Everyone I know now uses the digital recorders. About 40 bucks anywhere.

If you want a really good one that works for large rooms and lots of people, I suggest looking at Olympus. The DS-40 is a really good one and it may have a successor by now but it is quite a bit more expensive than the $40

I use Olympus WS-6505 - if I am working in a large room I use an external microphone - if 1-2-1 the internal stereo mics are great

I use an iPod with a microphone. It works great, but you have to remember to have it plugged into an outlet while you are recording. Otherwise, your interviews end up in cyberspace!

http://www.cenix.co.kr/cenix/?doc=product/e_voice_r_list.php Cenix is the best for large as well small size facilities. Even it has a telephone line connection.

I use the Olympus WS-6000 - very good quality. Something to consider is what file format the digital recording will be in - this one gives you a DSS file which is not the easiest to work with - a better format is WMA - easy to start, stop, go back etc. than DSS.

We have been using the Philips Digital Pocket Memo 9600 for encrypted audio files for several years.

I have been using a Philips Voice Tracer for 2years, it is super sensitive even without a microphone and in very large spaces too. Great internal memory as well.

Like Caren, I use an iPod with an external microphone. No problems and easy to download. It works well, even in situations such as a Q & A in a large conference venue where there are questions from the audience.

I use Olympus since 5 years ago but I'm sorry I forget its series...... it very sensitive..can redording for 11 hours for normal, and 5 hours for very high sensitivity, and it use 2 AAA battery

I can only agree - Olympus makes really good stuff. Am using Olympus LS-11 at the moment (might be over the top for what you are looking for) and it has a superb recording quality for individual and group interviews.

Hey there, I am using an Olympus DM-450 with an external microphone for my qual interviews and it works like a dream. Good luck with your proposal.

Olympus DM-450 I would recommend too.good luck

The livescribe echo or pulse smartpens. I've had mine for a number of years now, and I am still astounded by it. These pens synchronize your recorded audio with your handwritten notes; you can go back, tap on what you've written and the pen will play the sounds/speech that were happening at that particular time. You can upload all of your recordings to your PC/Mac, you can email these as a password protected PDF or webpage, you can do text searches of your handwritten notes, I could go on. A truly breakthrough product, and a boon for interviewing in particular.

Olympus DM-450 or DM-550 or the latest DM-650. Very good quality and very good price

I'd echo the first response that an important issue is file format, which links to what you expect to be able to do with the recordings once generated. If it's simply to play on a single machine for the purposes of transcription then any recorder (with reasonable quality mics) recording to some proprietary format, such as DSS, will likely suffice. If however you think you might need to edit, say increase amplitude or run noise reduction, then you need to be recording to a more generic format, say mp3 or wav. You might also want to consider the file formats supported by various analysis software, i.e., those that allow you to work directly with the original recording.

Or the short answer I'd recommend the Edirol R-09, now rebadged as a Roland R-05; great mics recording to mp3 or wav, solid and reliable.

I have been using Olympus during the last 6 years, different versions, and they always worked fine.

I use an Olympus D-40 digital recorder. I also use Dragon Natural Speaking as a transcription tool. I recommend both of them highly.

We use the Sony Digital Recorder (ICD/UX71 model) for all of our semi-structured, one long interviews.

With digital recording so cheap these days i would suggest you go for a cannon or sony digital recorder that will allow you to upload your files directly into your computer. I have also use the ipad and an ipone which both have excellent recording abilities and both upload dataa files for storage.

All the best

Gerard

I have used the ipad recently and it recorded fine, but I have problems to take the file out from it. I haven't managed to put it in dropbox neither my PC...

Echo Smartpen is a combined pen and record. You can easily identify identify a specific part of the interview by pointing at the actual word in your memos. The recorder will start playing exactly from the corresponding part of your interview. Extremey useful and time saving. Christer Sandahl

I would definitely recommend Olympus digital recorders (make sure it has the option to download the file, some older or cheaper Olympus do not). For around 8 or 10 years I have used Olympus recorders (Radio Shack sells them) and they provide better quality audio than any other brand I have used. Also, I recommend bringing at least 2 audio-recording devices with you to each interview/fieldwork session; if possible, 2 recording devices plus your ipod/iphone/other cel phone. Once another fieldworker and I were doing interviews, we each had 2 recording devices and our cel phones, and of the 6 devices, only 2 worked. I often tape an interview with two devices, to make sure everything is audible; I transcribe one and use the second for bits that are difficult to understand.

I agree with Matt and Christer ... Livescribe Echo Smart Pen - this is my recommendation - don't need anything else just this easy to use no fuss little pen! - I am conducting in-depth Grounded Theory 1-2 hour interviews for my PhD research with this wonder pen - try it out!

