaker identification and timestamps for accuracy. These practices will ensure a smooth transition from transcription to analysis and publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is transcription necessary for qualitative research.

The necessity of transcription depends on the nature and goals of the qualitative research you conduct. For example, it is crucial for in-depth and focus group interviews but not essential for participant observation where researchers can rely on field notes.

How do you transcribe an anonymous interview?

When transcribing interviews with anonymous participants, remove any information that can directly or indirectly identify the participant such as name, nickname, location, job title and affiliations. Create neutral pseudonyms (Participant 1, Interviewee A, etc.) for the participant and use them consistently throughout the interview transcript.

How do you analyze interview transcripts in qualitative research?

First, familiarize yourself with the data through readings when analyzing an interview transcript for research . Then, assign codes to relevant segments and organize similar codes into broader recurring themes. Finally, present your findings via a structured narrative. Always maintain transparency during the process.

How do you transcribe an interview in APA format?

Transcripts of interviews are usually added to the appendix in APA format . You should use a specific header with interview details, double line spacing and speaker identifiers in the transcript.

How do you summarize an interview transcript?

Carefully read the content and identify key themes when summarizing the transcript of an interview . Organize the information logically, provide brief contextual details when necessary and use quotes to add impact. Capture the essence of the interview by keeping the summary short and sweet.

Interview transcription is particularly valuable in qualitative research, which delves deep into human experiences and perceptions. Transforming spoken words into text enables researchers to derive meaningful insights from the rich tapestry of qualitative data. It also increases the accessibility of the research, empowering scholars to collaborate with colleagues across disciplines and borders. 

The advent of AI technology revolutionized the process of transcribing interviews and will continue to do so in the future. Its benefits range from increased accuracy to cost-effectiveness, providing a much refined experience for researchers. By choosing the right software and adopting the best practices for transcribing interviews, researchers can unleash the full potential of their endeavors.

About Serra Ardem

Serra Ardem is a freelance writer and editor based in Istanbul. For the last 8 years, she has been collaborating with brands and businesses to tell their unique story and develop their verbal identity.

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Methodology

• Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software

Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software

Published on April 25, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Transcribing is converting speech to text word for word. Transcribing is a common practice when conducting interviews because it enables you to perform analysis.

How to transcribe an interview in five steps:

• Choose your preferred transcription method
• Transcribe the audio (using transcription software )
• Add speaker designation and time stamps
• Clarify the transcript where needed
• Proofread the transcript, looking out for any mistakes that can lead to information bias or omitted variable bias

Transcription software comparison

Table of contents

Transcription methods, altering the transcript, example transcript, analyzing interview transcripts, transcription software, other interesting articles.

Before you start transcribing, you first need to determine what transcription method you want to use. The best method depends on the goal of your transcription.

Verbatim transcription

Write down every single word, including pauses, the expression of emotions such as laughter, stuttering, and hesitations such as “uh”.

This type of transcription is mostly used in the legal profession or in research where you’re not only interested in what is said but also how it is said.

Intelligent verbatim transcription (most common)

Write down every word, but without irrelevant fillers like “uhm”, “yeah”, “you know” etc. To improve readability, you can also fix grammar mistakes, broken sentences and long paragraphs.

This method is more readable than verbatim transcription, but some data—such as emotions, pauses and hesitation—is lost in the process.

Edited transcription

A summarized and edited version of an intelligent verbatim transcript. In addition to omitting fillers like “you know”, irrelevant sentences can be omitted if it doesn’t change the meaning of the story.

If the audio quality is bad or the conversation itself needs clarification, you are allowed to make changes in the transcript. For instance:

• Adding a clarifying comment: “I showed him that this option [raising prices] would be beneficial for profitability.”
• Marking unclear / missing audio with ellipses: “I showed him … would be beneficial for profitability”
• Emphasizing words: “ Increasing prices is needed for profitability”

There are no rules for formatting and structuring a transcript. However, most transcripts contain the following information:

• Names of the interviewer and interviewee (can be anonymized)
• Date and time when the interview took place
• Location of the interview
• Speaker designation (who says what?)
• Line numbers and time stamps (optional)

After transcribing the interview(s) it is time to start analyzing. There are several techniques for doing this—coding and categorizing is one of them.

This means that you link keywords (e.g., “understanding customer”) to the answers you’ve received to your questions. Based on these keywords you are able to find connections between the answers of different respondents.

You can also use methods such as content analysis , thematic analysis or discourse analysis .

If you quote from an interview in your research paper , make sure you correctly cite the source. Learn how to cite an interview in MLA and APA .

Transcribing interviews takes a lot of time, but luckily transcription software is developing quickly! Using transcription software can help you speed up the process.

Most software is able to accurately convert English speech to text. However, the audio quality must be good in order for the software to work. That means a noise-free background, no over-talk, clear accents and good microphones.

If the audio quality is too poor for automatic transcription, you unfortunately have to dictate it or transcribe it manually.

We tested and reviewed the transcription software below using the audio of a YouTube video in which Bill Gates is interviewed . The audio meets all the criteria listed above.

Happy Scribe

• Speaker recognition
• Clean and intuitive editor
• Omits ‘uhs’ and stuttering
• Correct capitalization and use of periods
• 25% student discount
• Doesn’t insert punctuation (except for periods)

• Good speaker recognition
• Simple but powerful interface
• Comment and highlight feature
• Ignores intro music from video
• Easy to keep track of reviewing progress
• Some missing spaces

• Solid speaker recognition
• Very good capitalization and punctuation (including commas )
• Much cheaper than other transcription software
• Just a 1-minute trial
• Dated editor with limited functionality
• Doesn’t connect audio and transcript
• $20 annual license fee

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Thematic analysis
• Cohort study
• Peer review
• Ethnography

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Conformity bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Availability heuristic
• Attrition bias
• Social desirability bias

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2023, June 22). Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software. Scribbr. Retrieved August 26, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/transcribe-interview/

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How to Analyze Interview Transcripts in Qualitative Research

Rev › Blog › Transcription Blog › How to Analyze Interview Transcripts in Qualitative Research

Studies take time, accuracy, and a drive to provide excellent information, and qualitative research is a critical part of any successful study. You may be wondering how qualitative data adds to a paper or report, given that it’s not the hard “science” we often see highlighted the most often.

How Do You Analyze Qualitative Interviews?

There are two main approaches to qualitative analysis: inductive and deductive . What’s more, there are two types of inductive qualitative analysis to choose from. These are called thematic content analysis and narrative analysis, both of which call for an unstructured approach to research.

Inductive Methods of Analyzing Interview Transcripts

A thematic content analysis begins with weeding out biases and establishing your overarching impressions of the data. Rather than approaching your data with a predetermined framework, identify common themes as you search the materials organically. Your goal is to find common patterns across the data set.

A narrative analysis involves making sense of your interview respondents’ individual stories. Use this type of qualitative data analysis to highlight important aspects of their stories that will best resonate with your readers. And, highlight critical points you have found in other areas of your research.

Deductive Approach to Qualitative Analysis

Deductive analysis , on the other hand, requires a structured or predetermined approach. In this case, the researcher will build categories in advance of their analysis. Then, they’ll map connections in the data to those specific categories.

Each of these qualitative analysis methods lends its benefits to the research effort. Inductive analyses will produce more nuanced findings. Meanwhile, deductive analyses allow the researcher to point to key themes essential to their research.

Successful qualitative research hinges on the accuracy of your data. This can be harder to achieve than with quantitative research. It’s easy to lose important facts and meaning as you transition qualitative data from the source to your published content. This makes transcription a vital tool in maintaining integrity and relaying information in an unbiased way that’s useful for readers and adds appropriate context to the journal or study.

How to Transcribe a Qualitative Interview

Accurate transcription begins early in the interview process, even before you start interviewing. Here are the steps to transcribing a qualitative interview.

1. Collect Feedback for Qualitative Research

There are dozens of ways to gather qualitative data. Recording and accurately transcribing interviews is among the best methods to avoid inaccuracies and data loss, and researchers should consider this approach over simply taking notes firsthand.

Make sure you have a reliable way to record, whether the interview takes place in person, over the phone, or as part of a video call. Depending on the interview method, you may record a video or an audio-only format. Here are some tips depending on where the interview takes place:

• These apps can also be used for over-the-phone interviews.
• For video interviews , we recommend taking advantage of one of our transcription integrations , such as Zoom. Rev also has an API available for those who want to streamline their workflow even further by integrating Rev directly into their processes and platforms.

2. Organize Your Research Recordings

You should ensure that your audio or video files are easy to save, compile, and share. To do this, be sure to adopt easy-to-remember naming conventions as well to ensure they stay organized. An example of a naming convention that is simple to remember and recreate includes “Date.LastNameofSource.Topic”.

3. Transcribe All the Interviews and Focus Group Recordings

The next critical step is transcription. Done manually, this is a long and tedious process that can add hours, days, or even months to your report-writing process. There are dozens of pitfalls when performing transcriptions manually as well, as it can be hard to pick up words spoken in a heavy dialect or quiet tone. You also want to avoid having to transcribe all the “umms” and “ems” that occur when a source is speaking naturally.

Rev provides a variety of transcription services that take the tedium and guesswork out of the research process. You can choose to edit out all of the “umms,” while ensuring that heavy accents or muffled voices are picked up by the recording service.

You can order transcripts from Rev with both audio and video recordings. Once you’ve received your professional transcripts from Rev, you can begin your qualitative analysis.

The 6 Steps of Qualitative Interview Data Analysis

Among qualitative interview data analysis methods, thematic content analysis is perhaps the most common and effective method. It can also be one of the most trustworthy , increasing the traceability and verification of an analysis when done correctly. The following are the six main steps of a successful thematic analysis of your transcripts.

1. Read the Transcripts

By now, you will have accessed your transcript files as digital files in the cloud or have downloaded them to your computer for offline viewing. Start by browsing through your transcripts and making notes of your first impressions. You will be able to identify common themes. This will help you with your final summation of the data.

Next, read through each transcript carefully. Evidence of themes will become stronger, helping you to hone in on important insights.

You must identify bias during this step as well. Biases can appear in the data, among the interviewees, and even within your objectives and methodologies. According to SAGE Publishing , researchers should “acknowledge preconceived notions and actively work to neutralize them” at this early step.

2. Annotate the Transcripts

Annotation is the process of labeling relevant words, phrases, sentences, or sections with codes. These codes help identify important qualitative data types and patterns. Labels can be about actions, activities, concepts, differences, opinions, processes, or whatever you think is relevant.  Annotations will help you organize your data for dissemination .

Be generous with your annotations—don’t hold back. You will have an opportunity to eliminate or consolidate them later. It’s best to do more here, so you don’t have to come back to find more opportunities later.

3. Conceptualize the Data

Conceptualizing qualitative data is the process of aligning data with critical themes you will use in your published content. You will have identified many of these themes during your initial review of the transcripts.

To conceptualize,  create categories and subcategories  by grouping the codes you created during annotation. You may eliminate or combine certain codes rather than using all the codes you created. Keep only the codes you deem relevant to your analysis.

4. Segment the Data

Segmentation is the process of positioning and  connecting your categories . This allows you to establish the bulk of your data cohesively. Start by labeling your categories and then describe the connections between them.

You can use these descriptions to improve your final published content.

• Create a spreadsheet  to easily compile your data.
• Then, use the columns to structure important variables of your data analysis using codes as tools for reference.
• Create a separate tab for the front of the document that contains a coding table. This glossary contains important codes used in the segmentation process. This will help you and others quickly identify what the codes are referring to.

5. Analyze the Segments

You’re now ready to take a  deep dive into your data segments . Start by determining if there is a hierarchy among your categories. Determine if one is more important than the other, or draw a figure to summarize the results. At this stage, you may also want to align qualitative data with any quantitative data you collected.

6. Write the Results

Your analysis of the content is complete—you’re ready to transition your findings into the real body of your content. Use your insights to build and verify theories, answer key questions in your field, and back aims and objectives. Describe your categories and how they are connected using a neutral, objective voice.

Although you will pull heavily from your own research, be sure to publish content in the context of your field. Interpret your results in light of relevant studies, theories, and concepts related to your study.

Why Use Interviews for Qualitative Data

Unlike quantitative data, which is certainly important, a qualitative analysis adds color to academic and business reports. It offers perspective and can make a report more readable, add context, and inspire thoughtful discussion beyond the report.

As we’ve observed, transcribing qualitative interviews is crucial to getting less measurable data from direct sources. They allow researchers to provide relatable stories and perspectives and even quote important contributors directly. Lots of qualitative data from interviews enables authors to avoid embellishment and maintain the integrity of their content as well.

So, how do you conduct interview data analysis on qualitative data to pull key insights and strengthen your reports? Transcribing interviews is one of the most useful tools available for this task.

As a researcher, you need to make the most of recorded interviews . Interview transcripts allow you to use the best qualitative analysis methods. Plus, you can focus only on tasks that add value to your research effort.

Transcription is Essential to Qualitative Research Analysis

Qualitative data is often elusive to researchers. Transcripts allow you to capture original, nuanced responses from your respondents. You get their response naturally using their own words—not a summarized version in your notes.

You can also go back to the original transcript at any time to see what was said as you gain new context. The editable digital transcript files are incredibly easy to work with, saving you time and giving you speaker tags, time marks, and other tools to ensure you can find what you need within a transcript quickly.

When creating a report, accuracy matters, but efficiency matters, as well. Rev offers a seamless way of doing the transcription for you, saving you time and allowing you to focus on high-quality work instead. Consider Rev as your transcription service provider for qualitative research analysis — try Rev’s AI or Human Transcription services today.

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Transcribing interviews for qualitative research

Transcribing interviews is an important step in qualitative research, as it forms the backbone of data analysis and interpretation. In other words we can say that it acts as a vital link between those unfiltered conversations and insightful data acquired from them. But why is accurate transcription so crucial in qualitative studies?

The fundamentals of qualitative research itself provide the first justification. The depth with which linguistic expressions and emotions are communicated during interviews is crucial for this kind of research. Accurate transcription ensures that these non-verbal cues are also added for more clarity.

Transcribing interviews qualitative research is essential to ensuring the correctness of findings because it enables researchers to fully capture the range of participant replies and perspectives. Moving forward in this article we have compiled a comprehensive guide to help you get a more clear perspective on how to transcribe interviews for qualitative research.

What Is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is one of the most commonly used research methods in the field of academia. Instead of concentrating just on the what, where, and when of decision-making, it explores the why and how by focusing on the human aspects of a specific issue or situation. It aims to comprehend people's experiences, actions, feelings, and the interpretations they place on objects.

Getting a much deeper insight into people's attitudes, actions, value systems, concerns, motives and goals is the main aim of qualitative research. It is employed to acquire a deeper comprehension of intricate occurrences that are challenging to put into numerical form.

The main characteristics of qualitative research are:

• Focus on context: It explores the context in which behaviours and events take place.
• Subjectivity: It recognises the subjective nature of the study and frequently captures the perspectives of the participants.
• Extensive analysis: This entails a thorough examination of a limited number of case studies or circumstances.
• Inductive approach: The inductive approach often begins with observations and builds theories from them.
• Flexibility in design: As the study goes on, the research question format may change. Here it is not necessary to follow the predetermined context.

Researchers use qualitative interview as their main method of data collection for this research since it allows them to interact with the subject first hand and focus on the non-verbal cues along with the information they are sharing.

Looking for support in transcribing your qualitative research interviews? Good Tape offers transcription services that can help you better understand your interviews. We're here to help make your transcription process more manageable and efficient. Explore how Good Tape can assist you in your research endeavors .

Qualitative vs quantitative interviews

Qualitative and quantitative interviews are different research approaches, each with a unique strategy for collecting and interpreting data. Quantitative interviews seek to measure human behaviour and experiences in a form that can be statistically examined, whereas qualitative interviews concentrate on investigating and comprehending the depth and complexity of human behaviour and experiences.

While both are extensively used in the field of research, it is important to understand where either of the two should be used. Below is a comparative table of both against which you can determine which of the two would work best in your scenario.

This table presents a clear contrast between qualitative and quantitative interviews, highlighting the differences in their technique, strategy, and study conclusions. The choice between both majorly depends on the research question at hand and the nature of the topic being studied.

How to transcribe an interview for qualitative research

For qualitative research, transcription of interviews is a painstaking procedure that needs time and close attention to detail. It requires turning spoken words from your recorded audio or video into text.

In qualitative research, this transcribing procedure is essential to data processing. Here's a step-by-step tutorial on effectively transcribing interviews, along with a few tips to make the process as easy as it can be.

Record clear audio of the interview

Select a peaceful, quiet workstation for your interviews to reduce distractions and improve focus. It is important to have a well-positioned microphone and high-quality headphones if you want to record even the minute details of speech without picking up excessive background noise.

If there are any unpleasant noises in your audio, services like Good Tape can be quite helpful. They are made to carefully pick up on all spoken and nonverbal cues, even in busy settings, and automatically transcribe all your work for you, so you won't miss any important information.

Work around your transcription

Precise transcription is essential for detailed analysis, accurately recording each word and nonverbal cue. This comprehensive approach allows for a deeper understanding of both the verbal as well as non-verbal cues in communication.

Similarly, intelligent verbatim concentrates on streamlining the text by eliminating unnecessary words and sounds to focus on the primary concepts, resulting in a transcript that is more focused and structured. Revised transcriptions enhance the material by improving clarity and fixing grammar, guaranteeing that the final transcript is accurate, comprehensible, and cohesive.

Audio transcription services such as Good Tape make accurate transcription easy with a shorter turnaround time.

Finalise the transcript

For easy navigation and the identification of important points or sensitive parts within the text, transcript formatting consistency is essential. Consistent formatting facilitates reading and improves the transcript's overall usefulness.

A further crucial stage is anonymisation, which anonymises any confidential or private data to comply with legal regulations. This also gives the interviewees peace of mind knowing that the information they provide will not be used illegally. To ensure that the transcript is correct, well-written, and presented professionally, one last review is necessary to spot any spelling, grammatical, or flow errors.

Some useful tips

Manual transcription can take a lot of time, therefore patience is essential. However, if you wish to have accurate transcripts in less time, using services such as Good Tape can cut down on the amount of time required.

It's also very important to make sure that your transcribed documents are safe. Maintaining regular backups is essential to avoiding data loss. Using services that automatically store and back up your transcribed audio might be a sensible choice if you find it difficult to remember to do backups, since they provide efficiency and peace of mind.

Why accurate transcription matters in qualitative research

Precise transcription is essential to qualitative research because it supports the accuracy and essence of the whole research process. It is the first stage of data analysis and has a direct impact on the findings and recommendations of the study. There are several reasons why accurate transcribing is important and advantageous.

Impact on data analysis

• Maintains originality: Preserving the original context of spoken words is ensured via precise transcription. For accurate interpretation of the data, this is essential.
• Enables comprehensive study: If the transcription has even minute error, it may prevent researchers from doing a thorough study of the interview data, including discourse, theme, and content analysis. Conversation analysis requires a lot of details which is possible through detailed notes of its accurate transcription.
• Supports accuracy: Data analysis in qualitative research is a very crucial step. More valid findings are produced when transcripts are accurate because they give researchers a solid foundation.

Impact on research outcomes

• Validity of findings: The reliability of the study findings is directly impacted by the quality of the transcribing. Inaccurate conclusions may result from word misinterpretation or omission.
• Reliability and reproducibility: A key component of scientific investigation is replication, which is made possible by accurate transcribing, which also increases the research's dependability.
• Reflects the voice of the participant: Accurate transcribing preserves the integrity of the participants' contributions by correctly capturing their voices.

Benefits of accurate transcription

• Enhances credibility: Precisely recorded information strengthens the credibility of the study among other researchers and readers
• Facilitates peer review and cooperation: Because other researchers can comprehend and analyse the data with clarity, it makes effective peer review and cooperation possible.
• Enhances engagement with data: When data is precisely translated, researchers may interact with it at a deeper level, which results in more perceptive analysis and interpretation.

Accurate transcription plays a crucial role in maintaining the validity, reliability, and integrity of the research findings. It improves the quality and depth of data analysis, guaranteeing that the conclusions are solid, reliable, and accurate representations of the experiences and viewpoints of the participants.

Discover Good Tape’s interview transcription service

We’ve understood in depth how to transcribe interviews for qualitative research, let’s go over how you can do so accurately and quickly without having to put in much effort. Good Tape has a relatively simpler user interface which you can navigate through without any manual or instructions. Here’s what you can expect when going through the process of transcribing your audios.

• Upload your file: The first step in the process is to upload the file you need to transcribe. Make sure the file is complete and has all the information you require

• Select the language: Good Tape has a number of options when it comes to choosing the language of transcription. Select the one you want, although you can also choose the “auto-detect” option for the system to automatically identify the language in the audio.

• Transcribe the text: Once the file is uploaded and the language is chosen, proceed further by clicking the “transcribe” button. Your audio transcription process starts here.

• To wait or not to wait: If you’re a casual plan user, you will have to wait for some time for your transcription to be completed due to excessive load by the users. However, if you’re a professional or a team user, you get your results ASAP! The wait time depends on the plan you’re subscribed to .

• Get notified: You will receive a notification once your transcribed document is ready. An e-mail will be sent to your inbox containing the link to access and download the document.

Looking for a good transcribing interviews qualitative research service? Try out Good Tape’s audio-to-text transcription service today and increase your work productivity. Their AI incorporated technology makes sure that every verbal and non-verbal cue is recorded, giving your qualitative data a deeper level of understanding.

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How to Do Interview Transcription for a Dissertation?

Transkriptor 2024-04-23

Interview transcription is a key step in the dissertation process, transforming audio or video interviews into written text. This step allows researchers to closely analyze their data, providing a solid base for their findings.

Accurate transcription is vital in the dissertation process, turning spoken words from interviews into a written format that forms the backbone of qualitative research. It allows researchers to engage deeply with their data, marking significant sections and swiftly navigating through insights, thereby reinforcing the foundational evidence required for a compelling dissertation.

Meet Transkriptor , a leading speech-to-text tool designed to elevate the transcription process for researchers. This tool stands out for its ability to deliver precise, efficient transcriptions, making it an indispensable asset for dissertation work. By leveraging Transkriptor, researchers can ensure that their transcription process is not only faster but also more accurate.

The 6 steps to do interview transcription for a dissertation are listed below.

• Sign Up/Log in to Transkriptor: Create a new account or access an existing one.
• Upload/Record the Interview: Either upload audio/video files from your device or directly record the interview within Transkriptor for transcription.
• Start Transcribing Interview: Choose the language of the recording and let Transkriptor's AI technology accurately transcribe the speech to text.
• Review and Edit: Review and make adjustments to the transcription, ensuring it accurately reflects the interview content.
• Download or Share: After finalizing the transcript, download it in formats like TXT, SRT, or Word, or share it directly from the platform.
• Use the Transcriptions for Analysis: Utilize the accurate and detailed transcripts for in-depth analysis, identifying patterns, themes, and insights in your research.

Step 1: Sign Up/Log In to Transkriptor

The first step for researchers is to either sign up for a new account or log into an existing one on Transkriptor. This platform caters specifically to the needs of academic transcription, providing a streamlined interface for ease of use. Researchers can create an account using their Google accounts or an email address.

Upon completing this initial step, access to Transkriptor's dashboard is granted, allowing for immediate start on transcription tasks. This simple and straightforward process ensures that researchers can quickly begin their work, leveraging the platform's capabilities to facilitate their dissertation transcription needs.

Step 2: Upload/Record the Interview

After logging in, researchers have the capability to upload or record their audio or video files to Transkriptor. Simply click on the “Record” button to start recording. The platform supports a wide range of file formats, including but not limited to MP3, MP4, WAV, and MOV, accommodating virtually any type of audio or video recording used in academic research. Uploading is made flexible through options to drag and drop files directly into the platform or import them from popular cloud storage services like Google Drive or OneDrive. This feature ensures a seamless and secure upload process, allowing researchers to quickly proceed with their transcription tasks without worrying about compatibility or access issues.

Also, consider using Meetingtor . It attends and records the meetings in your calendar and stores them. With one click on the platform, users can get transcriptions via Transkriptor.

Step 3: Start Transcribing Interview

After uploading, researchers start the transcription process on Transkriptor by selecting the recording's language with one click. The platform's AI technology then accurately transcribes speech to text, supporting a broad range of languages to meet diverse research requirements. This ensures precise capture of spoken words, essential for qualitative analysis.

Step 4: Review and Edit

Transkriptor offers an editing feature that allows researchers to review and tweak the transcript while it's being created. This means immediate corrections can be made, helping to make sure the transcript matches the original recording closely. Being able to edit on the go is crucial for catching important details and ensuring the transcript accurately reflects the interview.

This process not only makes work easier but also improves the quality of the final transcript, which is important for research that relies on detailed and accurate data. Through Transkriptor, researchers can be confident that their transcripts are both precise and true to their source material.

Step 5: Download or Share

After editing their transcript, researchers can add details like speaker names and timestamps for clarity. Transkriptor allows downloading in various formats such as TXT, SRT, or Word , suiting different needs. For sharing, the platform enables direct distribution, making it simple to collaborate with others or submit work. This feature ensures transcripts are easily accessible and ready for any next steps in the research process.

Step 6: Use the Transcription for Analysis

Researchers proceed to analysis by coding and organizing data based on the dissertation's methodological framework after completing transcription. This involves identifying patterns and themes and providing meaningful insights from the interview content.

Moreover, researchers can leverage Transkriptor's AI chat feature for additional support during their analysis. This innovative tool assists in interpreting and organizing transcribed data. By integrating AI chat assistance with traditional analysis methods, researchers can navigate the coding process with greater accuracy and generate robust, meaningful outcomes in their research endeavors, making Transkriptor an invaluable ally in qualitative research.

Why is Transcription Crucial for Dissertation Interviews?

Transcription plays a crucial role in dissertation interviews. It accurately captures and preserves spoken words, ensuring data integrity and reliability. Researchers prefer working with transcripts for analysis despite the accessibility of audio and video recordings. This preference arises from easily handling tangible transcripts, facilitating quick access and annotation.

Digital recorders and cameras make recording easy, but transcripts remain more manageable for detailed analyses. Researchers find it advantageous to shuffle pages and mark transcripts with a pencil. The familiarity and convenience of working with paper transcripts persist, even with the availability of qualitative data analysis software. Traditional transcription methods remain the norm for interviews and recordings involving people.

How to Prepare Before Transcribing Dissertation Interviews?

Researchers prepare before transcribing dissertation interviews by considering essential factors. This phase involves organizing recordings, investing in quality equipment, and setting up an efficient workspace.

The steps to prepare before transcribing dissertation interviews are listed below.

• Review Interview Objectives: Gain a clear understanding of the research aims and contextual details.
• Ensure Good Quality Recordings: Focus on acquiring clear and crisp audio, minimizing background noise, and addressing technical glitches.
• Create a Comfortable Workspace: Establish an environment that promotes focus, concentration, and optimal listening.
• Understand Ethical Guidelines: Be aware of confidentiality requirements and relevant data protection rules.

Review Interview Objectives

Researchers initiate transcription by thoroughly reviewing the interview objectives. This involves gaining a clear understanding of the research aims and contextual details. Aligning transcription efforts with these goals ensures purposeful and insightful outcomes. Researchers must delve into key themes, critical topics, and specific study objectives for a detailed transcription decision-making process, fostering a deeper analysis.

Ensure Good Quality Recordings

Prioritizing high-quality audio recordings is essential for effective transcription. Researchers focus on acquiring clear and crisp audio, minimizing background noise, and addressing technical glitches. Checking for audio clarity involves evaluating factors like background noise and potential distortions. Starting with a high-quality recording establishes a reliable foundation for accurate transcription, ensuring an authentic representation of the interview content.

Create a Comfortable Workspace

Crafting a dedicated and comfortable workspace is crucial for the transcription process. Researchers establish an environment that promotes focus, concentration, and optimal listening. A well-designed workspace minimizes distractions, enhancing the ability to immerse in interview content. Consider lighting, seating arrangements, and equipment placement to optimize the workspace for transcription demands.

Understand Ethical Guidelines

Researchers engaging in transcription activities must possess a profound understanding of ethical guidelines. This involves being aware of confidentiality requirements and relevant data protection rules. Upholding ethical standards ensures the responsible treatment of interview participants and their sensitive information.

The commitment to ethical transcription practices includes obtaining informed consent, preserving anonymity, and safeguarding data confidentiality, contributing to the overall integrity of the research process.

What are the Challenges in Transcribing Interviews?

Researchers face critical challenges when preparing for the transcription process. Various hurdles impact accuracy and efficiency, requiring a keen understanding of effective mitigation strategies.

The challenges in transcribing interviews are listed below.

• Poor Audio Quality: Prioritize addressing poor audio quality for accurate transcription.
• Fast-Paced Speech Challenge: Fast-paced speech is difficult to follow and transcribe. Use transcription software or slow down the playback.
• Accents and Dialect Challenge: Navigating the variability introduced by accents and dialects in spoken language requires researchers to adopt specific approaches.
• Background Noise Challenge: Background noise hinders the transcription process, emphasizing the need to create an optimal recording environment.
• Technical Jargon Challenge: Researching technical or unfamiliar terms is essential for grasping their meanings for an accurate transcription.

Poor Audio Quality

Researchers must prioritize addressing poor audio quality for accurate transcription. High-quality recording equipment is pivotal in this process. Investing in noise-canceling software further enhances the clarity of the recorded content, ensuring the faithful representation of spoken words and eliminating potential discrepancies introduced by subpar audio.

Fast-Paced Speech Challenge

Fast-paced speech in transcription demands specific strategies. Utilizing transcription software with adjustable playback speed proves valuable. Slowing down the playback without altering the pitch lets researchers meticulously capture each spoken word. This detailed approach significantly improves transcription accuracy, especially with rapid speech patterns.

Accents and Dialects Challenge

Navigating the variability introduced by accents and dialects in spoken language requires researchers to adopt specific approaches. Familiarize yourself with the specific linguistic characteristics to overcome challenges related to unfamiliar accents. Seeking assistance from individuals proficient in the accent or dialect provides valuable insights, ensuring accurate transcription that reflects the intended communication.

Background Noise Challenge

Background noise hinders the transcription process, emphasizing the need to create an optimal recording environment. Conducting interviews in quiet settings minimizes external disturbances. Additionally, transcription software with noise reduction features proves instrumental in mitigating unwanted sounds during transcription. This dual approach significantly contributes to the overall accuracy of the transcription.

Technical Jargon Challenge

Ensuring accurate transcription when dealing with technical jargon requires a proactive approach. Thoroughly researching unfamiliar terms is essential for grasping their meanings. Alternatively, consulting with the interviewee or subject matter experts provides valuable insights and clarification. This meticulous approach guarantees the transcription captures the intended meaning, even when confronted with specialized language or terminology. Researchers navigate the intricacies of technical content with precision and clarity.

To Overcome Interview Transcription Challenges: Transkriptor

Transcription challenges such as poor audio quality, fast-paced speech, accents, background noise, and technical jargon can significantly hinder the accuracy and efficiency of the transcription process. To overcome these challenges, Transkriptor stands out as a robust solution, employing advanced AI algorithms for precise and reliable transcriptions, minimizing errors.

Transkriptor not only ensures that the transcribed text represents the spoken words but also streamlines the entire process, making it a comprehensive solution for enhancing dissertation transcription accuracy. Try it for free!

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on your time, budget, and the level of accuracy required. Transcribing interviews yourself can be time-consuming but offers closer engagement with your data. Professional services, like Transkriptor, can save time and provide high-quality transcripts, but at a cost.

The format depends on your research needs. Verbatim transcription captures every word and sound, which is useful for detailed analysis.

Mark these sections with a standard notation (e.g., [inaudible] or [unclear]) and the timestamp. If possible, ask the interviewee for clarification on these parts. Consistency in handling these sections is key for accurate analysis.

Follow your academic institution's guidelines for citing primary research data. Typically, you would reference the interviewee (as per your ethics agreement), the date of the interview, and possibly a transcript reference number or page number.

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Transcribing interviews for research

Transcription involves making a written record of speech. This can be done during an actual interview or carried out afterwards using an audio or video file.

Why transcribe interviews during research?

Transcribing interviews that are carried out for research is good practice. Interviews that are transcribed verbatim in qualitative research allow analysis of the collected responses in greater detail at a later date. It also leaves less room for bias caused by the researcher’s personal interpretation.

Researchers can read and re-read interview transcriptions, identify themes and patterns, and extract key quotes or phrases. This process helps to identify significant points, which can then help to draw meaningful conclusions.

Transcribing interviews for research is also useful because it helps researchers check that their interpretation of the conversation is accurate, so reduces errors or misinterpretations. The transcription provides a permanent record of the interview, which can be referred to by other people in the future to confirm any findings.

Interview transcription can also help to ensure the anonymity of the participants. By removing identifying information from the transcriptions, researchers can protect the privacy of the participants. This often makes people more willing to take part in research interviews.

Another benefit is that interview transcription can be easily shared among researchers. This facilitates analysis and collaboration, which further contributes to the reliability and validity of the research.

Full audio and video transcription solutions

How to transcribe manually.

Transcribing a recorded interview manually is time-consuming and it’s vital to make sure it’s done correctly. Here are some steps to follow if you’re considering transcribing interviews for research:

• Before starting the transcription process, listen to the recording to familiarise yourself with the voices, accents and any background noises that might affect the transcription process.
• Create a transcription template that includes the speakers’ names or identifiers, timestamps (if required) and space for the transcribed audio text.
• Start transcribing the interview by listening to a few seconds of the recording, pausing and then typing out what was said. It’s important to be accurate, and to include all the spoken words. Also be sure to include filler words, such as ‘um’ and ‘ah’ and any non-spoken communication, such as laughter or pauses if needed. Find out more about different types of transcription .
• Once the transcription is complete, spend time editing to ensure accuracy and readability. Make sure you have correctly identified the speakers and that any timestamps are accurate.

Download our free transcription template

Get started with transcription. Here you will find templates for both detailed transcription and standard transcription . You can use the formats and examples in your own working document.

Tools for creating automatic transcriptions

Manual interview transcription is incredibly time-consuming. However, there are several software apps available that offer free interview subscription or paid-for services. Here are some of the most popular:

• Otter.ai: Otter.ai is a popular transcription app that uses AI to transcribe interviews in real-time. It offers a free plan that allows users to transcribe up to 600 minutes of audio per month. There are paid-for plans available for higher use.
• Temi : Temi is an automated transcription service that offers both free and paid-for plans. The free plan allows users to transcribe up to 45 minutes of audio per month.
• Trint : Trint uses AI to transcribe audio and video files. It offers a free trial and paid-for plans.
• Happy Scribe : Happy Scribe is another transcription software tool that uses AI to transcribe audio and video files. It has some pretty impressive user reviews and offers a free trial and paid-for plans for higher usage.
• Speechmatics : Speechmatics is speech recognition software that offers an automatic transcription service and can also be integrated with other systems. It offers a free trial and subscription plans.

Automatic transcription software is undoubtedly convenient and time-saving. However, it might not always be accurate. At the very least, all automatic interview transcriptions should be manually checked.

Here’s what an interview transcription for research might look like

Interviewer: Can you tell me about your experience using language learning products?

Participant: OK. [inhales deeply] So, I’ve tried more than a few different products, mostly apps on my phone and tablet, and I’ve found that they can be helpful, but also frustrating at times. I also tend to lose interest in them after a while.

Interviewer: Can you tell me about a time when you found a language learning product helpful?

Participant: Yeah, so I was using this one app to learn Spanish, and it had a feature where you could record yourself speaking and then listen back to it. I found that really helpful because it helped me hear my mistakes and work on my pronunciation. It was awful listening to myself speak though. [laughs]

Interviewer: [laughs] That’s interesting. Can you tell me about a time when you found a language learning product more frustrating?

Participant: Yeah, so I was using another app to learn French, and it was just really baffling and such a waste of time. The lessons were all over the place, and the exercises didn’t seem to match up with what I was learning. It was really frustrating and demotivating. I ended up giving up after a couple of weeks and it really put me off to be honest. [sighs]

Interviewer: I see. Can you tell me about any features of the language learning apps you’ve tried that you particularly like or dislike?

Participant : I really like it when the app has a feature where you can practise speaking with a native speaker. It’s really helpful to get feedback and practise in a more natural way. On the other hand, I don't like it when the app is too repetitive or doesn’t have different exercises and that. I end up just chucking it. [intonation rises]

Interviewer: Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. [laughter]

Participant: No problem, happy to help.

What if I need an APA interview transcript?

