Problematizing transcription: purpose, paradigm and quality

Although transcription is an integral process in the qualitative analysis of language data, and is widely employed in social research, theoretical issues surrounding transcription and their methodological implications have received relatively little attention. In this paper, the role of transcription in qualitative inquiry is problematized. In particular, this paper examines the nature of transcription, the epistemological assumptions upon which it rests, the multiple purposes it serves, and the issue of trustworthiness, or quality.