I use the Olympus (DM-520) too. It has very good quality, and especially important for me, very few knobs and buttons, so I can't do anything wrong!

Guys this is really simple. Just record it straight to your laptop. I've got a MacBook so simply record it in Garageband, save it as whatever file type you like (default for me is mp3). If you've got a PC there's plenty of audio software out there you can download, much of it for free (helpful if you're a penniless student). You can then burn it to disc and flick it to a transcriber, put it on a flashdrive, or use Dropbox, if you're not doing it yourself (as a contractor most of my projects involve 20+ interviews so I outsource). Because it's on your laptop you've also got the file available when you need it, and can interface it with analytic software if needs be.

Thanks for all of your advice. I will most likely use 2-3 options at the same time to allow for back up in case of malfunctions. thanks

Try the LiveScribe pen. It's great!

I have used Olympus recorders for 10+ years and have not had any problems with the various models used. I have never heard of LiveScribe so appreciate the input about it - seems like a very interesting device and a great way to have a non-intrusive 2nd recorder. Thanks for those who suggested this.

I just bought the smartpen of LiveScribe. I used it last week for an interview and I am really satisfied with the recorder. The audio quality is excellent and the notes are immediately structured and uploaded on your computer, together with the corresponding audio fragment. I can definitely recommend this smartpen! The price is around 120 euro (for 4 GB).

Buy anyone according to your need and affordability.

1. Zoom H4n Handy Portable

2. Apple iPad 2 64 GB Wi-Fi Black Tablet

3. Olympus LS-11 PCM

4. Olympus DM-420

5. Olympus DM-520

6. Sony ICD-SX712

7. Sony ICDUX512

8. Olympus VN-801PC

Linda,

my collegues responded very well :-). I use an Olympus DM-10. The Olympus series offer a proper system (DSSL) witch reduces space and with the software included changeable to WMA. How are the settings of your interviews? (Single or group?) - this could be important for the microfones. Laptop-microfones are not sufficient. For more informations I foun very useful the page: http://www.audiotranskription.de/english/f4.htm - they offer a free f4 tool for the transcription process where you can introduce time markers within the text, recognized by QDATA-Analisis-Software. They offer a free manula for the transcription too : http://www.audiotranskription.de/english/transcription-practicalguide.htm

Enjoy!!!

For interviews over a distance, I recommend Skype and MP3 Skype Recorder. I have conducted several interviews via Skype and the MP3 Skype Recorder has functioned without problem. It's free, and while it's true that not all free products work well, this recorder did just fine. I was able to talk to participants who had Skype and to those who didn't by using Skype Out, calling from my Skype account to their phones (which requires a fee based subscription). The recorder worked well in both cases; audio was crystal clear.

I'll add to the Olympus vote (digital voice recorder). I've been using an older DS-5000 for the last few years without problem ... extremely reliable and versatile re management of files etc. From comments above though there look to be some more advanced models around (thanks to everyone's suggestions... I feel an upgrade coming on ... no usb cable ...yay!) .

I use whatever the current Sony products are. I find them most reliable. One caveat...they are still not 100% intuitive to use, so please be sure to take time to really familiarize yourself with the features or else you'll find yourself frustrated when you need to use it during an interview.

I would say that Olympus is a good brand, and Sony is also a good brand. The most important things are not so much the recorder, but the other things. When going out to begin interviewing bring a second recorder. You may actually find that having a $200 dollar recorder dies, but your $20 recorder is still working. A colleague of mine had two recorders and it saved her more than once. Second, make sure that it records in a general file format and not a proprietary one. If you are doing work and you all of a sudden need a licence or your computer crashes and you can get that program again it is a nightmare. WMV file format is a life saver because you can open it anywhere on any platform. Finally as Jennifer said practice with it. You feel more confident when it works and your interviewee does not get annoyed when you are taking up their time and not asking questions.

I always use two recorders, an older but still reliable Olympus WS-210S and my iPhone with the Voice Recorder HD app.

I also use two recorders. I have an old Iphone that I use for recording and also use my Ipad. There is an app for the iPad that is extremely user friendly, reliable, and allows one to upload the recording to DROPBOX in just a couple of taps...very easy to use. The app's name is: ITalk.

I also just use an app on my iPhone with the ability to upload to Dropbox. It worked so well for my interviews.

I use Sony ICD-SX713. It works well. However, from time to time I found running out of juice in the recharge battery an out of memory card full on the spot. What a shame. Two things to be aware of.

