On transcription and other aspects of the craft of qualitative research

Abstract

This article is directed toward helping to bridge the gap between oral discourse and its written versions. The authors examine the way in which oral communication is registered and transformed into written text to avoid gross distortions but also to highlight the unavoidable interpretive character of any transcription. Special emphasis is put on artisan procedures, because many students and researchers in nonindustrialized countries have little access to specific software (both because of idiom and for economic reasons), which although not totally eliminating human intervention, certainly simplify the tasks to be done. The authors describe an accessible way of designing discursive tables using a popular word processor and discuss the degrees and limitations of editing transcriptions. [Full text only in Spanish]