Transcribing an interview can be done manually. At the moment, it’s not possible for AI transcribers to do this. You should format your transcription to the style required by your organisation. Include the transcript as an appendix or as a reference in the body of your text. Appropriate referencing systems include APA, Harvard, MLA etc. Learn more about academic referencing styles.

Final thoughts

Transcribing interviews for research is one of the best ways of creating a permanent record of the data that’s gathered. It can then be shared with colleagues and analysed in the future. However, it’s a labour-intensive task, and sometimes it’s important to capture every word spoken, every inflection and even communication that comes from unspoken cues, such as laughter or vocal intonation.

Semantix’s multilingual transcribers can transcribe your interviews quickly and accurately, and they work in more than 170 languages. If you’d like to talk to us about our confidential transcription services , fill in the form and we’ll be in touch.

Would you like to order a transcription?

Download templates for both detailed transcription and standard transcription. You can use the formats and examples in your own working document.

Related content

How to transcribe audio to text – the ultimate guide to transcription

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Professional Transcription Services for your Dissertation Interviews

Professional transcription can be a valuable service for anyone conducting research for a dissertation, especially when it comes to transcribing interviews. Dissertation transcription involves converting spoken words into a written format, which can be incredibly time-consuming if done personally. By utilizing a professional dissertation transcription services, you can save time and ensure accuracy in your transcriptions. Professional transcription services can help you to more efficiently analyze your interview data and ultimately produce a higher quality dissertation.

Identifying the Beneficiaries of Professional Dissertation Transcription Services

Professional dissertation transcription services can be a valuable asset for a wide range of individuals and organizations. One of the first steps in determining whether you would benefit from professional dissertation transcription services is to identify the potential beneficiaries.

Graduate students who are working on their dissertations are among the most obvious beneficiaries of professional dissertation transcription services. Graduate students often have to conduct interviews or focus groups as part of their research, and transcribing these recordings can be an incredibly time-consuming process. By outsourcing this task to a professional dissertation transcription services, graduate students can free up their time to focus on other aspects of their research.

However, graduate students are not the only ones who can benefit from professional dissertation transcription services. Professors and researchers who are conducting studies may also need to transcribe interviews or focus groups, particularly if they are working on larger projects with multiple participants. In addition, organizations that conduct market research or customer feedback surveys may also need to transcribe recordings of these interactions in order to analyze the data more effectively.

Ultimately, identifying the beneficiaries of professional dissertation transcription services comes down to recognizing the value of your time and resources. If transcription is taking up a significant amount of your time or preventing you from focusing on other important tasks, then outsourcing this task to a professional transcription service may be the best option for you.

Advantages of Dissertation Transcription Services

Dissertation transcription services have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their numerous benefits. In this article, we will explore some of the advantages of using such services.

• Improved Accuracy: Dissertation transcription services are performed by highly skilled professionals who have the necessary training and expertise to accurately transcribe audio recordings. This ensures that the final document is free from errors and mistakes, which is crucial for academic research.
• Time-Saving: Transcribing interviews , focus groups, and other types of audio recordings can be a time-consuming process. By outsourcing this task to a professional transcription service, researchers can save valuable time and focus on other aspects of their research.
• Accessibility: Dissertation transcription services can make audio recordings more accessible to a wider audience. This is particularly important for individuals with hearing impairments who may otherwise struggle to access audio content.
• Organization: Transcribed documents can be easily organized and searched for specific information, making it easier for researchers to analyze and interpret their data.
• Cost-Effective: Hiring a professional transcription service may seem like an additional expense, but in the long run, it can actually be a cost-effective solution. Researchers can save time and money by outsourcing the task to a service provider, rather than hiring additional staff or purchasing expensive equipment.

Dissertation transcription services offer a range of benefits that can improve the accuracy, accessibility, organization, and overall quality of academic research. By outsourcing this task to a professional dissertation transcription service, researchers can save time, reduce costs, and focus on other aspects of their research.

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Examining the world through qualitative inquiry

Tips on transcribing qualitative interviews and naturally-occurring interaction

After interviews have been conducted or events have been recorded, the task of transcription begins. For those who have not transcribed before, it is easy to under-estimate the amount of time needed to transcribe interviews and interaction. What does transcription entail? In my experience, it takes at least an hour to transcribe every 15 minutes of interview talk. If I am transcribing interaction that involves multiple speakers, or if I am using more detailed conventions to record other features of talk, transcribing takes much longer. Of course, the time spent on transcribing will also vary depending on the transcriber’s typing speed, the speed of talk, the number of speakers involved, the technologies used to transcribe, and what is made available to transcribe by the recording. For example, video recordings provide much more information that may be transcribed, and can take much longer to transcribe than audio-recordings if descriptions of actions and activities are included in transcripts.

There are many tools to assist with transcription.

I use Express Scribe

but you might also like to look at

Whatever approach I am using to transcribe, I routinely begin each transcription by including the following information:

• Name of the research project
• Speakers (identified by pseudonyms)
• Date and time of the interview or recording of the event
• Context and setting
• Audio file name or number
• Duration of interview or recorded event

If there is a particular point in a recording that I plan to return to repeatedly, I include time-stamps so I can locate that point in the audio-file quickly. If you are transcribing interaction that has been associated with at Qualitative Data Analysis software (QDAS), such as NVivo, it is also possible to synchronize the recording with the transcript. This will be invaluable if you need to return to particular points in the data to listen to the interaction as you are working on analyzing data. If there is a specific sequence that I intend to use in presentations — in cases in which I have gained informed consent to do so — I might copy and edit the audio-file so I can easily access the shorter sequence that will be used.

In cases in which transcripts will be printed for review, I include automatic line numbering. When transcriptions will be imported into a QDAS program, I don’t insert line numbering, since it is not necessary. I use line numbers on printed transcripts because they provide an easy way to identify lines should I be annotating transcriptions or working with other project members on data analysis.

How does one transcribe? There is a good deal more decision-making involved in transcription then one might initially think. For example, questions that arise in the process of transcription include:

• How does one transform oral talk into sentences?
• What should a transcribed do about dialect? Contractions (such as “dunno” or “gonna”?
• Should laughter or other kinds of interactions (e.g., crying) be included in the transcription? How should that be notated?
• What about re-starts and verbal “tics” (e.g., “like” “you know” “mm” and “uh” to name but a few)?
• What happens when participants mention places and names related to a study in the transcription? Should these be included?

Linguistic anthropologist, Elinor Ochs (1979) in a chapter entitled “Transcription as theory,” argues that the process of transcription is theoretically-informed. Any particular transcription is imbued with assumptions about what the data means, how it might be analyzed, and what kinds of claims might be made. Thus, there are many different formats for transcription. For example conversation analysts transcribe silences, restarts, overlapping talk, and other paralinguistic features of talk (for a guide to applying CA’s transcription conventions, see Liddicoat, 2007).

More commonly seen in qualitative research is an approach that values the topics of talk without acknowledgement of how the talk is produced. At face value, it might seem that the “topic” is the most important feature of talk. Yet, one only needs to think about a comment delivered in an ironic or sarcastic manner to recognize that “how” topics of talk are delivered is an important feature of talk that is used by listeners to interpret what has been said by speakers. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources to assist with decision making concerning what and how to transcribe interaction. For anyone beginning to transcribe Poland (2002) provides useful pointers to consider. For those wanting to complete more detailed transcriptions Jenks (2011) is helpful. If you are working with video interaction Heath, Hindmarsh, and Luff (2010) provide useful information on how to collect, transcribe, analyze video data. Whatever method one uses, however, thought needs to be given to how one plans to analyze data, since how data are transcribed relates to what approaches to analysis might be used and what kinds of research questions might be asked of data.

Further challenges await scholars who are presenting findings from studies in which interviews were conducted in another language. Bilingual and multilingual speakers are well aware of the difficulties of translating words and concepts from one language to another. Qualitative researchers using translated data need to account for how interviews have been translated, at what point, and how analysis was accomplished. For more information on using translated data in qualitative inquiry, see Regmi, Naidoo, and Pilkington (2010); Temple and Edwards (2002); Temple and Young (2004); and Ten Have (2007). Ten Have provides examples of how transcriptions can include both the original language with the translation.

This short introduction to transcribing qualitative data – whether naturally occurring interaction or interview data, brings to the fore some of the issues involved, as well as some of the resources available to assist. Some scholars have suggested that with increasing use of audio- and video-recordings, transcription will no longer be necessary. In my view, transcriptions of interaction are still a necessary step needed in the analytic process. A written record of interaction provides me with a document that I return to repeatedly to re-read and reflect on. Listening to audio-recordings and video-recordings is also a way to become acquainted with data.

For newcomers to transcription, it can sometimes seem that this is a tedious task best left to others. Another way to view transcription is that it is part of the analytic process. Listening carefully to what people say in interviews and naturally occurring settings is the first step to meaning-making and interpretation. By valuing this step of the research process, and undertaking careful and thorough transcription, qualitative researchers will come to know their data intimately. This enhances analytic sensibilities and helps us to think about and formulate findings and research reports.

I’ve mentioned some resources on transcription here… there is much more writing on this topic. For those interested in learning more, see transcription-references_qualpage

Best wishes with that work.

Heath, C., Hindmarsh, J., & Luff, P. (2010). Video in qualitative research: Analysing social interaction in everyday life . Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage.

Jenks, C. J. (2011). Transcribing talk and interaction . Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Liddicoat, A. J. (2007). An introduction to conversation analysis . London: Continuum.

Ochs, E. (1979). Transcription as theory. In E. Ochs & B. Shieffelin (Eds.), Developmental pragmatics (pp. 43-72). New York: Academic Press.

Poland, B. D. (2002). Transcription quality. In J. Gubrium & J. A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research: Context and method (pp. 629-650). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Regmi, K., Naidoo, J., & Pilkington, P. (2010). Understanding the processes of translation and transliteration in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 9 (1), 16-26.

Temple, B., & Edwards, R. (2002). Interpreters/translators and cross-language research:Reflexivity and border crossings. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1 (2), 1-22.

Temple, B., & Young, A. (2004). Qualitative research and translation dilemmas. Qualitative Research, 4 (2), 161-178. doi:10.1177/1468794104044430

Ten Have, P. (2007). Doing conversation analysis: A practical guide (2nd ed.). London, UK: Sage.

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Published by qualpage

Kathy Roulston is a professor in the Qualitative Research program in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. She teaches qualitative research methods, and has written on qualitative interviewing. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9429-2694 Kathryn J. Roulston on ResearchGate My books include: Interviewing: A guide to theory and practice, see: https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/interviewing/book272521 Interactional studies of qualitative interviews. See: https://benjamins.com/catalog/z.220 View all posts by qualpage

7 thoughts on “ Tips on transcribing qualitative interviews and naturally-occurring interaction ”

I like that you mentioned using timestamps every time you would like to go back to a recording. This should definitely give you a good indication where you need to start or end the recording. Plus, making use of timestamps will help save a lot of time compared to playing the recording right from the beginning. This should really help in transcribing your notes and making it as accurate as possible. If I were to do some transcribing myself, I would definitely consider doing this style as well. Thanks.

Like Liked by 1 person

Thanks for your comment Bobby. Yes, timestamps included in a transcription a definitely helpful in locating specific sequences of talk within a longer recording.

Though am a big fan of transcribing interviews for dissertation but it also help a lot in qualitative research as well.

Yes, I agree that doing full transcriptions of any interviews for the conduct of qualitative research is invaluable. Thanks for your comment!

Great Tips thanks For sharing

Glad that is helpful

• Pingback: Quality in Qualitative Research - A Quick How-To - Dr. Heidi Toivonen

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Dissertation interview transcript example: how to create.

Home » Dissertation Interview Transcript Example: How to Create

Dissertation Interview Transcript examples play a crucial role in qualitative research. These transcripts serve as valuable tools for organizing insights, interpreting data, and decluttering information gained from interviews. Understanding the structure and format of a dissertation interview transcript can significantly impact the clarity of your findings.

In this section, we will explore the essential components and best practices for creating effective dissertation interview transcripts. By examining examples, you'll learn how to capture audio content accurately, highlight key themes, and summarize responses for easy analysis. This foundational knowledge will set the stage for producing high-quality transcripts that enhance your overall dissertation experience.

Why Dissertation Interview Transcripts are Crucial to Your Research

Dissertation interview transcripts serve as an essential cornerstone for qualitative research, enriching your study with firsthand accounts. They provide a detailed account of participants’ perspectives, allowing you to analyze their insights deeply. This analysis can uncover themes and patterns that may not be apparent through surveys or quantitative data alone, thus enhancing the overall quality of your research.

Moreover, thoroughly documented interview transcripts ensure transparency and credibility in your work. They allow other researchers to verify your findings and methodology, which is crucial in academic circles. By maintaining rigorous and comprehensive dissertation interview transcripts, you not only uphold the integrity of your research but also contribute to the broader academic community’s understanding of your topic. Consequently, investing time in crafting these transcripts can fundamentally elevate the impact and depth of your dissertation.

Overview of Creating Dissertation Interview Transcripts

Creating dissertation interview transcripts is an essential part of qualitative research, serving as a foundation for analysis and interpretation. This process begins with carefully recording interviews, whether through audio or video. Once collected, the next step is to transcribe these recordings, converting spoken language into written text. Ensuring clarity and accuracy during this phase is crucial, as it impacts the overall quality of your dissertation interview transcript.

In creating these transcripts, it is important to maintain objectivity. A good practice is to include timestamps and speaker identifiers for easy navigation. Additionally, highlighting important quotes or themes can aid in later analysis. After transcription, a thorough review is necessary to correct any errors and to enhance readability. This attention to detail not only supports your research but also contributes to the credibility of your findings, making your dissertation interview transcript a valuable asset in your academic work.

Preparing for the Interview

Preparing for the interview is a crucial step in obtaining insightful dissertation interview transcripts. Start by defining your research questions clearly, as they guide the structure and content of the interview. It's essential to create a comfortable environment for the interviewee, ensuring they feel at ease to share their thoughts and experiences openly. Prepare a list of open-ended questions to encourage detailed responses, and allow for flexibility in the conversation.

Next, familiarize yourself with the technology you'll use, whether it's audio-recording devices or note-taking software. Test your equipment beforehand to avoid technical issues during the interview. Additionally, consider the ethical aspects of your research, such as obtaining informed consent from your participants. Finally, review existing literature related to your research topic to enrich your understanding and improve your questioning technique. These steps will help you prepare effectively, resulting in thorough and informative dissertation interview transcripts.

Developing Effective Questions for Dissertation Interview Transcripts

Developing effective questions is a crucial step in crafting a dissertation interview transcript that yields rich and meaningful data. To create insightful questions, consider the objectives of your research and the areas you wish to explore. Open-ended questions encourage participants to share their thoughts and experiences in detail. For example, instead of asking, “Did you face challenges?” you might ask, “What challenges did you encounter, and how did they affect your experience?” This approach invites deeper responses, enriching your analysis.

In addition, context is vital when formulating questions. Adding specifics prompts interviewees to focus their answers effectively. Consider starting with general questions to build rapport, then gradually transition into more precise queries that align with your dissertation's themes. By meticulously designing your questions, you not only enhance the quality of your dissertation interview transcripts but also ensure that the data collected aligns with your research objectives.

Tools and Software for Recording Interviews

Recording interviews effectively is crucial for creating a Dissertation Interview Transcript. Various tools and software options can streamline this process, ensuring clarity and accuracy. Some popular choices include portable audio recorders and smartphone applications that can capture high-quality sound. These tools allow researchers to focus on the conversation without worrying about missing details.

Additionally, transcription software can convert recorded audio into text efficiently. These programs often come with features like speaker identification, timestamps, and text editing, enhancing both the usability and accuracy of your Dissertation Interview Transcript. Consider tools that enable easy sharing and collaboration, allowing you to refine transcripts with peers or advisors seamlessly. Understanding the available resources can significantly aid in producing a polished, comprehensive transcript that adheres to academic standards.

Conducting the Interview

Conducting the interview is a pivotal step in capturing comprehensive insights for your dissertation interview transcript. Start with proper preparation by outlining the questions that guide the discussion. This framework helps maintain focus, ensuring that essential topics are covered. Additionally, fostering an open and inviting atmosphere will encourage participants to share their thoughts freely. You should actively listen, allowing your interviewee to express ideas fully without interruption.

During the interview, consider the flow of conversation and adapt as necessary. The dynamics may shift based on the participant's responses, so be flexible in your approach. After the interview, it's crucial to organize your notes while the information is still fresh. This will facilitate the transcription process and ensure that key insights are accurately captured in your dissertation interview transcript. Following these guidelines will enhance the quality of your research and enrich the depth of your analysis.

Best Practices for Recording High-Quality Dissertation Interviews

Recording high-quality dissertation interviews is essential for generating meaningful transcripts. Begin by choosing a quiet location free from distractions. This ensures clearer audio and allows participants to speak freely. Use professional equipment such as quality microphones to capture every nuance of the conversation. Checking battery life and storage space on recording devices before interviews is crucial to avoid unexpected interruptions.

It’s also important to prepare an interview guide with well-structured questions. This not only helps steer the conversation but also makes it easier to create a comprehensive dissertation interview transcript later. Additionally, always obtain consent from participants for recording. After each session, promptly transcribe the interviews while the content is still fresh in your mind. This practice aids in maintaining the authenticity of responses, crucial for high-quality analysis. Overall, these best practices foster a more productive interview experience and ensure valuable outcomes for your research.

Dealing with Common Interview Challenges

Conducting interviews for a dissertation can present a variety of challenges, each requiring thoughtful strategies to navigate effectively. One common issue is encountering unexpected responses. Being prepared for surprising answers not only enriches your dissertation interview transcript but creates opportunities for deeper insights. Another frequent challenge lies in managing participant anxiety. It’s essential to create an environment where interviewees feel comfortable and at ease, which encourages openness and trust during the conversation.

Additionally, maintaining focus during the interview is crucial. To address this, consider developing a structured outline of questions while remaining flexible enough to explore relevant tangents. Lastly, technology-related issues may arise, particularly with recording devices or software. Always check your equipment beforehand and have backup options ready. By anticipating and addressing these challenges, your dissertation interview can become a rewarding experience that yields valuable data for your research.

Transcribing the Interview

Transcribing the interview is a crucial step in creating a Dissertation Interview Transcript. This process involves converting spoken responses from your interview into written text, capturing every detail accurately. It is essential to maintain the integrity of the dialogue, preserving not only the participants' words but also their tone and emotions. By accurately documenting the conversation, you provide a reliable basis for analysis and interpretation.

To effectively transcribe, consider these key points:

• Choose the Right Tools – Utilize transcription software or services that can aid in quicker and more precise transcriptions.
• Listen Carefully – Play back the recordings several times to ensure you capture every nuance of the dialogue.
• Format Consistently – Maintain a clear and consistent format to improve readability, indicating who speaks and noting significant non-verbal cues.
• Review and Revise – After completing the initial transcript, review it for accuracy. Make revisions to enhance clarity where needed.

Transcribing the interview properly sets the foundation for analyzing and synthesizing your findings effectively.

How to Transcribe Dissertation Interview Recordings Accurately

Transcribing dissertation interview recordings requires careful attention to detail to ensure accuracy. A high-quality transcript is crucial as it serves as the foundation for your analysis and findings. Begin by selecting a reliable transcription method, whether using software or manual transcription. Software can expedite the process, but ensure you review the output for errors. If transcribing manually, be attentive to the speaker's words, intonation, and emphasis, as these nuances play a vital role in understanding the content.

Additionally, incorporating specialized vocabulary is essential, especially when discussing domain-specific topics. Familiarity with terminology relevant to your dissertation will enhance the accuracy of your Dissertation Interview Transcript. Consider using timestamps to mark sections of the audio, making it easier to locate specific content later. Finally, maintain confidentiality by anonymizing participant information. Following these steps will lead to a clearer, more precise transcript that effectively supports your research objectives.

Manual vs. Automated Transcription Techniques

Transcribing interviews for a dissertation can be done through either manual or automated techniques, each possessing unique strengths. Manual transcription involves listening and typing out the conversation, allowing for greater precision and context interpretation. This approach enables the transcriber to capture subtle nuances, pauses, and emotional tones, which can be critical for accurately representing the interviewee's perspectives. Additionally, manual methods provide the opportunity to incorporate domain-specific vocabulary, enhancing the final transcript's quality.

On the other hand, automated transcription utilizes advanced software, often leveraging AI to convert spoken words to text. While automated services can save time, they might not always achieve the level of accuracy found in manual transcription, particularly with unique terminology or specific accents. The choice between these methods depends on factors like available time, budget, and desired accuracy level. Ultimately, understanding these techniques can significantly impact the quality of your Dissertation Interview Transcript.

Proofreading and Editing Your Transcript

Proofreading and editing your dissertation interview transcript is a crucial step in ensuring its accuracy and clarity. First, review the transcript for any grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, or unclear sections. Pay close attention to specialized vocabulary and terminology relevant to your research topic, as these elements must be precise for your work to convey its message effectively.

Next, ensure that the content accurately reflects the responses and insights from your interviews. This might involve cross-referencing your notes or recordings. Once you are confident in the accuracy, consider formatting the transcript according to your institution’s guidelines. Finally, readability plays a vital role; ensure that the text flows logically and retains the original meaning without misinterpretations. By following these steps, your dissertation interview transcript will be polished and ready for submission.

Utilizing the Dissertation Interview Transcript

The Dissertation Interview Transcript serves a vital role in transforming raw interview data into meaningful insights. By systematically analyzing these transcripts, researchers can identify patterns, themes, and significant responses relevant to their study. This process involves extracting information that addresses the research questions while providing context to the participants' experiences and perspectives.

To effectively utilize the Dissertation Interview Transcript, follow these key steps:

Coding the Data : Begin by assigning codes to themes and concepts that emerge from the interviews. This step will help streamline the analysis process.

Synthesizing Findings : Use tools such as a research matrix to compile insights from multiple transcripts. This allows for a comprehensive view of the data that can highlight commonalities and differences among participants.

Identifying Key Trends : As you analyze the transcripts, focus on recurring themes and unique statements. This can yield critical insights that enhance understanding of the topic.

By employing these strategies, researchers can maximize the value of the Dissertation Interview Transcript, translating participant narratives into data-driven conclusions.

Analyzing Data from Dissertation Interview Transcripts

Analyzing data from dissertation interview transcripts requires a thoughtful approach to ensure accurate interpretations of the collected insights. The process typically begins with organizing the transcripts, which can be achieved in several ways—matrix analysis, visual dashboards, or interactive chat services. Each method has its strengths and can cater to different preferences in data evaluation.

The matrix, for instance, allows you to align your old manual analysis techniques with AI assistance, making comparisons intuitive. Meanwhile, visual dashboards present data in a more compelling format, aiding in the identification of trends. Lastly, chat services offer a conversational way to extract insights by posing questions directly related to the dataset. This multifaceted approach to analyzing dissertation interview transcripts not only enhances understanding but also fosters richer interpretations that can ultimately inform your research findings.

Incorporating Transcripts into Your Dissertation

Incorporating transcripts into your dissertation can enrich your research significantly. A key component of qualitative research, a Dissertation Interview Transcript serves as a detailed record of your interviews, allowing you to present your findings effectively. First, ensure that your transcripts are accurate and thoroughly proofread. Clean and clear transcripts will help readers understand the context and insights gathered during your interviews.

Next, consider where to place these transcripts within your dissertation. You might include selected excerpts in the text to illustrate specific points or trends. Additionally, you can append the full transcripts to your dissertation to provide transparency and allow for a deeper understanding of your research. Finally, discuss how the insights derived from the transcripts support your dissertation's arguments. This strategy not only validates your findings but also enhances the academic rigor of your work.

Conclusion: Mastering Dissertation Interview Transcripts

Mastering dissertation interview transcripts requires a systematic approach, combining effective techniques and tools. By carefully organizing and analyzing your transcripts, you can uncover valuable insights that enrich your research narrative. It’s essential to provide context for each interview, highlighting key themes and ensuring thorough documentation for accurate representation of participant responses.

In addition, employing software that simplifies the analysis can significantly enhance your efficiency. This allows for easier identification of patterns and trends within the data. Ultimately, mastering your dissertation interview transcripts not only strengthens your findings but also deepens your understanding of the subject matter, making your dissertation a more impactful contribution to the field.

Recap of Key Steps and Best Practices

Creating a Dissertation Interview Transcript involves several essential steps that contribute to its effectiveness. First, it is crucial to prepare thoroughly by developing a comprehensive interview guide. This guide should outline the questions that align with your research objectives, ensuring a focused and coherent discussion. Second, conducting the interview in a relaxed and respectful environment facilitates open communication, allowing participants to share their insights comfortably.

After the interview, transcription becomes the next important step. It is essential to accurately document the dialogue to maintain the integrity of the data collected. Utilize reliable transcription tools for efficiency, but also manually review the transcript for any discrepancies. Finally, when analyzing the Dissertation Interview Transcript, highlight key themes and insights that emerge from the discussion. This process not only validates your research findings but also enhances the overall quality of your dissertation, making the insights more impactful and relevant.

Final Thoughts and Additional Resources

Creating a dissertation interview transcript is a valuable skill that enhances the clarity and accessibility of your research findings. By structuring your transcripts effectively, you can provide essential insights while keeping your audience engaged. Always remember that the main purpose of the transcript is to serve as a reliable document that can facilitate further understanding and analysis of the data collected through interviews.

To assist you in this journey, various resources are available to deepen your knowledge and refine your skills. Consider exploring templates for interview guides and summarization tools that can help organize your content more coherently. Additionally, academic articles and research forums often provide insights on best practices in transcribing and summarizing interviews. Utilizing such resources can enrich your process and make your dissertation more impactful.

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LetsTranscript devotes all of its efforts to make the transcription process as easy as possible for students, professors, and education professionals. We take care of everything for you, from making it simple for you to submit your files and providing an error-free transcript.

We are the experts in dissertation transcription services. Students, research scientists, and academic institutions benefit from our quick and accurate transcription services. LetsTranscript offers a specialized team of dissertation transcriptionists who have received extensive training to transcribe and format in accordance with the submitting criteria established by your institution.

We recognize the value of accurate interview transcription and have worked with customers in a number of sectors including education, research, HR, healthcare, legal, religion, and entertainment making us a secure option if you're looking for a transcription service that understands your requirements, is inside your budget, and responds quickly.

We also proofread the document after transcribing it to maintain the highest quality standard. Our high-quality dissertation transcription service is available with a range of turnaround time choices as per your requirement at a cost that is very reasonable.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term "dissertation transcription", what is it?

A dissertation is a substantial written work on a specific subject within a certain field that is submitted to a committee for approval. Dissertations are often needed among university students who want to pursue degree studies such as an M.Phil., Ph.D., or MBA, among other things. Standard digital audio/video recorders or tape recorders are often used by students to capture their data, ideas, and study as well as to conduct and evaluate their research. Following the completion of research, the process of converting notes, interviews, or seminars from speech to text is known as dissertation transcription.

• For dissertation transcription, we have the fastest turnaround time as compared to our competitors (12-24 hours)
• In order to meet the requirements of your university, we will provide you with a dissertation that is produced in the format prescribed required by your institution.
• It is easy to work with our transcribers because they are accessible, cooperative and professional.
• We have a staff of highly competent and skilled dissertation transcriptionists.

Is there a specific transcription format you require?

Transcription services come in many different types. It all depends on what are your dissertation requirements. It's better to have more than one choice.

Full Verbatim

Each and every detail is captured in these transcripts, which are available here. Their recordings catch not only the main body of what is said, but also the breaks and slightest utters like ‘ummms’ ‘ooohs’ ‘ahs’ ‘y'knows’ and many other grammatical quirks that are characteristic of human speech. There is a possibility that they are necessary for qualitative context.... Alternatively, they might be seen as unneeded diversions. According to your requirements, you may have them included as well.

The term "intelligent verbatim" refers to verbatim that has been stripped of any extraneous information. All of the speech involuntary movements have been eliminated, and you are left with merely what has been stated. As far as interview questions go, it's the simplest to read and the best option.

Quick and accurate transcriptions. You have our word on it. 100% Trust Guaranteed.

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There's nothing worse than paying a transcription company for a transcript that doesn't satisfy your standards. To ensure the highest level of accuracy, LetsTranscript employs expert transcriptionists who have undergone extensive training. You won't have to change the transcript of your interview. To start it all off, we provide a wide range of turnaround times so that you can stay on track with your requirements.

LetsTranscript provides high-quality, dependable, accurate, and quick academic research transcription services that are affordable. We are the only company that offers personalized service and has expertise in processing dissertation transcription.

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• All major institutions throughout the length and width of the United States have had their academic interviews transcribed by our transcribers, and we can offer customized transcripts that meet the standards of your university.
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• Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software

Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software

Published on 6 May 2022 by Raimo Streefkerk .

Transcribing is converting speech to text word for word. Transcribing is a common practice when conducting interviews because it enables you to perform analysis.

How to transcribe an interview in five steps:

• Choose your preferred transcription method.
• Transcribe the audio (using transcription software ).
• Add speaker designation and time stamps.
• Clarify the transcript where needed.
• Proofread the transcript.

Transcription software comparison

Table of contents

Transcription methods, altering the transcript, example transcript, analysing interview transcripts, transcription software.

Before you start transcribing, you first need to determine what transcription method you want to use. The best method depends on the goal of your transcription.

Verbatim transcription

Write down every single word, including pauses, the expression of emotions such as laughter, stuttering, and hesitations such as ‘uh’.

This type of transcription is mostly used in the legal profession or in research where you’re not only interested in what is said but also how it is said.

Intelligent verbatim transcription (most common)

Write down every word, but without irrelevant fillers like ‘um’, ‘yeah’, and ‘you know’. To improve readability, you can also fix grammar mistakes, broken sentences, and long paragraphs.

This method is more readable than verbatim transcription, but some data – such as emotions, pauses and hesitation – is lost in the process.

Edited transcription

A summarised and edited version of an intelligent verbatim transcript. In addition to omitting fillers like ‘you know’, irrelevant sentences can be omitted if it doesn’t change the meaning of the story.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

If the audio quality is bad or the conversation itself needs clarification, you are allowed to make changes in the transcript. For instance:

• Adding a clarifying comment: ‘I showed him that this option [raising prices] would be beneficial for profitability.’
• Marking unclear or missing audio with ellipses: ‘I showed him … would be beneficial for profitability.’
• Emphasising words: ‘ Increasing prices is needed for profitability.’

There are no rules for formatting and structuring a transcript. However, most transcripts contain the following information:

• Names of the interviewer and interviewee (can be anonymised)
• Date and time when the interview took place
• Location of the interview
• Speaker designation (who says what?)
• Line numbers and time stamps (optional)

After transcribing the interview(s) it is time to start analysing. There are several techniques for doing this – coding and categorising is one of them.

This means that you link keywords (e.g., ‘understanding customer’) to the answers you’ve received to your questions. Based on these keywords you are able to find connections between the answers of different respondents.

You can also use methods such as content analysis , thematic analysis , or discourse analysis .

If you quote from an interview in your paper, make sure you correctly cite the source. Learn how to cite an interview in MLA and APA .

Transcribing interviews takes a lot of time, but luckily transcription software is developing quickly. Using transcription software can help you speed up the process.

Most software is able to accurately convert English speech to text. However, the audio quality must be good in order for the software to work. That means a noise-free background, no over-talk, clear accents and good microphones.

If the audio quality is too poor for automatic transcription, you unfortunately have to dictate it or transcribe it manually.

We tested and reviewed the transcription software below using the audio of a YouTube video in which Bill Gates is interviewed . The audio meets all the criteria listed above.

Happy Scribe

• Speaker recognition
• Clean and intuitive editor
• Omits ‘uhs’ and stuttering
• Correct capitalisation and use of full stops
• 25% student discount
• Doesn’t insert punctuation (except for full stops)

• Good speaker recognition
• Simple but powerful interface
• Comment and highlight feature
• Ignores intro music from video
• Easy to keep track of reviewing progress
• Some missing spaces

• Solid speaker recognition
• Very good capitalisation and punctuation (including commas)
• Much cheaper than other transcription software
• Just a 1-minute trial
• Dated editor with limited functionality
• Doesn’t connect audio and transcript
• $20 (approx. £16.25) annual licence fee

Cite this Scribbr article

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Streefkerk, R. (2022, May 06). Transcribing an Interview | 5 Steps & Transcription Software. Scribbr. Retrieved 26 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/transcribing-an-interview/

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A Dissertation or Thesis is an essential requirement for obtaining a degree such as M.Phil, MBA, PhD, or other professional courses. It serves as a comprehensive document that showcases the student's research and findings in support of their candidature.

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Shalom Transcription service goes beyond just converting audio into text. It also plays a crucial role in improving the organization and structure of research content, making it easily accessible to a wider audience. By eliminating the risk of errors that often occur with automated transcription, our human transcription service enhances research analysis and streamlines data organization, ensuring accurate and reliable results.

Enhanced Readability

Transform your research material into a concise and reader-friendly format. This enhanced clarity and readability of your research content enables more streamlined analysis and facilitates a deeper comprehension of the findings.

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Dissertation transcription helps make your research content accessible to a wider audience - not just those who struggle with understanding spoken language, but also individuals who prefer written materials. By providing transcripts, you are catering to the diverse needs of your audience and ensuring that everyone can engage with your content effectively.

Streamline your dissertation transcription process by automating the tedious and time-consuming task of transcribing audio and video recordings. With this automation, you can now spend your valuable time on analyzing and presenting the findings, rather than getting bogged down in hours of transcription work.

Frequently Asked Questions!!

What is the best transcription service for dissertations.

Shalom Transcription takes pride in being the premier choice for researchers across the globe when it comes to dissertation transcription services. Our extensive range of offerings includes highly accurate phonetic transcription for dissertations and proficient transcribing of dissertation interviews. With our expertise, you can trust that your research work will be impeccably transcribed and ready for analysis.

What is dissertation transcription?

Dissertation transcription plays a crucial role in academic research, enabling scholars to transform their recorded interviews, focus groups, or other audio content into written form.

How much do dissertation transcription services cost?

The standard transcription cost per hour of audio is around $90, or $1.5 per audio minute. However, our transcription cost starts from $0.80/min.

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Dissertation Transcription

Unlock the full potential of your research with accurate and reliable transcription services. Transform your audio or video recordings into written text and elevate the clarity of your dissertation.

Elevate clarity of your research material

Scribie provides students who are currently working on their dissertation transcriptions with high-quality transcripts completed in a timely fashion at an affordable price.

Scribie's dissertation transcription service offers a range of benefits to researchers and academics. With accurate and reliable transcription of audio/video recordings into written text, the clarity and readability of research material are improved. This increased efficiency can save time and provide a professional presentation of research material.

Scribie's transcription service also enhances the organization and structure of research content, making it more accessible to a wider audience. In addition, by reducing the risk of errors in human transcription, research analysis and data organization are improved.

How Transcriptions can help

Improved clarity.

Convert your research material into a clear and easily readable format. This improved clarity and readability of research content allows for more efficient analysis and a better understanding of the findings.

More Accessible Content

By transcribing your recordings, you can make your research content more accessible to a wider audience who may have difficulty comprehending spoken language, as well as those who prefer written materials.

Time-saving

Automate the tedious and time-consuming task of human transcription. You can focus on analyzing and presenting the findings, rather than spending hours transcribing audio and video recordings.

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We split the files into small parts which are consequently typed by our certified transcribers.

A stringent review process where we check the parts, add speaker tracking and time codes.

Proofreading

We collate the parts and proofread the combined transcript to ensure consistency and accuracy.

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NYU IRB Protocol Regarding Transcription Software

Suggestions for best practice for 3rd Party Transcription:

• Researcher that have an individual other than themselves transcribe audio/video media, should let the IRB know who they are and have the transcriber sign a confidentiality agreement  (Transcription Agreement Form for Individual)
• Researcher that have an on-line transcription software companies transcribe audio/video media, should follow the attached protocol established by PRIM&R (Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research,) the national organization for IRB's. The PRIM&R IRB forum offers suggestions regarding data security with a third party vendor.  (see attached)

Suggestions for best practice for Data Storage:

• NYU IRB also suggests that once the transcription is complete, the dictation/interviews should be destroyed/wiped clean/deleted after they are reviewed by the researcher.
• It is not advised to use NYU Stream to store your material. 
• PRIM&R (Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research) suggestions re data security with a third party vendor
• Transcription Agreement for Individual

NYU Accommodation Software

NYU Digital Accessibility Program- Read&Write

Text to Speech is a downloadable software that reads aloud what’s on the screen, which can be used to proofread transcriptions done manually or through a third-party transcription service. 

