We accept those limitations, not because we are okay with them, but because we have-or, rather, had-no other choice. Removing them opens the door to questions about whether participants actually meant what we construed, or even said what we say they did, both of which undermine confidence in our findings.
Individually, any of those features can alter a listener’s interpretation of what is meant. Tone, dialect, inflection, stops and starts, and other features of talk are lost. Yet, spoken words have depth that is difficult to convey as text. We give them voice by audio-recording what they say, transcribing it into text, analyzing the data, and illustrating the findings with written quotes.
A hallmark of qualitative research is enabling participants to speak for themselves to share why, how, and to what effect they act upon and experience the world.
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