Ok. I am a musician. So, I used the ZOOM...meant to record live concerrts. Records to a small San disk...and can do MP3 output. So, I recorded the interview (uses batteries), downloaded to my computer, and emailed to the transcription company...and it came out PERFECT> Cost: about $350 or less.

There are many digital recorders in the market, I have been using a Sony Stereo Digital Voice Recorder- ICD-UX523, it works fine, very tiny to handle, high sensitivity, can be transferred the records easily to the PC or Mac immediately after the recording s over with a little, it has a little thumb drive thing....not expensive either, something around US $80-90 or cheaper. Only drawback is the old type rechargeable battery, you need to have fully charged spares.......

As indicated there are many good recorders available and I support the notion of having two. But a lot depends on the context of the interview - in public places you may pick up a lot of background noise and that may mean you will have difficulties distinguishing the words. I always recommend to my students that I actively jot down key words in front of the interviewee. That signals to the respondent that what is being said is important. It also is an implicit start to an analytical process - why did you feel these words to be important?

I use a Philips Voice Tracer 660. It has never failed me yet and runs on the same battery for ages. The sound quality is pretty good (even without an external microphone) and it works fairly well with background noise.

By now it should be about $70.

Dear Linda, best recommendation should come from studio managers. However, I think you can see available options on http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/audio/recording.html if you could see one that may be useful to you.

in all my five years of health research collecting indepth qualitative information, i find Olympus and Sony as the best bands. they never fail you unless your fail to purchase quality ones.

I agree that using two recorders is wise - in the event one fails or has a poorer pickup. I use my laptop (built in recording software) and an iPod. Both record clearly, and have had no problems with transcribing from these.

Yes, I use my android phone (with Audionote app) as a back up of my Sony Digital Voice Recorder, both works well, none of them have ever failed.

Hi,

I too used the Zoom H2 recorder and it worked really well. There a number of useful YouTube demonstrations on its use. I used it on batteries once but the interview went on for three hours and drained the batteries completely. After that I used it on mains power. I would recommend this device. I also used a Philips 7780 Voice Tracer digital recorder as back up. However, this was a few years old and had a dedicated recording format which meant there could be issues when trying to play or store the recording on another device. I'm pretty sure Philips was not updating the software for it so there were no updates to help with the down loading issues. I would also be careful about using rechargeable batteries and if using them use the best you can afford.

If you can afford it a set up that has a 'tie-pin' microphone may be a good option.

I had planned on using my echo Live Scribe pen but am having trouble getting the audio on my new Macbook Pro. Is anyone else having this problem? I spent several hours last week with their tech support uninstalling and installing the software. It still doesn't seem do to everything it should.

I am using a Philips voice tracer (digital recorder 3500). The recording is great, battery last forever and can easily be charged using your computer. The only thing I find difficult on this recorder is editing, especially just cutting out a word or two. I have reverted back to using an online editing programme instead.

Hi Linda, I am using an approximately 6 years old Olympus device (WS series) and am satisfied with it. On their website, they offer a purchase guide, based on your requirements: http://www.olympus-europa.com/site/en/a/

Best of luck.

Sony ICD-UX533F/B 4GB Digital voice recorder works for me

I've always been pleased with the Olympus line of digital recorders.

Can anyone suggest an audio recording device or service for telephone interviews?

I recorded group interviews with children using Olympus Digital Voice Recorder WS-321M and I am happy with the quality of the recording. The battery life is also good.

Hi, Linda, I use an ICD PX820, which can use a plugged in mike or by itself. I have used it across the table and in a 20 x 20 classroom and found it to be quite effective. This particular recorder is compatible with Dragon Naturally Speaking dictation software. All the best.

Linda, the ICD PX820 is actually a SONY recorder, and gives approximately 500 hrs. of recording. It also allows you to separate interviews without losing any data or having them all on one file.

What I do to improve reliability is to have two voice recorders. I use a commercial voice recorder as described below, and then I use my mobile phone as a back up voice recorder. That way if one of the devices fails then I have a second device available to fall back on. Once I have the first recording safely stored on my computer and backed up there, I delete the recording from my phone. I have needed to go to the mobile phone back up twice in the past 5 years for segments of interviews.

I like the LiveScribe because it is not only an audio recorder, but also captures written notes that can have audio associated with locations in the notes

I've used an Olympus VN-510 and its been absolutely fine and the quality has been good.

Like Victoria, I have also used my cellphone as a back up. A tip if using your phone- switch it on to 'flight safe mode', as otherwise, when it starts searching for or refreshing a signal, you'll get interference on the main digital voice recorder.

Hi LInda,

I had to look into digital recorders last year from my current doctoral research which also involves interviews. I am very pleased with Sony ICD-UX512/UX513F, it has long battery life, recharges via my pc, it is light to use and fit in your pocket, has excellent sound quality with slow playback feature for making transcribing easier. good luck with your study!

greeting from Greece

Stelios

We normally use Olympus, different models, but now, as second recorder, or for security, it is possible to combine with Skype (even in the mobile), or Evernote (in your mobile). And modern mobiles with a good SD card could be also useful as a second recorder when doing fieldwork.

I am agree with that for recording Focus Groups, it is very convenient a good recorder (Olympus, etc.) with a microphone for catching several conversations around the table. Good recording !!!

Linda, I have used the humble iPhone to great effect and partnered with dragon dictate has been a cheap, expedient and reliable option.

I have used sound note app on iPad for interviewing. It is convenient because taking notes is possible while recording.

I use a sony, icd-ux300. Good recording quality, rechargeable battery life and size of hard drive is well over 40 hours.

You can plug it in to recharge via the inbuilt USB stick and is easy to transfer recordings to PC.

Folders on recorder are useful to arrange recordings into sections if for instance doing interviews, and focus groups for the same project, or save them into different folders for different projects.

dear Linda provide me information what is the topic of your dissertation,what are the samples, place where you have to conduct research and objective of your study.If you want to use Focused Group Discussion(FGD) techniques having 6-10 people or Indepth Interview in formal set up.You can purchase ipod audio recorder.

I have used both Skype and Sony UX 512. both work well.

Let's say that the recorder is not a big problem - the question is how you'll transcript your interviews!!! I think that Dragon is a good option but probably there is something better...

Don't worry so much about the recorder (you can get a digital recorder for less than $100. Worry about the microphone, because that, rather than the recorder itself determines sound quality. So the recorder I got had a microphone input but could record without a mic. The sound quality was ok in a controlled environment but lot of my interviews were recorded on the land, in parks, pubs and kitchens. So I quickly bought a cheap mic for $30 that was awful and then I spent $80 on a good quality mic (3 times as big as the actual recorded) from a music shop and never had a problem again (except for the one 2hour interview when I forgot to turn the mic on and recorded 2 hours of nothing). Always do a check prior to recording

Most things these days seem to be OK, but as someone has said the microphones vary in quality. You could get a decent mic for your phone, you can get add ons for iPhones and Android phones and upload the data straight away too.

I used a SONY IC Recorder for mine and it was quite effective. I was able to transfer the recording to my laptop, combine pieces of recordings and convert to MP3. Hope you find it useful.

I use a Sony voice recorder which is also an MP3 player. It is easy to recharge. One of my research teams , however, preferred to use their cell phone recorders as they did not want to carry and use more equipment and they were perfectly comfortable with their cell phones. The limitation is that sound quality suffers and transcribing can be tiresome.

I still use a digital Panasonic RR-US450 and it works very well for my needs. But I guess there are newer and better models in the market now.

I've bought SONY Stereo IC recorder with dual mics. For me I look for how long it can last (battery)..and how much it can record (sd card).

I used the LiveScribe pen and my Iphone as a backup. I liked being able to have my notes on the computer, as well as the ease of having a pen that's recording

I have used cogi.com to record and transcribe my interviews. They are not expensive and the recording is immediately available as a MP3 file for downloading. With cogi.com, you input the participants number and the system calls you first then the participant. It begins the call by telling the participant they are being recorded. Their transcription service is lacking. They outsource the transcription service and often English is not the transcribers first language so you get some weird stuff.

Currently, I'm using TASCAM DR-07MKII. The storage is good (I also purchased a sd card for backup storage) and battery life is long. The audio quality is very good.

Sony IC Recorder - I find it is userfriendly, has good sound quality.

iPhones (and I rpesume other smart phones too) are excellent and don't put people off because they are so known in the world

I used an Olympus recorder, a good product but can't transfer audio tracks on a Mac (for my model).

Now I use my smartphone (a Nokia Lumia). Good recording... and as Jonathan Parker say, "they are so well know in the world" that it would be easier than using a special recorder... less "stress" for people you interview!

Olympus VN-713PC Voice Recorder (about £75) is reliable and simple.

If you are likely to be doing telephone interviews buy an attachment (e.g. Retell Telephone Recording Connector £15) and a phone that has a socket/removable cord on the handset.

I use a Zoom H1 and in the past an H2, I believe. Both give very good results. However, a smartphone with a decent recording app should also be fine (might consider to get an external microphone).

Guillaume Routier ... which application do you use to record on your Nokia Lumia?

I have used FaceTime with Call Recorder. For Mac. It was stable and reliable.

Any decent digital recorder these days will work but I also use my iPhone which is surprisingly good.