 NYU Adaptive Computing - Speech to Text Software Accommodations

• Kurzweil 1000 - reads books and other print materials aloud
• CCTV - closed circuit enlargement of print materials
• JAWS - allows users to listen to the contents of the computer’s screen
• ZoomText - magnification and screen reading
• Dragon Naturally Speaking - allows users to dictate, rather than type

The adaptive computing rooms at NYU make it easier for researchers with special accommodations to choose from a variety of mediums to ensure a smooth transcription process.  *If you do not have special accommodations through the NYU Moses Center, please go to the above website and locate the “Inquire about these rooms” button to discuss your research needs with the computer center.  For more information about the library services, please visit the website above or contact Lauren Kehoe of Lib accommodations at [email protected] or (212) 998 2509.

Suggested Transcription Resources

• Transcription Overview
• Microsoft Office 365
• Manual Transcription in MAXQDA
• Manual Transcription in ATLAS.ti

For qualitative researchers, transcribing is an integral element to the research process. There are a variety of ways that researchers can approach transcription and the preparation of qualitative data for analysis. While many researchers transcribe interviews manually there are also a variety of resources that can be used in conjunction to speed up the transcription process while retaining the accuracy of manual transcription. The following resources will highlight some considerations for you as you begin the process of preparing and cleaning your qualitative data.  

• NYU Office 365 Access NYU Provides access to Microsoft Office 365 free of charge for students, staff, and faculty. This link takes you to the sign up page and provides more information on access to Office 365.
• Transcribe in Office 365 Microsoft Office 365 now includes free features for Speech-to-Text and Auto-transcription of uploaded files. This link will take you to the Microsoft support pages where you can find step-by-step instructions for using these features.

How To Order a Transcript on NYU Stream

• To order closed captions/ a transcript  of your recording, simply add new media by uploading your project >> "Add New".  
• Once it is uploaded, click on the title of the media and it will take you to an editing page.  
• From here.  You will see a drop down menu choice under the title "Actions" in which you may choose the option to "+Order Captions ".  It will take approximately 3 times the length of you media to transcribe (ie 5 min film will take 15 mins) you will note that the status will change from pending to in progress to complete.  
• Once your caption request is processed, click the "Actions" button, dropdown and select "Edit."  Select the “Captions” option in the toolbar>Edit Captions. Edit captions as necessary while streaming the video on the righthand side of your screen.
• To download captions, return to the toolbar>Captions>select the rightmost icon under Actions.
• NYU Stream Tutorials
• MAXQDA Transcription Mode MAXQDA provides a built-in editor for manual transcription. This link will take you to the step-by-step instructions on how to use this feature.

• Transcription in ATLAS.ti 9 Learn more about preparing transcripts directly in ATLAS.ti 9 for ease of preparation and analysis.

ATLAS.ti 9 has incorporated new features that allow users to edit transcripts directly in the user interface.

Bibliographic Resources

Branley, D. (2004). 'Making and Managing Audio Recordings' in Clive Seale (ed) Researching Society and Culture (2nd edition), London: Sage, pp 207-223

Lapadat, J., & Lindsay, A. (1999). 'Transcription in Research and Practice : from standardisation of technique to interpretive positionings' Qualitative Inquiry 5(1) 64-86

Lewins, A. (1998). ' Transcribing Evaluation data ' in Harvey J. (Ed) Evaluation Cookbook Online , Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative, Herriot Watt Edinburgh.

Stockdale, A. (2003). An Approach to Recording, Transcribing, and Preparing Audio Data for Qualitative Data Analysis Education Development Center, Inc.

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How Interview Transcription Services Can Save You Time and Money

An interview is often a reliable source for fresh or hard-to-find information. But referencing this information while it’s still a recorded audio file isn’t easy; interviewers and researchers don’t usually have the time to listen to full recordings. This is where the help of a skilled interview transcription service can come in handy.

Transcribing interview recordings makes it possible to:

• Save dozens of hours compared to using manual transcription.
• Get a completely clear picture of in-depth interviews, word-for-word.
• Index and reference interview audio sections quickly.
• Easily perform analysis on interview text for qualitative information.
• Quickly read through audio or video interviews rather than wasting time listening or watching recordings.

By letting our professional transcriptionists lighten your load, you’ll be freed up to review, analyze, organize, and even perform more interviews to collect further data.

Benefits of Interview Transcription Services

Save time with transcripts.

One of the biggest advantages of using accurate transcription services is the time saved. Instead of spending hours manually transcribing, professional transcriptionists can leverage transcription tools to yield greater accuracy and faster turnaround times. This allows researchers, journalists, and business professionals to better focus their time and energy.

Improve Efficiency with Accurate Transcripts

Without a high-quality transcript, recorded interviews lose their integrity. Interview transcription services ensure that every word spoken is captured, reducing the likelihood of errors that can occur in automated and manual transcription. This accuracy in audio transcription not only improves the quality of research or journalistic work but also facilitates clearer communication.

Enhance Collaboration with Transcripts

Professional transcriptions serve as a centralized source of information that can be easily shared and accessed by team members or collaborators. Whether working on a research project, developing content, or preparing for a presentation, having transcripts of audio files and video files readily available promotes collaboration across departments or remote teams .

Reduce Expenses with Transcription Services

While hiring a professional transcription company incurs costs, it’s often more cost-effective than dedicating internal resources to accurate transcription. Businesses that outsource transcription of interview audio can optimize resource allocation, minimize operational costs associated with manual tasks, and ensure greater overall efficiency.

Exciting: TranscribeMe’s transcription packages start at just $0.79 a minute.

How to Transcribe an Interview

Here’s how you can transcribe an interview recording in just a few quick steps:

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Need to record a call? TranscribeMe has created a call recorder app for iPhones, which can be found here . Don’t have an iPhone? Reach out to our Sales Team and arrange to receive a call recorder number that you add to your call. This will record the entire call for you and send it directly to your customer portal.

How Transcripts Help in Record-Keeping

Easy retrieval and organization of information.

Transcripts provide a structured format for storing and organizing audio and video interviews. Digital transcripts can be easily searched, allowing researchers or professionals to retrieve specific quotes, insights, or data points without needing to listen to entire recordings.

Facilitate Analysis and Research

For researchers and academics, audio transcription is an invaluable tool for qualitative analysis. Transcripts enable researchers to identify themes, patterns, and nuances within interview responses, supporting robust data analysis and the formulation of informed conclusions.

Enhance Recall and Memory

Transcripts serve as a reference for recalling details discussed during interviews, ensuring that important information isn’t overlooked. This can be particularly beneficial in legal settings , where accurately documenting conversations is required for compliance and dispute resolution.

Various Uses of Interview Transcripts

Podcasts and video editing.

Transcripts of interviews are essential for creating podcasts or video content. They provide the basis for editing scripts, adding captions, or repurposing content into written articles or blog posts, expanding the reach and accessibility of a single audio file format.

Content Creation and Writing

Writers and content creators often use human transcription to help adapt audio and video into articles, reports, and case studies. Transcripts can offer firsthand insights and quotes that enrich content, enhance credibility, and provide a detailed context for readers.

Business Meetings and Presentations

In corporate settings, meeting transcription services are frequently used to create transcripts of meetings or presentations, helping to document internal decisions, action items, and discussions. Transcripts can be distributed to participants and stakeholders for approval.

Choosing the Right Transcription Service

Factors to consider.

When selecting an interview transcription service, weigh factors like accuracy, quick turnaround time, pricing, and data security. A provider that specializes in interview transcription and serves multiple industries may be better equipped to meet your business’s needs.

Popular Transcription Service Providers

Research transcription services and look for evidence that they meet basic transcription requirements without sacrificing quality. See which use speech-to-text exclusively and which also utilize a human transcriptionist; compare the fastest turnaround time with overall pricing.

Tips for Efficient Transcription Process

Optimizing audio recordings.

Using enhanced audio files is the best way to ensure you receive the highest quality transcripts possible. To do this, make sure only one person is speaking at a time, request that subjects speak clearly to support speaker identification, place the cell phone or recorder where it’s most likely to pick up all speakers, and record in a quiet space to prevent background noise.

Providing Clear Instructions to Transcriptionists

Communicate specific formatting preferences, speaker identification requirements (including speaker names), and any technical terminology to ensure accurate transcripts. Indicate whether timestamps, formatting requirements, and a specific language style are needed, like British or American English.

Reviewing and Editing Transcripts

During this process, it’s essential to carefully compare the transcript with the original audio recording to correct any errors, check for proper grammar and punctuation, and verify the fidelity of content (such as capturing heavy accents). Address any inconsistencies before finalizing.

Looking for accuracy and expediency? TranscribeMe offers something for everyone, with options ranging from AI-automated to verbatim transcripts crafted by our team of skilled transcriptionists. Contact us to discuss your transcription needs.

Frequently asked questions

How much do interview transcription services cost.

A: TranscribeMe’s interview transcription services range from $0.07 per minute for AI-powered audio transcripts, up to $2.00 per minute for human-edited verbatim transcripts with a nearly 100% accuracy rate. Higher prices can involve human oversight and typically come with greater accuracy, nuance, and adherence to confidentiality standards. 

For interviews with multiple speakers, technical jargon, or industry-specific terminology, prices may be higher to account for the complexity and additional time required for transcription.

What is the best way to transcribe interviews?

A: The best way to transcribe is to use a combination of AI-powered speech-to-text transcription and human review. Automated speech-to-text transcription can generate an initial draft. For needs like formatting, speaker identification, and high accuracy, TranscribeMe’s human transcriptionists can edit the transcript, ensuring precision and stylistic adherence.

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Should I include interviews transcriptions in my thesis?

In my PhD, I ran an experiment falling within the grounded theory framework, based on interviews I conducted. I transcripted them, tagged them, etc. This "enhanced transcription" is about 130 pages long (with pretty narrow margins). I am now writing my thesis and I wonder if I should include these transcription in appendix of my PhD thesis .

My first guess would be yes, in order to enable contextualization when I quote snippets of theses interviews, but also for "open science" purposes (being honest about what I've done, archival purpose, reproducible research, etc.).

However, thesis in my field are usually ca. 150 pages long. Addind these transcriptions (i.e. 130 pages) would add a significant amount a pages with a low information density. A solution could be to display these transcripts in a very small font, so that they are only 50 pages long, but I don't think it's a good solution.

By the way, my supervisors don't have opinion about it, since using grounded theory is rather uncommon in my field - hence no "jurisprudence".

• At the time of the interviews, did you discuss with interviewees how the material might be used? There are some major potential issues here with use of personal information, though hopefully you have already considered this aspect! –  user2390246 Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 11:20
• 1 I've got their consent for audio-recording the interviews in order to transcribe it later. I was considering anonymizing any personal information (name, title of the project they worked on, and any hints that might make them recognizable), and asking again for formal authorization for publishing transcripts in their final form (i.e. sending them the file and asking " is it ok for you to publish it in that form? "). –  ebosi Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 11:29
• Despite the authorization you have currently, you probably need to go through IRB to get permission to change the way you are dealing with any data, not just getting consent again from the participants. IRB might also have opinions about your raw or transcribed data, and whether publication of material in that form is ever acceptable. –  Bryan Krause ♦ Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 23:03

Quite honestly I doubt that anybody would go and read that appendix. What I would do is that once the thesis is approved and put in the online repository of the university, you could add this appendix just as an online document and refer to it in the main thesis. That way if anybody wants to access it they can.

• I do agree that it's unlikely someone would go through these interviews! If I upload it online, how should I refer to it in my thesis? (i.e. when I quote a sentence, I'd like to say "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" (cf. Project X, Participant Y, at time mm:ss) . However I feel a bit dishonest if thesis reporters cannot access transcript at the time of their report... –  ebosi Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 9:24
• @ebo you can still add an online file also when you submit the thesis, in the main text you will give a refence to the section of the appendix. If they want they follow the link you provide, what's the issue? –  Herman Toothrot Commented Nov 8, 2016 at 13:16

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Speaker 1: Thanks for watching. Hello, my name is Dr Derek Watson from the University of Sunderland and I've come along here today to talk to you about dissertations or how to successfully complete a dissertation for your undergraduate or postgraduate degree. So what I'm going to be doing is, I'm going to be sharing with you some techniques on how to successfully complete your thesis. First of all, we'll start off with the title. The title of a thesis or your research area is instrumental in two ways. One, you've got to pass your degree, a postgraduate degree and secondly, you've got to create a gateway to employability. So what I'm about to say today is possibly going to shock you or surprise you. Most students will pick a topic of interest to themselves and they pass. But then when they start applying for a career, a credible career, they find that they struggle in the interview. So what I'm suggesting is, pick a topic that will appeal to organisations, almost any type of organisation. So a key area that you might want to think about is potentially quality. It affects all organisations. Or how do we motivate staff without paying them extra? How do you motivate staff through non-monetary mechanisms? But try to pick a topic whereby once you've completed your qualification, you can actually use it. And what I mean by using it is taking your thesis along to an interview and presenting that to the panel so they can see your theme, your topic, your contribution and also the professional structure of what you're capable of doing. So bear that in mind. So after the title, abstract. Abstracts, I would suggest that you leave it till the end. It's the last section that you feed in. Although it's at the beginning of the structure. And it's a bit like going to the movies. You will see clips of future movies to whet your appetite to come along to watch them at a later date. Your abstract has to be concise. It's got to summarise your research contribution. But it's got to be motivating. It's got to inspire the reader, particularly your first marker, your second marker and also your external examiner. And it should be a paragraph, approximately 150 words, rather like the abstracts for journal papers. Next section. Introduction. Introduction has to be very concise. Why are you writing the thesis? What is the purpose of your research? And more importantly, what is the aim and your objectives for researching that particular area? And bear in mind, a future employer may want to read your thesis. Hence the importance of your title. After your introduction, what you have is your literature. Your literature review. Now once again, from experience, and I've read many theses, many dissertations, students tend to, because they've got such easy access to the internet and electronic journals and also through university internal intranets, there's potentially too much information out there. So what I see in many submissions that I haven't supervised is whereby students simply shotgun the information into the literature review. And the literature review has to be concise. You have to justify what are the key things in the literature. So what I recommend students do is create diagrams throughout your thesis. And once again, this will help signpost your assessors and the external examiner on what your thought process is. So the literature review, you'll create a diagram. You will have your question in the middle. And this will be figure one. And what you will do is, from reading the journal papers, your first journal paper, what you'll do, you'll add key themes on that. Then when you come to read your second journal paper, use a different pen. And then, if you come across additional subject areas, you can add to them. However, hopefully, you will be duplicating current themes. And as you build up this diagram, make sure you put your reference, your reference source, so the reader, the examiners, can identify, this is your diagram, this is your question, these are the key themes relevant. And you've duplicated it because you've been reading various journals. And you've identified that these are the key themes. And they're referenced. So what you will then do in your literature review, you will talk about these themes and how they are connected. They're not in isolation. How they are connected in a logical structure within that. Next section is your methodology. Your methodology. And if you can imagine your methodology, which sometimes students struggle with, many students submit theses or dissertations with a weak methodology section and lose marks. So it's critical that your methodology justifies the tools in which you're using. So think about a plumber. A plumber receives a call to go around to a property to fix a leaky pipe or a leaky radiator. The plumber will attend with a box of tools. They are your research tools. The plumber then looks at the problem and decides which tools they are going to use. And it's very similar to your research methodology. You will have to justify your approach. You will have to justify why you are selecting specific tools to answer your research question. In addition to your methodology, you need to think about how we're going to test. This is what we've read about in the literature. This is what the literature says. But what does the commercial environment say? So what we need is gateways to try and collect data. So, for example, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups. And this is one technique that you need to adopt, which will enhance your overall grade. Having looked at your literature review, which have identified key themes, you will then develop a set of questions. And this is what students don't do. Most students don't do. And they're missing out on marks. What they need to do, they need to develop a table. And on the left-hand side, you will write your questions. Questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, up to 15, 20 questions. Now, these can be open-ended or closed questions. However, these questions have to be linked to your literature review. And many students simply pluck questions out of the air, construct a questionnaire, ship it off to an organisation. But when they come to submit the paper, the thesis, comments come back. Lack of linkage to the literature review. How have you justified these questions? So what I'm proposing is, you list the questions on the left-hand column. On the right-hand column, you justify why you've selected that question. But you also reference it to a reference source which is identifiable in your literature review. There you have the linkage. That's what many students don't do. So let me just repeat that. You justify the tools that you're going to use. You then, having reflected on your literature review, you extract questions. Those questions go into a table. On the right-hand side, you justify a sentence or two sentences. Why have you selected those questions? And you make a reference that you've specifically referenced from your literature review. You have the linkage. Next section. Findings. Or data analysis. Or discussion. Or a combination of all three. But your title is relevant to employability. You've got your introduction, concise, which has identified your introduction, your aims, your objectives. Your literature review has been justified as in figure one. You've got the structure. And you know you're talking about the key areas because you've superimposed different journal papers. And you've identified the relevant areas. From that, you develop questions, which has been identified in your methodology, via the table. Now your findings section. Your findings section is very important. Because it will identify themes. And what many students do is they distribute a questionnaire. They get the responses back from the organisation. And then their findings section is nothing better than a regurgitation of that data. For example, question one responses were, and students do a nice pie chart. 70% of the responses said this. 30% of the responses said X, or the opposite. And they systematically go through each question. A cure for insomnia. And also a mechanism not to demonstrate your analysis. So this is what I suggest. You look at the feedback from the question. And what you've got is you've got various responses. What I suggest that you do. You identify themes. So, for example, theme one could consist of answers one, three, five and six. Theme two, you've clustered the responses into two, four, eleven and fifteen and so on. And what this shows the assessors is that you have the ability to look at raw data and cluster it into key themes. So what you'll do is you'll create a diagram. Or better still, you'll have a diagram where you've got your table. You've got the raw responses. And then you have clustered them into key themes. And when you come to write it up, you've got specific sections or specific paragraphs. Addressing each of these themes going through your finding section. However, what students also fail to do. They will talk about the findings, but they will not link it to the literature review. So what you've got to do as you're working through each of these sections systematically through your finding section. You need to make reference to your literature review. You're not repeating your literature review. But what you're doing is, for example, theme one. The data supports the commentary of. And you link it back to a researcher which you've referenced in your literature review. Theme two, maybe. The data is very interesting. This further supports or casts doubt or raises a question mark about what's being said in the literature. You are demonstrating that you have the ability of analysis and application within that. The next section. Your conclusion section. A bit like a court case where the judge summarises. What are the general findings of the research? What did you find? And what are those implications for an organisation or particular market or service sector? A key area which is also neglected is the recommendation section. Quite often, I will look at theses as an external and I will say, at best, a paragraph. Now, really, to a certain extent, as academics, we know the literature. We know the different types of methodology. We don't know how you can structure the theming. So if you can do that, you're going to get extra marks. Yes, you can demonstrate your ability to summarise in a conclusion, which should be approximately half a page. But then comes the recommendations. And this is the key part of your contribution. It's your thumbprint. It's what you can contribute to the bedrock of knowledge or your community of practice within that. So, recommendations. Recommendations. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to show you a technique to make sure you can't just submit a paragraph. So going back to the diagram of themes. So this could be, if we've got figure one there, this would be figure two. What you would create in here, in your recommendations, is a diagram. And what you would do, you would have theme one, two, three, theme four. They're your issues that you've identified in your findings that are linked to your recommendations. Your recommendations are, well, so what? You've identified the problems. What are you going to recommend? What are your commercial, viable recommendations that you can present to the organisation or to the market sector? So this is what I suggest students do. You create another diagram. You've got your themes there. You create an organisational structure. With STO. S stands for Strategic. T stands for Tactical. O stands for Operational. So what I'm doing is I'm creating a diagram where you've identified the themes. We've got the organisational structure. Strategic, Senior Management. Tactical, Middle Management. Operational, Frontline Staff. On the front line of the organisation. So what we have to do. Theme one. What are our recommendations? What are we going to recommend at a strategic level to resolve this problem? What are we going to resolve or recommend at a tactical and at an operational? Now the reason I'm structuring it like that is any recommendation has to be brought in by the organisation. You've got to get the support from senior management, strategic. You've got to get support from middle management, the tactical. And you've got to get support from the frontline troops interacting on the frontline. What are you going to recommend there? Theme two. What are you going to recommend at a strategic, tactical, operational? Theme three. What are you going to recommend at a strategic, tactical, operational? And last theme. Strategic, tactical, operational. Now your recommendations need to start off by stating. You will be structuring your recommendations under three distinct headings. Strategic, tactical, operational. And justify why you're doing that. You need to do that to get the full commitment of the organisation to buy into your solutions. If you just go for senior management. What about middle management? And the operatives, frontline staff. Everyone needs to be on the same page with the solutions. So what you'll then do is, systematically, you'll have a paragraph or two paragraphs on strategic challenges. Recommendations. Tactical recommendations. And operational recommendations within that. Now, what I do recommend that you do is, in addition, which isn't always asked for, is what we call an action sheet. Meaning, you've done your literature review. You've justified your methodology with your questions linked to your literature review. You've gone through your findings section. You've clustered the key themes together. You've summarised it. You've come up with commercially viable, saleable recommendations. And this is what a future employee will look at. This is what they'll home in on. Has this student or potential candidates got the ability, not just to identify problems, but to structure solutions? But you're going to go the extra nine yards. What you're going to do is, you're going to produce an action sheet. One page, electronic. And what it has is, it's got the issue. And these are the issues that need to be addressed. You've also got person responsible. You've got to give someone the responsibility. You've got the resources required. You've got the cost. And you've also got the time frame. So many theses, dissertations, include recommendations. Although I've said very short recommendations. This avoids it. You've got three distinct sections within your recommendations. So your recommendations should be running approximately two, possibly three pages in length. And then, what you will do, you will have your themes. One, two, three, four. There might be more than four themes. There might be five, six. I wouldn't go above more than six because it would be too bulky. Person responsible. So who do we choose? You're not going to lose marks by identifying somebody in the organisation. Whereby, the ultimate organisation might say, well, that's not specifically for that person. What the examiners and the assessors want to know is, have you identified, say, someone in the, for example, the HR manager? And with regards to, if we run and keep the theme on the HR manager, the resource might be training. One of your recommendations must probably be training or repeat training. It will be, well, if everyone needs to be trained, what, how much is that going to cost? Once again, you're not going to lose marks if you don't get the exact cost right. What the examiners want to see is, have you thought about the cost? So, for example, a member of staff might work out £100 to be trained if you've got a cohort of 15. So what you would do is, you would guesstimate the likely cost. This section here, timeframe, would be short-term, medium-term, long-term. And what I mean by long-term, 12 months. This action sheet involves a 12-month scenario. So short-term could be 1 to 3 months. Medium-term could be 3 to 6 months. Long-term could be 6 months to 12 months. But make sure that you include that. And when that's completed, you can go back and say, right, that's my action sheet, that's the sheet of paper, I could go in on Monday morning and give the organisation. Those themes are linked to these recommendations, which are linked to these themes, which were extracted or clustered in your filing section from your methodology, which you have justified in the table. Your literature review is being justified because it's systematic and you've duplicated, you know these are the common themes from the journal papers which you've read and you've documented. There you can put in your abstract now. You can summarise what was your area of research, what was important about it, what did you contribute within that, in your abstract. So don't forget, your literature review links to your methodology. Your findings section links back to your literature review. Because when you're talking about the themes, you're making reference, you're not rewriting your literature review, you're making reference to your literature review there, just in reference only. Your conclusion links to your findings. Your recommendations link to your findings. And your recommendations are developed into an action sheet within that. And there you have a structured dissertation that links, that demonstrates your analysis, your synthesis, your application of viable commercial recommendations, and the extra bit is your action sheet. One page, 12 months advice, what you would recommend to the organisation to help eradicate these problems. And if you do that, you should pass your dissertation and it should give you a good crack at getting your first job interview. Thank you very much.

