Peer-reviewed research
Transcription: Imperatives for Qualitative Research
Christina Ruth Davidson, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2009
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- A review of about three decades of literature on transcription in qualitative research, from 1979 to 2009, which sets out the core issues and understandings that have shaped how transcription is treated as a research practice.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed review article in an open-access journal. It reviews the literature rather than testing transcription tools or measuring error rates, so use it for the framing of the method, not for accuracy figures.
Facts taken from this source
- Davidson's 2009 review of the transcription literature opens by calling transcription a practice central to qualitative research, although the literature often treats it as taken for granted.
“Transcription is a practice central to qualitative research, yet the literature that addresses transcription presents it as taken for granted in qualitative studies.” (Abstract)