If you are planning on conducting a research interview over a phone call, you should consider recording it.

We know how tough it is setting up interview calls, especially with industry experts and eminent personalities who are hard to make appointments with. Why should you make an already complicated task even more twisted, right?

Here’s why.

1. It Frees you up to Focus on Your Research Interview

Taking notes is very important when conducting a phone research interview. But juggling between asking questions and taking notes is more difficult than it sounds.

By recording the research interview you can always take notes later. There are even transcription services available that you can use to convert your audio files to text.

Moreover hastily taken notes may not be reliable when you are compiling your data later. Even less reliable is your memory. For all the effort you take to fix an interview and see it through, it is just a simple additional step to record your call.

2. Recordings are Helpful if Disputes Arise

Recording your research interview will prevent any he-said, she-said issues, should they come up later. If a colleague, someone outside your organisation, or the interviewee herself ever disputes your findings or what was said during the interview, you would have recorded proof of what was said. Recording research interviews can come to your aid if you ever find yourself in a legal dispute. A situation not every researcher looks forward to, a law suit of any kind can be easier to handle since your recordings will be a lot more persuasive than your personal notes.

3. It makes your Research more Valid and Credible

When you publish your research and your findings, having recordings will make your study more credible. It is easy to wrongly remember what was actually discussed during the conversation. Sometimes what you interpreted was not what the speaker actually meant. Your biases tend to overshadow what you take away from the interview. In such scenarios, having the recording and transcript can keep your study clean of such influences.

4. Recording your Research Interview is Simple

We hope you are convinced that there are obvious benefits to recording your research interview. But you might be stroking your chin, thinking it’s just too much effort.

On the contrary, it’s actually very simple. There are quite a few call recording apps available to do the job. If you are looking for something more reliable and professional you can try our call recorder, Recordator.com.

Having done the difficult task of researching, scheduling and setting up the interview, this small additional step can ensure that the outcome of your efforts is true to what you set out to achieve.

Have you ever conducted a research interview over a phone call? How was your experience? Do share it with our readers and help them gain from your experience.