When Should You Get Your Dissertation Interviews Transcribed?

Recently, I received this email from a doctoral student.

“I am in a bit of a bind. I have just defended my dissertation, and I have two committee members who will not pass me, because I coded directly on my audio instead of transcribing. They are now requiring transcripts in order for me to pass. I have approximately 206 minutes of audio that I need transcribed in naturalistic form with timestamps. Can you help?”

I realized that some researches don’t know if and when they should get their dissertation interviews transcribed. Let’s begin with the first question: do you have to transcribe dissertation research interviews ? If you conduct qualitative interviews, you’ll need to transcribe the interviews. And that’s because of how you code (you’ll be looking for themes, categories etc) from your data and how you’ll report your findings; using interview excerpts/vignettes.

Have I ever come across an instance where a researcher did not need to transcribe their dissertation interviews? Yes, I have. They were conducting quantitative interview s (surveys) with young kids. So it was easier for them to conduct the interview/survey in person, as opposed to a written survey. Regardless, the researcher choose to have the interviews transcribed; it was easier for them to numerically code the responses from the transcripts.

If you don’t transcribe your qualitative interviews, you must have a very good reason (backed up with published references), as to why you choose your research methodology for your dissertation committee. To summarize, if you plan to conduct qualitative interviews, plan to transcribe them!

To the second question, during your qualitative research, when should you transcribe your interviews. Obviously not after you have defended your dissertation. Researchers get in touch wishing to know if they should send me the recording(s) of their audio interviews as they conduct them, in batches, or when they are done conducting the interviews. The answer depends on these 3 factors.

1. Who is the Transcriber

The first consideration is; who is going to transcribe the interviews? If one chooses to hire a transcriber, you’ll have more leeway on when to get your interviews transcribed.

If you are on a tight budget you will want to give your transcriber a lot of time to transcribe your interviews. Generally, t he longer the turnaround, the cheaper the transcription. Rush transcriptions cost more. As soon as you establish a budget for the entire project, that’d be a good time to project when transcription should begin to avoid last minute rushes.

If cost is not a constrain (and it rarely isn’t) then you can request rush transcripts. But keep in mind that it will cost you 2-4 times more than normal turnaround.

If you can’t afford to hire a transcription, or choose to do your own transcription (always recommended), keep in mind that transcription takes a lot of time. If you wish to transcribe the interviews yourself, you need to set aside adequate time to transcribe the interviews.

As a novice transcriber, it’s going to take you 8-10 hours to transcribe a 1-hour long interview. So if you have 20, 1-hour interviews you should budget 20, 8 hours working days to transcribe your interviews. Budget this time into your dissertation completion calendar.

Secondly, projects vary in terms of scope, duration. For large projects, interviews may be conduction over a span of 2-3 years. And may also involve hundreds of interview subjects. Smaller projects may have a little as 10 interviews that span a couple of weeks. In these instances, what’s the key factor in determining when you should get your interviews transcribed?

How much time you have before you defend your dissertation. If there is plenty of time, then you can have the transcription done all at once or in batches. If you are on a time crunch, then it would be unwise not to start transcriptions early, in bits and as quickly as possible.

 2. Transcription Style

Depending on your field of study and research, you will need to define which transcription style is ideal for you. If you intend to perform discourse analysis, verbatim transcription of your research interviews is recommended. This format is more time consuming. Keep in mind it will take longer before you get your transcripts.

For most research projects, an intelligent verbatim style is used. This style takes less time than strict verbatim transcription and thus reduces transcription turnaround and cost. Some researchers require timestamps to be added to the transcripts so that they can more easily reference the audio for citations of quotes. Adding timestamps takes time, so budget accordingly.

3. Audio Quality

Finally, the quality of the recording will determine the time required to transcribe. Unclear and distorted recordings would definitely take a longer time to transcribe. Clear audio, with no background noise ( here’s a short post on how to record good quality audio ), is easier and faster to transcribe. So if you have poor interview audio recordings, you need to budget more time and money for transcription.

Conducting dissertation interviews is a vital step in most post graduate studies. Now, once you’ve recorded the interviews it is safe, efficient, time saving, and convenient to have the interviews transcribed for easy compilation, reporting and analysis. Transcription is inevitable step in writing and defending your thesis.

When to transcribe your research interviews is entirely a personal decision. As I have outlined above there are 3 questions you need to ask yourself. 1) Who is going to do the transcription? If you hire a professional transcriber, you have a lot more leeway on when you can get your interviews transcribed. If cost is a constraint for you, get your interviews transcribed as soon as you conduct them – it will cost you less.

If you have lots of time, transcribed your dissertation interviews in batches or when they are all conducted. If you are on a time crunch, transcribe them as soon as you conduct them. For small projects, I recommend transcribing all the interviews in one batch, and for larger projects grouping the interviews into batches of 10 for transcription. If you have cost and time constrains, you are caught between a rock and a hard place.

2) What transcription style do you need for your research? If you are looking for a verbatim transcription, transcribe the interviews as soon as you conduct them. If you are looking for an intelligent verbatim transcription, get the transcripts in batches or all at once.

3) Audio quality. Good audio quality interviews are easier and faster to transcribe.

Whatever you do, don’t wait until you have defended your dissertation before looking for a dissertation transcription service. Get in touch.

Read the Full Transcript of President Nayib Bukele’s Interview With TIME

Read our full cover story on Nayib Bukele here . You can also read the transcript of the interview in Spanish here .

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele sat down for an interview with TIME in his office at the Casa Presidencial in San Salvador on June 25. Bukele, who won re-election in February with 84% of the vote, had just begun his second term. He discussed his government’s crackdown on the country’s notorious gangs and the emergency powers that have allowed him to suspend some civil liberties in order to incarcerate more than 81,000 suspected gang members and their associates. He also talked about how plunging homicide rates have transformed El Salvador, his efforts to rebrand the nation by adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, and why the “Bukele Model” is being adopted across the region.

Below is a transcript, lightly edited for clarity, of Bukele’s interview with TIME Senior Correspondent Vera Bergengruen.

TIME: I wanted to start with your inauguration, which was quite a spectacle. Were you surprised by the level of international attention it received and the high-level officials, especially the large delegation from the United States, who attended?

Bukele: The inauguration is an event that is always held; it is normal. It’s expected that there will be a lot of local attention from the people of the country. Obviously, there will be some international attention, no matter how small. Any inauguration in Latin America gets some press. Some people who had their own followers started to confirm. Everyone said, "Such and such will come."

Some prominent people in the United States also started to come, which I think helped make the government's delegation more robust. The government sent a very robust delegation—not just the Secretary of Homeland Security but also representatives from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, and various other agencies. Even a bipartisan congressional and Senate delegation came.

In the end, it became more and more robust. I think one thing led to another. In the end, it attracted even more international attention. In addition, our administration, at least on this side of the world, is quite well known, especially in Latin America, much less in other latitudes or the eastern hemisphere or Europe. It is much less known there than here. In this area, it has become better known and, therefore, already received some attention. The build-up, I think, resulted in more attention than we expected—but it was positive attention.

It seems to me that you were seeking to show them a different aspect of El Salvador. When one walks into the airport, it now says, "Welcome to the land of surf, volcanoes, and coffee." What was the feedback from the people who traveled here—especially from members of Congress and the people who came from the U.S., like Donald [Trump] Jr.,Tucker Carlson—who wouldn't have visited if it weren't for you and what is happening in El Salvador?

Bukele: Yes. Some are not just thinking about but actively looking to buy properties in El Salvador to get away and rest. The truth is, why not? El Salvador is a very nice, small country, the smallest in all of the Americas. It is very nice. It has the best surf beaches in the world, at least according to surfers it is in the top five. Some might say, "No, the ones in this or that country are better," but they’re among the top in the world.

We have some of the best coffee in the world. While its supremacy over the coffee from other countries may be debatable, it is undeniably excellent coffee. We have one of the greatest, if not the highest, densities of volcanoes in the world, with some beautiful ones to see, and so on. The biggest problem in El Salvador, which was never a tourist destination—never even making it into the top 100—was primarily insecurity.

As it is now the safest country on the continent, there are no longer any obstacles to visiting it. It's a completely free and open country, easy to visit—most countries don't require a visa to enter. It's 100% safe, with many natural attractions packed into a relatively small space. It makes sense to many people, especially in the United States; South Florida is only a two-hour flight away. There are several direct flights available every day. Understandably, people would want to spend a few days here each year.

Since this is a profile, I'm interested in understanding your political evolution, especially given your family's connections to the Salvadoran left. In 2012, you described yourself as being part of the “radical left.” From the outside, it seems you align more with the right, and most of your allies in the United States are right-wing. How would you define your political views?

Bukele: Yes, I definitely don't consider myself to be left-wing or right-wing. That division originated after the French Revolution. It's essentially as basic or absurd as saying, "Those who supported the most revolutionary ideals sat on the left side of the hemicycle, while those who favored the most monarchical ideals sat on the right. Thus, they were labeled the left and the right." Since then, all countries have been influenced by the seat distribution established in France.

Which, to me, made some sense at the time, of course. One learns and understands things better, but a division originating from the French Revolution no longer makes sense to me. It's not even classical enough to say it comes from human civilization. Nor is it modern enough to say it's still in effect. It's an archaic definition that isn't even old enough to be considered classical. It makes no sense to define things in terms of left and right.

Additionally, I have many friends on the right, and we may currently have more support from right-leaning sectors than from the left. However, I don't consider myself aligned with either side. Our government policies are not designed to lean right or left. I think this is largely due to some coincidences. From my perspective, as someone who was once on the left, it seems that if I were to analyze things from an external viewpoint, the left has lost its way across the world. I’m no longer interested in those definitions, but that’s my observation. They don't even have clear models or prominent figures.

If I were part of that camp, I'd say, "We have a serious identity crisis and need to act quickly before we lose all elected offices," because people no longer see any clear direction on the left. Despite its anachronisms, the right is at least setting a course. I'm not the only one saying this; scholars on the left and many others also note it.

At your inauguration, you said that it was the first time that a single party would dominate a fully democratic system, with all opposition effectively “pulverized.” Do you think a country can be truly democratic with a single party in power and no significant, or only a greatly diminished, opposition?

Bukele: Yes, of course. What happens is that an imposed single party is incompatible with democracy. What can I choose if there is only one party? Others may defend it and have their own perspectives. I believe that a single party imposed by legislation is incompatible with democracy. However, when there is a hegemonic party, as in our case—perhaps you were referring to the victory speech on election day—the correct term would be a very hegemonic party.

We hold 90% of the seats in Congress, and with our allies, we have 95%. The opposition has only 5%, with just three representatives out of 60. It is an extremely hegemonic party, almost unique, but the difference is that it has been 100% democratic. Not only because we have held elections—after all, I have heard people say, “The fact that there are elections does not guarantee that it is democracy."

Yes, of course, but in our case, it is different. We have a Supreme Electoral Tribunal controlled by the opposition, the same tribunal that controlled the previous election in 2021. At that time, the opposition controlled the courts, the assembly, the Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and all State institutions, while we only had control of the executive branch. That is well-documented. We had intense conflicts and disagreements, of course, because we were on opposing sides.

The opposition entirely controlled the country, except for the presidency and the executive branch. With that tribunal in place, we won the 2021 elections decisively, securing 70% of the votes, if I'm not mistaken. This allowed us to implement the necessary reforms, including the emergency regime, the war against gangs , and other measures.

In the 2024 election, the same electoral tribunal was maintained, the same political parties, the party that was in power the 10 years before our government. The party that was in power the 20 years before that also participated. The party that was in power the five years before that also participated, and the party that was in power the 20 years before participated as well.

These are not parties…None are friendly; that is, they are very vociferous and critical, expressing themselves very strongly against the government with total freedom. They ran a campaign of harsh criticism, with strong attacks, which is completely valid in a democracy. I don't see this as negative; rather, it's a positive indication that we had a completely free and transparent election.

Even the international observers we had—more than 3,000 on the ground, if I recall correctly—and organizations like the European Union and the OAS, which are among the most involved in monitoring elections, all stated that the election results were valid. They may have had some reservations, but they acknowledged the outcome. They said, "Finally, after all, we can guarantee that the election outcome reflects the feelings and the decisions of the Salvadoran people." I didn't say that; the European Union said it.

Yes, I think no one is denying that.

Bukele: Correct. A few months earlier, when we had the inauguration of a Central American and Caribbean Sports Games here in El Salvador, quite a few media outlets attended. I told them, "Don't just take my word for it, because of course I'll speak positively about us and the government. But you're already here—you've got your cameras, paid for your plane tickets, booked your hotel rooms, and set up your internet. You've got everything: the people, the photographers, and the video cameras. Go to the streets. Ask people and don't go where--"

"Yes, go there, but don't limit yourselves to the most public or prominent places where the government might have some influence. No. Go anywhere. It is so safe that you can walk into any dark alley without any problem. Go to a community—head into a rural area without many people. You might hear a dog barking in the distance, but that doesn't matter. Go anywhere, ask the people. It will be rare if you find a negative opinion among the population."

