Interviewee Transcript Review as a Tool to Improve Data Quality and Participant Confidence in Sensitive Research

James Rowlands

doi:10.1177/16094069211066170

Abstract

Interviewee Transcript Review (ITR), a form of Respondent Validation, is a way to share and check interview transcripts with research participants. To date, the literature has considered how these practices affect data quality, focused on the ability of a participant to correct, add or remove data. Less considered is the extent to which ITR might enable sensitive research. Reporting on research examining the experiences and perspectives of different stakeholders involved in Domestic Homicide Reviews, 40 participants who took part in semi-structured interviews were offered the opportunity to review their transcripts. This paper contributes to the understanding of the use of ITR, demonstrating how it can be used to increase participant confidence to provide assurance about, and indeed active involvement in, the steps being taken to preserve their anonymity.

Highlights

Interviewee Transcript Review (ITR), a form of Respondent Validation, is a way to share and check interview transcripts with research participants
I set out my rationale for using ITR with this account serving as a discussion of the benefits and concerns related to this research practice
A further limitation is that this study only examined ITR rather than other forms of Respondent Validation (RV), for example, sharing draft findings with respondents (Bryman, 2016, p.385) or undertaking a member check interview or focus group (Birt et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Interviewee Transcript Review (ITR), a form of Respondent Validation, is a way to share and check interview transcripts with research participants. One decision to be made related to the collection and analysis of data is if and how to share this with participants This practice, known as Respondent Validation (RV) ( known as ‘Informant Feedback’, ‘Member Checking’ or ‘Participant Verification’), involves offering participants the opportunity to review and respond to an interview transcript and/or findings (i.e. by agreeing or disagreeing, clarifying or proposing changes to the same) (Goldblatt et al, 2011; Thomas, 2017; McGrath et al, 2019). I discuss the findings, reflecting on them and identifying limitations and areas for further research

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion