Why dont you use a mobile phone, for audio and video recording?

I recommend digital media, if you want a dedicated device try looking at Sony Digital Recorders.

http://store.sony.com/voice-recorders/cat-27-catid-All-Voice-Recorders

A good tablet may be quite handy since you don't need to hold it in your hand all the time e.g. iPad, Samsung Galaxy tab etc

Hi Fatimah,

I'll give you my two cents worth on audio recorders as I have no experience with video recorders in qualitative studies.

If its a one off study with a small sample- it would be cheaper to use a mobile phone/tablet or similar if its in a quiet setting.

However if you are going to be continuously conducting qualitative studies and  doing audio recordings it would be wise to invest in a dedicated digital recorder such as Sony or Olympus- they don't cost too much. I have experience with both brands of recorders and they do a great job of isolating the interviewer's and participant's voices especially with the external mic which is supplied with the recorder. I was involved in one particular  interview which was done next door to a very loud party, but the recorder picked up the interviewer's and participant's voices only, and the recording was very clear.

When purchasing a voice recorder it is important to check if you need to import the digital recordings using the company's own proprietary software- which can be very annoying when operating systems are upgraded but not the software.

For example I have a Sony recorder whose software for retrieving the voice recordings can only be done on a 32bit Windows XP computer. So be careful when purchasing a recorder.

All the best for your study.