Someone still came and told me later, "Oh, sure, that's because the dictatorship is so strong that people are afraid to speak out against it." I said, "It's not like that, but putting myself in your shoes, I ⁠can see why you would think that." We got 85% of the votes in the election here in El Salvador; that is, 15% didn't vote for us.

The turnout for voting abroad was exceptionally high, both in terms of percentage and total numbers, compared to any other country in the world. We received 98.7% of the votes from Salvadorans living abroad—nearly 99%. Out of 700,000 Salvadorans who voted, a significant number given our electoral roll and population, we secured 98.7% of the votes.

I told them, "If it’s the dictatorship that makes people support us, how did we manage to bring it to New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Miami, and all the places where we had-- Madrid, Australia, Milan? How did we bring the dictatorship to every polling center in the world?"

We even encountered a problem on Election Day because the polls were closed at 6:00 PM. According to Salvadoran Electoral Law, the polls cannot be closed until the last person in line has voted. However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal closed the polls abroad at that time, leaving many people still outside.

They were waiting in the cold, in the snow. People started complaining. There are videos on social media of people complaining, "Let us in." Some media outlets in the United States interviewed them. Basically, we know it was 98% or more, but there, it looked like 100% of the people supported us. How do we bring the dictatorship to these great cities in the world and all countries? To Europe, Australia, Asia, Latin America, the United States, and Canada? It would be impossible for the dictatorship to influence people there. I think there's been a strong narrative against us, which is fine. Still, when people come here and see the reality, it contrasts sharply with what's been said abroad—especially in Europe and the United States, though not as much in Latin America.

I think no one really denies the popular support—it's quite evident. I ask because it's quite unusual to have a democracy with only one dominant party, right?

Bukele: Sorry, I went on a tangent. I didn't exactly answer your question. What I meant by all that—and sorry for the tangent—is that the population decides this. I don't think a single president in the world wouldn't try to achieve as much as possible in their meetings.

I am sure that, whether in the United States, France, or anywhere else, the president participates in elections, midterm elections, if not him then his representatives, to aim to secure as much support as possible. If he could get 99% support from Congress, he would get it. I am sure that President Biden in the United States during the midterms did not say, "Let's aim for only a maximum of 55% to maintain checks and balances." I'm sure the Democrats tried to get everything they were able to.

Regardless of who wins the election in November in the United States, be it the Democrats or the Republicans, the incumbent president will use every resource available—finances, sponsors, ground support—to try and secure as many seats as possible, ideally 100% of the seats in both Congress and the Senate.

Now, they may not succeed, but their failure can't be our roadmap. I can't say that, because presidents worldwide often face failure and poor evaluations, and because midterms frequently yield unsatisfactory results, we're not going to artificially assign half of Congress to the opposition just say that we are a democracy.

You're saying that it’s not your fault that you're so popular.

Bukele: Exactly.

I saw an interview from 2019 where you repeatedly said, "We have 59 months left, we only have 58 months left to do this job.” Obviously, now you’ll have many more months. When did you decide that running for a second term would be possible, and how did you come to that decision?

Bukele: What happened is that what I said in 2019, I actually started saying back in 2014. But back then, I wasn't referring to myself; I was talking about another president. In the Salvadoran mindset, and according to what we've always understood from the Salvadoran Constitution, immediate re-election was not allowed. Re-election was allowed but with a period in between. That was the interpretation of Article 152 of the Constitution; that's how it was always understood. The president can serve one term and then sit out the next term. However, he can run again after that break.

I believe you yourself explained this ban in 2013.

Bukele: I even explained it in an interview. If I recall correctly, in 2014, Elías Antonio Saca, who served as president from 2004 to 2009, ran again. He used the rule allowing a former president to run again after sitting out for at least one term.

He ran for the presidency again in 2014. The institutions allowed him to run for office and register. He registered his movement, united three political parties, and formed a coalition to support him. Then, a citizen lawyer filed a lawsuit against his candidacy, arguing that Article 152 of the Constitution didn't just prohibit immediate re-election but also re-election after sitting out a term.

Article 152 literally says, "You cannot be a candidate for the presidency of the Republic if you have been president in the immediately preceding period." The argument presented by the citizens and that lawyer before the Supreme Court of Justice was made when I was the mayor of a small municipality; I wasn’t even the mayor of San Salvador yet, and I had zero influence.

The argument they presented to the Court was that the article had been misinterpreted. It states, "Whoever has been president in the immediately preceding period may not be a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic." They argued that "may not be a candidate" refers to the current period and applies to the candidate who has just completed a term.

The Constitution states, "Whoever was president in the immediately preceding period may not be a candidate." In other words, "He who was president in the immediately preceding period cannot be a candidate," as the article says verbatim. It's a bit shocking, but they were right. The wording of the article literally forbids the president from the immediately preceding period from running as a candidate. It states that explicitly.

I’m not the one saying it’s right, but the Supreme Court of Justice said it was right. Not the justices my party appointed but all the previous ones appointed before my party was in power. They let the former president run, and the president lost the elections. He got 11% of the votes; it didn't go so badly, but he lost. He came in third.

After losing, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice decided that it was correct. That was a 2014 resolution. I was the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán, not even the mayor of San Salvador. It's a small town on the outskirts of San Salvador, where I live.

The Constitutional Chamber of the Salvadoran Constitutional Court stated, "It is true. Article 152 does not prohibit immediate re-election but prohibits re-election with a period in between." However, the Constitutional Chamber also noted at that time, "There is another article that mentions that alternability in the exercise of the presidency is fundamental to the system of government in El Salvador."

They said, "Therefore, we will prohibit re-election for 10 years. We will prohibit immediate re-election based on the article about alternability, and we will also prohibit re-election after skipping a term, like what Tony Saca did. From now on, this will be prohibited by Article 152." The Constitutional Chamber changed the interpretation of Article 152.

When was that?

Bukele: 2014, 10 years ago.

So when did you decide—

Bukele: I was the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán at the time. After that, I ran for mayor of San Salvador and won the office in 2015. I served my full term as a mayor. In 2018, I was expelled from my party and ran for president. We won in 2019, long before anything else.

When I was president, we were in the campaign for mayors and representatives. During this campaign, a candidate for representative from an allied party said in a television interview, '"I'm going to work as a representative so that we can re-elect the president." A lawyer sued the candidate, who, by the way, did not win the election. She was a young woman and did not win the election. He sued the candidate, asking that her rights as a citizen be revoked. It was that serious, just for having proposed something like this.

The Constitutional Chamber received the claim and resolved that she had not violated anything in the Constitution because, according to the previous chamber's interpretation, Article 152 did not prohibit immediate re-election. Although the previous chamber had prohibited immediate re-election based on the article about alternation, the term "alternability" is not the same as "alternation."

Alternability means the ability to alternate, allowing the population the possibility to effect a change, not the obligation to do so. That is why no one says that the United States lacks alternability. It has alternability now. You have the option to alternate or keep the same president.

The Court ruled that it is possible to run for president for an immediate term. However, it is not possible to do so afterward, according to the interpretation of Article 152. At that time, with a resolution, the Court was enabling presidential re-election with the resolution in favor of the former candidate. Re-election was enabled, and obviously we saw that as an opportunity.

We didn't make the decision at that time because we had to weigh many factors, in my case, family matters. However, a little less than a year later, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity for re-election that had opened to us, which didn't exist before but was now possible.

The most important thing is that, in the end, the candidate would be presented to the population, and they would decide whether they liked them or not. They had a full range of possible candidates, including those within my own party.

Obviously, it was very difficult for them to beat me within my party. But even in the general election, with all the parties involved—the former bipartisanship, the right, the left, the ex-guerrillas, the former government—together, they didn’t even get 15% of the votes in an election that was audited, observed, and recognized by every country in the world.

There is something interesting there, and that is that few governments, very few, are recognized by 100% of the world's countries. There are governments, regardless of their power—though this is not the case with the United States, of course—that not all countries may recognize. Many countries have varying levels of recognition and issues related to their international standing.

In the case of El Salvador, no single country or government in the whole world says, "No, El Salvador's election was illegitimate." That is, there may be questions at the level of an analyst, at the level of an NGO, but there is not a single government, a single multilateral organization, the UN, the OAS, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank—not a single organization or government in the world does not recognize our elections.

I don't mean to rush you, but I have many questions. So if I interrupt you, it's not because—

Bukele: No. Interrupt whatever you want.

—I'm being disrespectful. You have also stated that El Salvador is the safest country in Latin America. Is this new security sustainable, and can it exist without a state of exception?

Bukele: It's two questions, Yes, it is sustainable, and yes, it can exist without a state of exception. Everything created by humans requires maintenance, as I've mentioned before. Humans build nothing—be it infrastructure, a cohesive society, or security—that doesn't require maintenance. Everything that is built or made by humans requires maintenance. The moment maintenance is lost, it fails.

Is this sustainable? Yes. Does it require maintenance? Yes. Can that maintenance be done without the state of exception? Yes. Why don't we lift it right now? We’re not yet ready to lift it, but we know it’s a state of exception, and therefore we hope to lift it as soon as the situation allows us to maintain the conditions without it.

What kind of metrics or other conditions would need to exist for you to end the state of exception?

Bukele: The gangs were a structure of 70,000 gang members; that was the formal gang structure. Obviously, they had half a million collaborators. I’m not saying this; experts and international organizations from before my presidency say this. There’s no influence from me on that number.

In El Salvador, while there’s no exact census of gang members, there were around 70,000 gang members and approximately half a million collaborators. We do not expect to arrest half a million collaborators, as we understand that most of them cooperated because they lived in that world.

However, some collaborators did commit serious crimes that cannot be justified. I’m not referring to simply warning that the police were around— which, unfortunately, was part of Salvadoran reality—but rather to crimes like assisting in a murder. Even if they were not part of the core gang structure, such actions must be punished with imprisonment.

We removed 85% of the gang members from the streets, targeting the entire pyramid structure of the gangs—from the leaders to the cliques and lower ranks. That whole structure fell apart. The vast majority of gang members are in prison. Some fled the country and are in other countries waiting to return. Another group remains hidden. How do we know this? Because we catch a lot of gang members every day.

We estimate that there are still between 8,000 and 9,000 gang members on the streets. Catching 100% of gang members may be impossible since we don’t have a complete census. They might have fled, be in other countries, or still be here, even though they are not currently active. There are still enough who could regroup if we reduce the pressure.

If we remove more gang members from the streets, there won’t be enough left to reorganize. With only 3,000 or 4,000 members, they wouldn’t have enough to form four gangs. It is difficult. It's also not like we're going to remove the police. In the near future, we hope to lift the state of exception, return to normal constitutional processes, and maintain the peace we’ve achieved through regular judicial and law enforcement activities.

As you know, groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have reported abuses such as deaths in custody, torture, arbitrary detentions, and violations of due process, as well as thousands of innocent people being imprisoned without due judicial process. Your government has stated that some of this is inevitable. Do you, as president, consider it the cost of security?

Bukele: I believe there are many false narratives in what is reported abroad. I would divide it into two things. One, there are many false narratives. For instance, claims of torture in prisons lack any evidence. As for deaths in our prisons, our death rates are quite low.

Sometimes the figures are not false but the narrative surrounding them. Sometimes, some things are half-truths. It sounds true; they have data to corroborate it, but it hasn't been presented in the context of the actual situation. For example, international organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International claim there have been over 300 deaths in prisons—308, to be precise—since the emergency regime began.

The state of exception started in March 2022, so it has been two years and three months. This means we're talking about approximately 140 deaths per year. One hundred forty deaths per year in a prison population of over 100,000 prisoners is a very low rate by Latin American standards and even lower compared to the United States. In the United States, where prisons have amenities like gyms, nutritionists, and Netflix, the mortality rate is higher than in El Salvador. When people hear "300 deaths in prisons," it sounds like a lot because each number represents a human life, no matter what they were guilty of.

However, it's important to understand that deaths can occur both inside and outside of prison. We don’t aim to harm anyone, but death is a reality for people both inside and outside of prisons.

There are diseases; some die of old age, and some die of a disease or something. Moreover, since the death rate in El Salvador's prisons is lower than in many Latin American countries and even lower than that of the United States, it is significant to note that we are not systematically killing people in prison. What would be our gain from killing someone? What for? To see a rise in accusations? We wouldn't have anything to gain from that.

I think these concerns center on conditions in the prisons, and the innocent people who may end up incarcerated.

Bukele: I understand that prison conditions are much better in the developed world. In fact, people in prisons there often live better than those in average homes in the developing world. However, it is true that conditions in Salvadoran prisons are better than in many North American countries.

I won't name specific countries to avoid international conflicts. Still, look at prisons in many Latin American nations. You'll find that drug traffickers and criminal organizations control the majority. These prisons are often run by the underworld, with drug runners giving orders, organizing killings outside, and maintaining a hierarchical structure. Inmates can enter and leave as if they own the place, and weapons are often smuggled inside.

Sometimes, they even send armies to take control of the prison and face off with the inmates. When we compare the conditions in Salvadoran prisons to those in developed countries or the lives of free people, they are definitely harsh and undesirable. However, compared to the reality of many other Latin American countries, Salvadoran prisons are relatively better. They are clean and orderly, with fewer homicides and fights, which starkly contrasts the severe conditions seen in other regions.

I'm not going to name the country, but there was an incident in a prison where a single fight resulted in the deaths of nearly fifty women. Fifty women died in this fight. Wouldn't it be better to have that prison under control? That there was order, cleanliness, and discipline? That everything is orderly and that everyone has to walk a little. Others need to eat, and when they are done eating, they need to go back to their cells.

I understand it is uncomfortable, but these are prisons, not parks. We are talking about criminals who have, in some cases, killed 10, 15, or even 20 people and have confessed. Compared to the prisons in Latin America—though I acknowledge there may be a few countries with well-managed facilities—the vast majority are in total chaos. This is not the case in El Salvador. If we compare rates such as overcrowding and mortality, they are quite acceptable compared to the rest of Latin America.

The other is, for example, in the case of CECOT, which is our most emblematic prison, it is the most open prison in the world—not open for them to escape, but open for the press. The BBC has visited it, as have YouTubers. That is, it is the most open prison in the world. Whoever asks us for permission to visit, we let them in.

You yourself post about it on TikTok all the time.

Bukele: Yes. I post content about it all the time, but let's say that what I post might be filtered by the government, so we only post what we want to share. The press visits it. We allow them to interview randomly, "I want to interview that inmate who is in that corner." They interview them and ask, “Look, have you been tortured?", "No, I have not been tortured." You could see if they had some kind of bruise or something.

In other words, some questions are grounded in solid concerns. Still, they should be considered in the context of the reality in Latin America, El Salvador, and the Salvadoran population. Take food, for example. Food is limited in prisons, not in quantity but in quality. For example, tortillas, beans, rice, and cheese. It doesn't have meat. It doesn't have shrimp, but what does the average Salvadoran eat? How can I ask the Salvadoran people, who often have modest meals like beans and tortillas for dinner, to pay taxes on those beans and tortillas to provide meat and chicken to prisoners who have killed their family members?

I can't do that. We need to provide them with food that meets their nutritional needs, including protein and carbohydrates, but at a level comparable to the average Salvadoran's diet. We cannot offer them a better quality of life than the average Salvadoran, who has endured 50 years of violence, should pay for.

Obviously, it's also a type of showcase you're presenting on social media. Now, many across the region are adopting the idea of the “Bukele model.” How do you define the “Bukele model”?

Bukele: I have always said we are open to supporting any government. We recently signed an agreement with the Government of Argentina and have received support requests from various other governments. We are here to support them in anything. For example, I believe that controlling prisons should be a basic requirement for any country.

One thing that surprises me is that many countries don’t do something as simple and effective as blocking cell phone signals in prisons. This involves using a device that disrupts signals, cutting off Wi-Fi, internet, and phone access without violating any rights or using physical force. Blocking cell phone signals would effectively stop the transmission of murder orders and cut off a significant amount of information coming in and out of prisons.

We have offered advice as needed, understanding that each reality is unique. Sometimes, they say, "The Bukele model." Yes, of course. It's not called that, but we're happy to name it however you like. Each country has its own unique reality. It would be important to adapt what applies from El Salvador to each country's unique situation and disregard what does not fit their context.

Sure. But here, it was obviously only possible after applying the state of exception, right?

Bukele: Yes, of course.

Those are extraordinary measures that most countries would not be able to apply.

Bukele: No, some can. In fact, some countries have applied the exception regime. As I told you a while ago, it depends on which country, it depends on their reality, and it depends on what they are facing. I remember when I was mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán, the first municipality where I was a public official. We started doing a good job there.

People would say, "It's just that they do it there because it's so small. It's easy." I would tell them, "Yes, it's indeed small. We also don't have a beach; we don't have natural resources." If I were in a coastal municipality, perhaps I would have thought of betting on tourism. If we were in a municipality with large tracts of land, we would have bet on agriculture. Since we were in a municipality without those resources, we relied on our proximity to the capital as an advantage.

You always have to do your SWOT, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses, what are the threats, what are the objectives. In the case of El Salvador, we looked at what we had. We had a weak army, so we strengthened it by doubling its size. We had a police force that needed to be modernized, a prison system that criminals controlled, and a crime phenomenon that we share with some countries but not all.

There was a very large social component to the gang phenomenon. Some experts can talk about it very well, and it is not that they are not right. There were several realities. There were legal realities and practical constraints regarding what we had available in terms of representatives and popular support. There will be other countries that do not have some of these things but have others. They have other advantages: better budgets and better weaponry.

I know of countries that might not have a state of exception, but they have planes, an army 50 times bigger than ours, advanced technology, ample financial resources, and the ability to borrow and print money. We don't have any of those things. There are always pros and cons, but if a government wants to solve an issue, it should be able to do so.

I don't think that should be so controversial to say; it should be the norm. Governments are there to solve people's problems. The first problem to be solved must be the most urgent. Which is the most urgent? It depends on the country in question.In El Salvador, there's no doubt—and no one can claim otherwise, they say do so but they would be lying—that the most urgent and serious problem we faced at that time was insecurity.

Is it strange for you to see your name, across the world, now be synonymous with iron fist policies on security matters?

Bukele: Yes. I never expected to become the reference for iron fist measures. I have always believed that societies progress through a comprehensive approach to problems. I have never been against this; I've said before that crime often arises from a range of factors, usually social. In El Salvador's case, our problems included a lack of opportunities and the destruction of the social fabric.

The vast majority of gang members joined gangs due to a lack of family, a lack of opportunities, and the social pressure to join. Then, once inside, they were pressured to kill. After killing the first person, they become desensitized. They kill the second, and then they kill the third.

I understand that if that boy had been stopped young and sent to school, we could have taught him other things, and he might have never become a gang member. He would have never killed anyone, nor would it have even occurred to him to kill anyone. He probably would have been a good man. I do not doubt and accept that the state failed him by not providing him with opportunities or a minimum social safety net. The state was a significant factor—probably the main one—in this young man becoming a criminal.

What can I do? I can't go back in time to 1990 and say, "All these guys are going to become gang members. We're going to take them to school." The governments in the 1990s should have done that. They didn't do it. This is a juvenile social problem that began in the United States related to retail drug sales, and then it arrived here. It wasn't even that bad when the gangs started. They had their quarrels between them, sometimes there was a dead man, but it was not a giant crime phenomenon.

Then, it became the most dangerous country in the world. Literally the homicide capital of the world, with three times the homicide rate than Haiti has now. Haiti is considered a failed state. El Salvador had triple that homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants. I understand that the state failed [these people,] which should not have happened. However, this criminal who killed 10 people, raped 20 women, and beheaded eight others is beyond reintegration into society. He is deeply sick.

We don't put them in jail to punish them. We put them in jail to get them off the street. They can't be on the streets. They cannot be in the community besieging their neighbors. We catch them and remove them from society by putting them in a cell. It is the happiest end for a society, but unfortunately, that's how it happened. It's like someone who has damaged their liver from drinking excessively. Then the doctor tells them, "I'm not going to operate on your liver because the problem is your drinking." So, turn back the clock. Stop drinking, and your liver will be fine." No way. He needs a transplant or something. We had to come in with a healing solution.

If any country can address these issues sooner with preventive solutions, it would be more noble, better, and have more lasting results. It's commendable and beneficial if they can achieve that. We couldn't do it. Now that we have brought peace to the country, we must invest in youth and children to prevent future issues. This way, we can avoid another president needing to impose an exception regime in 15 to 20 years and arrest 1% of the population again.

Hopefully, it won't be necessary in the future. We aim to lay the foundations for a peaceful society, similar to developed nations, not because of their prison systems or punitive policies but because their societies function effectively.

In 2021, you requested a meeting with the White House during a visit to Washington, and I read it was rejected. Biden officials and U.S. government officials publicly criticized your government, saying they had “deep concerns” about the state of your democracy. Now, three years later, the Biden administration sent a high-level delegation to your inauguration, including Secretary Mayorkas. What caused this turnaround? Did it surprise you?

Bukele: Yes. I think there are several things. I can do a big analysis on that, but I think the main thing is that we won. When we did all this, before starting the war against the gangs, we made changes in the courts, the Prosecutor’s Office, and so on. Just as we are now recognized by 100% of governments and organizations, we were condemned, not by 100% of them, but by all those who were interested in El Salvador. The whole world condemned us. That is, the European Union, individual European countries, and the United States, just to name a few.

Then, we started this fight against the greatest problem that El Salvador had—and again, El Salvador was the world capital of homicides—it was not an isolated problem we had but a problem the world recognized. It was an overwhelming victory, we had no civilian casualties. Fighting an irregular army of 70,000 men could have resulted in civilian casualties from crossfire, as could have been the case anywhere. We didn't have that here; we didn't have civilian casualties.

At a minimum, we had single-digit casualties among our security forces. Even the deceased gang members-- I don't know if I have the data here, but even the deceased gang members were very few. Here it is. In 2024, zero dead soldiers. Zero dead police officers. In 2023, two police officers died. Zero soldiers died. Gang members who have died in combat. In 2024, three have died. In 2023, 40 died, and in 2022, 90 died.

That is, during the state of exception, there have been two police casualties, 133 gang members killed, and zero civilian casualties. We turned the world capital of homicides, the most insecure country in the world, into the safest country in the entire Western Hemisphere. What's more, this year, we already surpassed Canada because, at the end of 2023, we were second with a rate of 2.4. Canada had a rate of 2.0. Canada surpasses us, but this year, our projected rate is 1.8. Well below Canada's projected rate.

Having achieved these results with this budget, without anyone's help, if anything with the whole world’s condemnation, forced them to change their discourse. Because I feel that, as you mentioned a while ago, the Bukele model around here [isn something] they want to copy over there. Suddenly, it's better to embrace it, try to regulate it, and try not to let it get out of the, the--

Not to condemn it publicly?

Bukele: Yes, try not to fight against something that is too popular, not just in El Salvador but in all of Latin America.

The U.S. Treasury Department also sanctioned officials from your government for negotiating with gangs, for prison benefits—can you respond to that?

Bukele: Yes. Again, that was before. They had sanctions from the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State. Surprisingly, they had that policy of sanctions applied only to the three countries of northern Central America, not to the others or other countries in the world.

These lists were specifically for these countries, demonstrating the political nature of the sanctions. However, that happened before. Some might have stayed on the list because getting out of it is hard. Now, it’s their problem. I did think at that time that it was absurd. To say that we negotiated with the gangs-- What kind of negotiation? That we were going to finish them off and wipe them off the map, that they were going to jail?

To lower the level of violence, right?

Bukele : Well, but what did we give the gang members in exchange?

Allegedly, prison benefits.

Bukele: Well, let's say they were given prison benefits because, again, it's easy to start narratives, but let's get to the facts. Even before the emergency regime, the prisons had no signal in El Salvador. There are videos from 2013 and 2012. There used to be YouTube videos posted by gangs where they are in the prisons with prostitutes, strippers, parties, doing drugs.

Any Salvadoran knows this, as well as anyone who has studied the phenomenon of violence in El Salvador.⁠ There were benefits in prison. What's more, they say they sanctioned officials for negotiating with gangs. In 2012 and 2013, there was a negotiation with gangs here in El Salvador, during which the Secretary General of the OAS came to El Salvador to negotiate. During this time, gang members handed over weapons to him.

He said, "I congratulate El Salvador for negotiating with the gangs." There was a negotiation with gangs where the government, the Catholic Church, and the Organization of American States were present. There was international funding for that negotiation with the gangs. At that time, gang members were freely entering and leaving the prisons. There are videos on YouTube showing them partying with prostitutes and strippers and doing drugs. These videos are still available online; anyone can find them.

Since we took over, there have been no videos of prostitutes, strippers, or gang members on the streets meeting with the Secretary General of the OAS. There is no signal for such activities, and gang members are not on the streets. The prisons have been extremely orderly. It is fully verified and what they say is, "No, but they gave them prison benefits."

Aren't gang members saying now, "Well, before, I had the right to have internet, prostitutes, drugs, and strippers, to leave and come back, and to order murders from here. They have taken all that away from me, but they are going to give me a hamburger at Christmas."

Could it be the other way around? Those who negotiated prison benefits with gang members—not just the inmates—are implicated. There are journalistic investigations and international reports documenting these issues. It was in question whether the Army had allowed gang members to use the shooting ranges. There are photographs and videos of gang members using the Army’s shooting ranges to practice shooting.

Obviously, they practice hitting people in the head and heart, and the Army of El Salvador lent the shooting ranges to gang members. That's documented. There is no documentation that this is being done now. On the contrary, the Army goes with the police, catches them, and puts them in jail. The idea that we negotiated benefits, either with those on the outside or those on the inside, doesn't fit well.

To confirm, you are saying that your government never negotiated with the gangs and that what the U.S. government is saying is false?

Bukele: It's totally false. What shows this is not what I say, as I will always claim we've done things well—that's to be expected. But what is real is that—what exactly is the benefit? Moreover, the same people who accuse us of giving benefits to gang members are the same people who accuse us of being very hard on gang members.

You can't have it [both ways]. Either we give benefits to the gang members, or we are very hard on the gang members, but you can't have both. It makes no sense. Another important thing. One of those sanctioned—I’m not defending him—may have legal issues to address. That will be his problem. We have a very strong justice system here, regardless of who is involved, and we’ve demonstrated that from the cabinet on down. We address crimes impartially, no matter who the individual is.

But there is one reality, and you can verify it. Journalists have verified it. You can see it on the ground and in the prisons. The most orderly prisons in Latin America are those of El Salvador. Isn't it suspicious that in the prisons, where the head of the prison oversees facilities controlled by drug traffickers and criminals, these criminals have free rein? When the Army arrives, they face gunfire from within the prison, and yet the prison officials in charge are not punished.

The US government has sanctioned no heads of prisons where crime and drug traffickers are prevalent. The only prison where there is total order, where criminals and drug traffickers do not rule, and where no one is ordering murders is the one that has been sanctioned.

I don't care. They can do whatever they want, and I told them this in several meetings. It's their country, and they have the right to impose sanctions and make decisions as they see fit. However, it seems a bit illogical and counterintuitive that they sanctioned the head of the only prison with order in Latin America. In contrast, other prisons, where drug traffickers and criminals have control, have not faced similar sanctions.

I'm not saying they deserve them, but it appears contradictory that the only well-managed facility is penalized. At the same time, those with significant issues remain unsanctioned. I don't want to get into conspiracy theories, but it seems a little counterintuitive, at least to me.

I also want to ask you about the adoption of Bitcoin in El Salvador, especially now that you are going to focus more on the economy. In your opinion, has it been a success?

Bukele: Yes and no; a lot more could definitely be done. Bitcoin hasn't had the widespread adoption we hoped for. Many Salvadorans use it; The majority of large businesses in the country have it. You can go to a McDonald's, a supermarket, or a hotel and pay with Bitcoin. It hasn’t had the adoption we expected. The positive aspect is that it is voluntary; we have never forced anyone to adopt it. We offered it as an option, and those who chose to use it have benefited from the rise in Bitcoin.

Moreover, those who saved in Bitcoin when we launched it must have made a lot of money. Thank God for that. It's good that people have those earnings. Those who decided not to use it did not have those gains. If they use it now, they will probably have gains in the future. If they do not want to use it, this is a free country. I expected more adoption, definitely, but we always prided ourselves on being a free country, free in every way.

Sometimes, there's confusion because of our tough stance on gangs. However, we are a free country. For example, I believe few countries can say this: we have never repressed a demonstration. In five years of government, we have never used a tear gas can or a baton.

You won't find a photograph of one of our police officers hitting someone with a baton. There just aren’t any. I am not saying we will never do it […] still, we have never needed to use a single tear gas can. When the opposition protests, we even withdraw the police to avoid misunderstandings or potential provocations. We prefer to remove the police and let them stain the monuments and break windows, and then we go in and repair the damage.

It is the same with the Bitcoin issue. For me, it is an option we have given to Salvadorans. I'm not going to say it's the currency of the future, but there's a lot of future in that currency. I'm not the only one saying it. I wasn't among the first, but we were still few in 2021. Right now, you have the largest funds in the world, literally the largest funds in the world. BlackRock has the largest Bitcoin ETF.

You bet a lot on Bitcoin.

Bukele: El Salvador invested $135 million. Now, we have $400 million in Bitcoin in the public wallet alone. We have done well as a government. Salvadorans who used and saved it have done very well for obvious reasons, such as the price increase. Those who have not used it have no obligation to use it. The currency that circulates the most in El Salvador is the United States dollar.

I feel that it could have worked better, and there is still time to make some improvements, but it hasn’t resulted in anything negative. On the contrary, it gave us branding, it brought us investments, it brought us tourism.

And a lot of attention.

Bukele: It's brought us a lot of positive attention. Some criticism, but it is to be expected. What it has brought is financial inclusion for many people and profit for many others. It has brought profit to the country. The fact that major Wall Street companies are now engaging in it—something that seemed unthinkable three years ago when we did it—shows its impact. Some countries already hold reserves in Bitcoin or are investing in Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining. It is already becoming a topic of debate in the US presidential campaign.

In the end, the fact of being a “First Mover,” I think, gives us a small advantage, as far as it goes. I feel that it could have been much better. I wouldn't consider it a resounding success. Still, I do believe that the positive outcomes outweigh the negative, and the issues that have been highlighted are relatively minor.

Even the International Monetary Fund itself stated in its report last year, "The risks of Bitcoin in El Salvador have not materialized," meaning the risks they anticipated did not come to pass. We have seen nothing but benefits. As many as I would have wanted? No, but did it bring something bad? No. It's a net positive.

Speaking of your image, you've obviously built much of your political career through social media. You have more followers on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok than the population of your country. A significant number of your posts are in English. Who is your audience?

Bukele: Yes. 100% of my Facebook posts are in Spanish. 100% of my messages on Instagram are in Spanish or both languages, first Spanish and then English. 100% of my messages on TikTok are in Spanish or both languages, first Spanish and then English. On Twitter, I post some messages in English because we have seen a lot of engagement from the United States. That social media platform is more politicized than the others. Normal people tend to be more active on the other platforms. Normal people like Instagram more—

Salvadorans?

Bukele -— they like TikTok more. Yes, Salvadorans and normal people around the world. That is, young people, people who are not so involved in politics use Instagram more.

But you love Twitter.

Bukele: Yes, because I'm a politician.

Do you write your own posts?

Bukele: Yes, I write them, but we noticed an interesting audience for our country’s agenda and how we project our country on Twitter (now known as X), and for us, it is an opportunity. We do not pay for advertising in other countries or have the budget. We cannot compete with bigger tourist destinations or those attracting major investors. However, we've found that my social media presence has served as a window for investors, investment funds, banks, important figures, and politicians. Why not use it for what we want to do and our goals as a country?

In your Twitter bio you call yourself a “Philosopher King.” What does that mean?

Bukele: It is the concept that a leader should be a philosopher before he is a king. Obviously, I am neither a philosopher nor a king. Still, this concept is attributed to Marcus Aurelius, who is considered the first Philosopher King.

It describes someone who meditates on all angles, analyzes every possibility within a decision, and asks, "What is the best decision I can make for the people I serve?" In my case, that would be the Salvadoran people.

The decisions, or at least what I aspire to, are not based on what is most popular or what offers the fastest return. Instead of, “What is best for me personally or our political movement?” the question is, “What is in the best interest of my people and the future of my country?” That way of thinking, analyzing, questioning, and philosophizing before making a decision is a style of government. I don't use that biography on other platforms.

It's for a different audience?

Bukele: I use the term "Philosopher King" primarily on X because, while not everyone may understand it, many on that platform grasp what I mean. I believe presidents, chancellors, prime ministers, and all heads of government should aspire to be more like Philosopher Kings. They should strive to be thoughtful leaders rather than the typical politician who is hated by their people.

You have also used your [Twitter] bio to mock those who call you a dictator. Does it bother you that the world considers you an authoritarian?

Bukele: Yes and no. It bothers me when arguments are presented in a way that have little grounding in reality. However, it doesn't bother me to the extent that I think it's a reality. I believe it's important to address these arguments, recognizing that everything comes at a cost. Everything in life has a cost. For example, I like what I do, but it comes with various costs. I can't walk quietly down the street and go out with my daughters for a walk. That is to say, there is a cost.

I once said that I had traded my security. I used to be the safest person in the country because I had bodyguards, armored cars, and everything, and the country was insecure. I traded my security for that of the Salvadoran people. Now the country has safety, but I do not, because drug traffickers, gang members, criminals, and mafias now target me to undermine the benefits we are providing to Salvadorans. As I said, everything in life has a cost, and the cost of being called authoritarian is too small to bother me much. Now, I don't like it, but it's not like it keeps me up at night either.

You’ve made significant changes in your first term. You are quite young. Would you run again if Salvadoran voters want you to continue in office in 2029?

Bukele: I can't run for president again according to the Constitution because of the prohibition established by Article 152. Also, we have an agreement with my wife that this is my last term.

You will be only 47 years old when you leave office.

Bukele: Yes.

Have you thought about what comes next?

Bukele: No, not yet. It will be a challenge because I don't see myself returning to the corporate world. I don't know. The tooth's response to the lip would be to write a book or something along those lines, but I'm not sure. I don't think about what I will do in 2029.

I'm going to ask you one more question. Obviously—I had many more questions, but never mind.

Bukele: I have the World Bank outside. Otherwise, I would gladly give you three more hours.

You obviously have a lot to say. Why don't you speak to the press more?

Bukele: I used to do it more, but I feel like I used to do it because I was younger. I'm not so young anymore. Yes, I am somewhat young but not as young as before; I am not a boy. Previously, I had well-grounded criteria based on my ideology, and journalism was something I respected greatly. I saw it as a noble profession dedicated to seeking the truth and essential for holding power accountable and keeping the public informed.

I'm not sure if journalism has changed over time or if I've come to see reality. Still, I've found that, for the most part, journalism often functions as propaganda. The difference is that state propaganda at least openly acknowledges that it is propaganda. That is, we put out a spot, and no one hides that it is propaganda. When journalism publishes an article, people think it's journalism. When I observe the agendas, I even see journalists defending the idea that journalism must have an agenda. These journalists defend the fact that journalism should follow an agenda instead of seeking the truth, all to become a form of counter-power.

I see falsehoods written about us and things that are overlooked about others. I know that things change, but in some countries, media outlets are closed, and journalists are arrested. Yet, we are condemned despite having never arrested any journalists or closed any media outlets. One realizes that there is almost always an agenda behind journalism. The journalism I once respected often aligns with that agenda, serving the interests of financiers or editorial boards with their own commitments.

I began to see journalism differently, and I started to enjoy talking to the press less. With the rise of social media, it's a way to reach the population directly without going through the press filter. If I don't need to talk to the press-- and I'm not talking about those present, I'm not talking about you. I recognize it and assume you are a great journalist; that's why you work for a great media outlet and everything.

I have less respect for journalism than I had before, and I don't feel the need to talk to them like before, so I rarely give interviews […] I feel that it becomes unnecessary. It's a profession that has a very noble origin. It changed the world with printing. Everything changed then, and we can talk about it, but that's another topic.

I feel I am not a journalist and should not tell journalists what to do. Still, I believe journalism should somehow return to its origins or at least to what I once thought it was, rather than continuing as it is now.

There is a lot of interest in your country, and I know that many other journalists would like to talk to you.

Bukele: Maybe.

Thank you very much.

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Write to Vera Bergengruen/San Salvador at [email protected]